Residents Get Haunts and Meet Ghouls at Youth Fall Festival

The City of Moreno Valley’s Parks and Recreation Department celebrated last weekend its haunted house and festival event. “We are so happy to be back,” said Senior Program Leader Markita Smith. This October marked the second haunted house event and the first year the department hosted its festival. “We had the same program a long time ago but due to budget cuts and economic changes we had to cancel. I am really happy to bring it back to the neighborhood and give the kids something to do while remaining safe at the same time,” Smith said. The coordinator of the evening was Janet Palacio. She said, “It is a privilege to be a part of such an amazing event and opportunity. Our goal is to make the kids happy, but most importantly keep them safe.” Families from throughout the city participated and showed their support—a long, winding line for the haunted house was a testament to the city’s participation and the popularity of the attraction. Still others enjoyed food vendors, face painting, and games. Juan Cardenas, Eddie Gibbs and Alex Rodriquez, vendors at the event, stated they were happy with the outcome; they were enjoying the family atmosphere and couldn’t wait to come back next year. Reginald Jackson, a recreational aide for the department, was Dracula for the evening. With his booming voice and tall stature he was quite convincing as the leader of the Haunted House. Jackson credited the children as the reason he loved his job so much. “The haunted house is important; the kids can have fun. There are no amusement parks in the area, so it’s up to us to provide a safe haven of fun for them.” Miriam Antolin of Alessandro Self Storage worked as a festival volunteer for the second year in a row Friday evening. She set up camp and promoted the family business. Kay Gibson brought her family that year, including her two daughters and one niece. She shared she looks forward to coming to the event next year. Volunteers hailing from Vista del Lago High School were also in attendance. Heidy Calvillo and Andres Toro were in charge of the “disk drop,” and both stated they were volunteering because they wanted to help their community and provide a safe zone for the community’s children, like many of the other volunteers and event coordinators. With the haunted house proving to be the event’s most popular attraction, many went through its dark mazes more than once. The Parks and Recreation Department personnel shared their hopes that the event will continue to grow both in size and scope in the coming years. [END] Youth Fall Festival Date: Friday, October 25, 2013 Time: 6:00 p.m. Google Map Event Location: Cottonwood Golf Center Address: 13671 Frederick St. Moreno Valley CA 92553 Description: Thru 8 p.m. Wristband for unlimited activities- $5. Ages 2 - 12. Jumper, face painting, games, crafts, House of Clowns. CONTACT INFO Phone: 951-413-3280 ORIGINAL ARTICLE: City of Moreno Valley Parks and Recreation Department celebrate 2nd annual Haunted House and Festival. “We are so happy to be back!” said Senior Program Leader Markita Smith, who was ecstatic about the great outcome of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department 2nd Annual Haunted House and the first year Festival. “We had the same program a long time ago but due to budget cuts and economic changes we had to cancel so, I am really happy to bring it back to the neighborhood and give the kids something to do while remaining safe at the same time.” The Coordinator of the evening was Janet Palacio who stated” it is a privilege to be a part of such an amazing event and opportunity. Our goal is to make the kids happy but most importantly keep them safe.” Moreno Valley Parks and Recreation Haunted House and Festival had a great turn out. Families from all over the neighborhood came to support. At the same time, the line for the Haunted House was very long only confirming the popularity of the Haunted House. While the neighborhood lined up for the horrifying event. Others were enjoying the hot dog vendors, face painting, games, and popcorn. Partners and Vendors Juan Cardenas, Eddie Gibbs, Alex Rodriquez stated they were happy with the outcome, they were enjoying the family atmosphere and couldn’t wait to come back next year. Reginald Jackson, Recreational Aide for the Department, played Dracula for the evening. With his booming voice and tall stature he was quite convincing as the leader of the Haunted House. However, once you speak to him his humble demure will win you over. Reginald would speak of his love for his job so eloquently and he would credit the children for being the reason why he enjoys his job so much. Reginald state,” The haunted house is important so the kids could have fun. There are no amusement parks in the area so it’s up to us to provide a safe haven of fun for them.” Supportive mom Miriam Antolin of Alessandro Self Storage volunteered for the evening to support the Festival. She set up camp and promoted the family business. She stated her much love and respect for the department and was proud to state it was her second year volunteering. Observant Mother, Kay Gibson brought her family that included her two daughters and niece. Kay stated she was pleased with the results and look forwards to coming back next year. Local Volunteers from Vista Del Lago High School was in attendance as well. Heidy Calvillo and Andres Toro who were in charge of the “Disk Drop” and both stated they wanted to volunteer to help out with the community and provide a safe zone for the neighborhood kids. In the end, it would be the Haunted House that was in demand that evening. The Flournoy Family had gone through three times. The youngest seven year-old Raimone said Haunted House was fun and he couldn’t wait to go back in! City of Moreno Valley Parks and Recreation department stated they hope with each year more people will come and support and watch the Festival get bigger and better for years to come.