{"id":444178,"date":"2026-11-01T10:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T10:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/444178\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T10:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T10:14:15","slug":"south-tampa-goes-all-out-for-halloween-with-tricks-treats-and-a-neighborhood-fundraiser-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/444178\/","title":{"rendered":"South Tampa goes all out for Halloween with tricks, treats and a neighborhood fundraiser"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brief<\/p>\n

South Tampa neighbors celebrated Halloween with elaborate decorations, creative trick-or-treating and community traditions.<\/p>\n

One homeowner traded candy for jokes, talents and hopscotch challenges.<\/p>\n

The Freese family used its Halloween display to raise money for camps supporting young burn survivors.<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla – With Halloween falling on a Saturday for the first time since 2020, South Tampa neighborhoods made the most of the weekend. From trick-or-treating with a twist to elaborate decorations and a fundraiser for children recovering from burn injuries, residents turned the holiday into a celebration of community.<\/p>\n

South Tampa Halloween traditions<\/p>\n

The backstory<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On West Tacon Street, Elizabeth Hudson gave trick-or-treaters a chance to earn a bigger candy bar by telling a joke or showing off a talent.<\/p>\n

Some kids came prepared with jokes, while others took on Hudson in a game of hopscotch. Those who impressed her could also pick a prize from her prize wall.<\/p>\n

Hudson said she keeps the tradition going because the neighborhood enjoys it, but especially for her grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Bubba’s Buddies burn fundraiser<\/p>\n

Giving back<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On West Santiago Street, the Freese family combined Halloween festivities with a fundraiser for burn survivor camps.<\/p>\n

Jacob Freese and his wife were both burned in a 2016 grill accident. Since then, they’ve worked to raise money for camps that give children who have experienced burn injuries a chance to connect with others who understand what they’ve been through.<\/p>\n

Last year, the family raised more than $5,200 to send two children to Camp Hopet\u00e1ke<\/p>\n

This year, after establishing their own nonprofit, Bubba’s Buddies, they’re hoping to raise even more.<\/p>\n

Freese said the camps help young burn survivors build relationships and grow alongside children who have faced similar experiences.<\/p>\n

Historic West Rogers display<\/p>\n

A neighborhood tradition<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On West Rogers Avenue, Steve Odell has been collecting Halloween decorations for 40 years.<\/p>\n

His display includes everything from inflatable decorations and headstones to a handmade fire pit. Odell said he enjoys watching children and their parents arrive to take in the display.<\/p>\n

He says the collection gets bigger every year and finding room for everything is becoming more challenging.<\/p>\n

Holiday schedule and expansion<\/p>\n

What’s next<\/p>\n

Odell plans to keep his Halloween decorations up through Sunday night. He says he goes even bigger for Christmas.<\/p>\n

The Source<\/p>\n

FOX 13 reporting from South Tampa, including interviews with Elizabeth Hudson, Jacob Freese and Steve Odell about their Halloween traditions and community efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief South Tampa neighbors celebrated Halloween with elaborate decorations, creative trick-or-treating and community traditions. One homeowner traded…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":444179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-444178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}