Local Events Help Kids Get Into the Spirit

Ghouls large and small got a jump on Halloween on Friday during the annual Halloween Carnival at Germain Street Elementary School in Chatsworth.

Principal Linda Pacheco, known for the day as Minnie Mouse, said the event featured “a lot of ‘blood and gore.’ ” Standout costumes included a convincing mummy, a girl dressed as a jar of jelly beans and a Star Trekker who not only looked the part but could recite passages of dialogue.

A teacher posing as an “anonymous witch” offered a poisoned apple to students, and rapped playfully with a cane those who took her offer, Pacheco said.

The carnival, sponsored by the school’s Parent-Teacher-Student Assn., featured more than 20 games, food and a bake sale. Later on Friday, another Halloween event debuted at Valley College in Van Nuys.

Sponsored by the Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce, the first Great Pumpkin Fest is being touted as “the largest family Halloween celebration in the San Fernando Valley this year.” Organizers expect 20,000 people to attend the three-day festival.

“It’s definitely a family event,” said organizer Dennis Reed, dean of the community college’s industrial and community relations. “I can’t recall such a large Halloween event on this campus before.”

A costume contest for youth up to age 17 is planned for 2 p.m. today, and a haunted house will follow at 5 o’clock. Merchants selling arts and crafts and food will team up to give candy to children on “trick-or-treat lane,” said the chamber’s Nancy Hoffman. There also will be a pumpkin pie-eating contest and $1 pumpkins for sale.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $2 for adults, 50 cents for children. Children under 4 will be admitted free.

Valley College is at 5800 Fulton Ave. For more information, call (818) 989-0300, or (818) 781-1200.