While sorting through her son Hardee’s closet last fall, Algiers resident Allie Abel was struck by how quickly he had outgrown his old Halloween costumes. It got her thinking about how buying a new costume each year is a luxury a lot of families in New Orleans can’t afford.
Within just a few weeks, she and Hardee launched the Free Little Costume Shoppe, a pop-up event where they give away gently used, cleaned and repackaged kids’ Halloween get-ups, donated by families and children who have outgrown them.
This year, she’ll host the giveaway at Old Road Coffee in Treme on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. And it’s not too late to donate: Abel is still collecting costumes this week for infants, young kids and teens leading up to this weekend, and she’s also accepting financial contributions for other giveaways, including candy.
“I know there’s a large need for costumes,” she says. And generally, “Halloween costumes only get a couple wears per year unless kids are playing dress-up … so that’s how we got this all started.”…