A 25-year-old goes trick or treating for the first time in Minneapolis — and loves it

Dressed as a vampire, Adonis Parker stood nervously on a stranger's porch, recited the age-old line — "Trick or treat!" — and got some candy.

You could see his smile through his plastic fangs.

"This is a lot more fun than I expected," he said.

At sunset on Tuesday, the first-time trick-or-treater waded through the snow and leaves in the Kingfield neighborhood of south Minneapolis. Compared with the other costumed candy seekers roaming the pumpkin-lined streets, he was a bit older — well, a lot older, actually. He's 25.

Parker never got to celebrate Halloween as a child. His Amish family believed the holiday was evil. Though his parents left the church when Parker was 3, he grew up attending conservative Christian churches.

"My parents were very big into, like, 'Demons are real,' " he said. "When I was a kid, I was very afraid of that kind of stuff. I would have nightmares about that kind of stuff. And now I think that was just religious trauma, with all the stuff that they were teaching us. Now I don't think that those things are real."

Parker left the church in 2020 and went on a journey of self-discovery. He came out as gay to his family shortly after that. In August he told them he was transgender.

"That didn't go well," he said. "They said that they would always love me, but that they wouldn't support or accept this part of me. And then I asked my dad, I was like, 'What do you mean by love then, if you say that you're always going to love me?'"

He decided to go trick-or-treating this Halloween because it was his first year out of his parents' Wisconsin home. He's mentioned the idea to his therapist, who said it could be a good way to "heal his inner child."

Standing up for his identity made him feel brave enough to explore his interests and take a chance at doing things he missed — like celebrating Halloween. He moved to Minnesota, where he found a welcoming community.

His first ally in the state was his roommate and trick-or-treating partner, Ryan LaBelle, who uses they/them pronouns. Dressed in a costume that coordinated with their teenage child, LaBelle acted as Parker's guide to Halloween.

LaBelle reassured Parker when he was nervous. And when Parker couldn't climb the stairs in front of a home because of muscular dystrophy, which causes him to walk with a cane, LaBelle went to the door and got the candy for him.

LaBelle took Parker down "Enchanted Alley," a neighborhood attraction with Halloween decor, music, games and a bonfire for s'mores. Neighbors chatted with other neighbors and strangers alike, inviting everyone to take part in the fun.

Before Oct. 31, Parker asked the Kingfield Facebook group if it was OK for him to go door-to-door at his age. Most of the responses were supportive, and he even got some private messages inviting him to their houses.

After an hour, he returned home with a paper bag filled with candy. Parker said he was glad that he ventured out on Halloween — and ventured out of his comfort zone — to do something he'd never done before.

"If there are other people that are out there that always wanted to do stuff like that and they're embarrassed about wanting to do things that kids are doing," he said, "it's OK to go out and have fun."

Jessy Rehmann is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Star Tribune. Reach her at Jessy.Rehmann@startribune.com.