The local couple behind drive-thru trick or treat event

The Mullingar entrepreneurs behind Ireland’s first drive-through trick or treat event say that the demand for tickets has taken them by surprise.

Husband and wife team Philip and Niamh McKeown are the brains behind the contactless trick or treat Halloween experience taking place in Mullingar Equestrian Centre on Friday October 30 and Saturday October 31.

Within the first 24 hours of going on sale last Wednesday, more than half the tickets were sold, while on Saturday evening it was announced that there were only 30 tickets left.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Philip said that the level of demand had taken him and Niamh by surprise.

“The response has been huge and I guess it is a sign of where we are with things. People are looking for alternatives to the traditional way that things are done.

“I suppose that we have latched on to an opportunity and are offering something that will be a good and fun alternative for a lot of families. We are delighted with how it has gone so far.”

Treats will be delivered to each child in the car through a 2m tube and there will be plenty of ghosts and ghouls around the place.

There will also be a live performance of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Philip said that he and Niamh came up with the idea when they were thinking about what to do with their own children this Halloween.

“We’ve got two young kids and we were thinking about how Halloween is going to look this year with all the changes that are in place. That’s where this idea spawned from.

“We are very conscious of the contactless element of things.

“The tube is a huge part of it. This is the only element where there possibly could be an interaction, so we wanted to make sure that people are comfortable with it.

“As people are trick or treating, the kids can put their bags out the windows. We will have a tube and it [treats] will be delivered via that. There will be no contact between people at all,” he said. “People are really at a loss as to what to do with kids. There is a real shortage of things to do and I wanted to put something on that my kids would like to be a part of.”

Since 2009, Philip and Niamh have run U18 club nights across the midlands under the TeenKix brand. With nightclubs likely to be the last business to be allowed open as we learn to live with Covid-19, he and Niamh have had a pandemic career pivot of sorts, although they are still organising events.

In the summer they put on drive-through film nights at Mullingar Equestrian Centre and other open air venues around the country, and they are in the early stages of organising an event for Christmas, also in Mullingar.

“Any event that I have, I always want to do it in Mullingar, if at all possible.

“We are in the events business 12 years. We started TeenKix in St Loman’s clubhouse 12 years ago and it has gone on to bigger and better things. Mullingar has always been very good to us from a business perspective.”