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Ghoulish delights
Witches, pirates and an assortment of heroes and villains gathered at the Hacker Middle School gymnasium Monday for an evening of fun and candy during this year's Super Safe Halloween Carnival.
Costumed characters young and old were already lined up outside the middle school well before the doors opened to the public at 6 p.m., with about 600 people taking part in the festivities, according to parks and recreation spokesperson Crystal Anderson.
In fact, volunteers had exhausted their supply of 500 goodie bags they handed to each guest within 90 minutes, she said.
The parks department started hosting the festival 34 years ago as a way to promote fun and safety, Anderson added. It helped alleviate concerns with young children going door to door for Halloween treats at night with so many cars traveling on city streets at the same time. In addition, the indoor event ensures people can enjoy the Halloween holiday without dealing with Idaho's often unpredictable fall weather, she added.
Fantasy creations that walked through the door during the evening included a host of characters based on children's fairy tales and movies.
Hayden Zumbrun came to the carnival dressed as Little Red Riding Hood while her grandmother, Terri Todd, came as the Big Bad Wolf -- complete with pajamas.
While some people spent a brief amount of time developing their costume creations, Toni Abrego took it a step further by developing a common theme involving her entire family.
"We do it every year," she said. "We come up with something we all like."
This year, the family stepped in the middle school gym dressed up as the heroes and villains from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series.
"It took us weeks to put everything together a little at a time," Abrego said. Aside from one costume, everything they wore was homemade.
Meanwhile, the Hale family took a step back in time to rekindle their love of the Little Rascals television show. "We came up with the idea about a week ago and put everything together today," said Mary Ellen Hale.
But it was their dog that "really clinched it," she added. Using a little bit of makeup, they traced a circle around his eye to complete his transformation at Petey, the mischievous canine from the vintage series.
While movie characters and mythical creatures remained a common theme for many carnival goers, others wanted to bring a few children's classics to life.
Waving her staff and raising her arms to weave her magical spells, Carmen Spencer had transformed herself into Maleficent, the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty.
Others like Isabella Luman had something a little less sinister in mind. Wearing fairy wings and a pastel tutu, the two year old became Abby Cadabby, a muppet from the Sesame Street TV series.
"She was a pumpkin princess last year," said her mother, Christina Luman.
For others like Margie Mae Haynes, this year's carnival was one way her family could showcase their pride for the Boise State Broncos football team with her granddaughter, Hayden Mae, dressed up as a Boise State cheerleader.
"We watch every BSU game," her grandmother said.
Unlike traditional Halloween candy gathering methods of going door to door, the carnival used an assortment of games to hand out the sweets. Over the course of two hours, volunteers gave away hundreds of pounds of assorted sweets donated by local businesses and parents, Anderson said.
While some children continued to fill their buckets with sugary treats, others gathered in the school's main gymnasium for a shot at winning an assortment of prizes during the yearly costume contest. According to Anderson, competition attendance jumped by as much as 25 percent in recent years after organizers expanded the event to include older students and adults.
To make judging fair, parks and recreation included a total of 14 categories that allowed competitors to vie within their respective age groups with the winners walking away with a basket of treats and prizes. One of those categories allowed entire families to go toe-to-toe for a share of the winnings.