| |
News & Events
| |
home > news & events >
Community Gets Ready for Spooks
Posted in the Montclarion
a publication of the Contra Costa Times
on Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Written by Montclarion Staff Writers
This year's list of Halloween activities in and around the Oakland hills is full of everything from haunted houses to spooky education events at Chabot Space and Science Center and Roberts Regional Park. Community events on tap, some of which require reservations, include:
- Lakeshore Halloween festivities -- The Grand Lake Neighborhood Halloween festivities will kick off at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, with the Lakeshore Merchants Association Tiny Tots Parade. Parents and their costumed little ones are asked to meet at the Mandana Green to pick up trick-or-treat bags. The toddlers will walk to the Grand Lake Farmers' Market, picking up treats along the way from Lakeshore merchants.
They will receive mini pumpkins at the market, courtesy of the Lakeshore Avenue Business Improvement District. Festivities will continue at Splash Pad Park and the Grand Lake Farmers' Market. There will be an arts-and-crafts table provided by the market where children can decorate their pumpkins with the help of the Giant Pumpkin. An exciting addition to this year's festivities will be an old-time pumpkin patch sponsored by Lakeview Elementary School parents and staff. All proceeds will help to fund curriculum improvements at the school. See www.geocities.com/splashpad.
- Chabot Space and Science Center offers moon viewing, music listening and the planetarium show, "Count Astro's Haunted Heavens" this month. This Halloween show, produced and narrated by Ryan Diduck, Chabot's astronomer and assistant program director, takes space travelers on a journey in the "planetscarium" to the Demon Star, a spider-web nebula, and various creepy critters in our skies -- monsters, heroes and goblins residing among the constellations. The show runs Oct. 16 to 31 and is free with general admission.
- Halloween at the Pardee Mansion -- this fourth annual event takes place 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, and features favorites from past years like Cupola Crone, the scariest autopsy room in the Bay Area, costume and screaming contests, flashlight tours of the haunted house, and a live magic show -- Tricks and Treats by Brian Scott -- as well as palm, tarot, and crystal ball readings by Melia. Tickets are $3-$10. Call (510) 444-2187 for reservations or see www.pardeehome.org. your tickets today. The mansion is located at 627 11th St. Costumes and period dress are encouraged, but not required.
- Hillcrest Middle School is hosting a Halloween costume exchange from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at the school yard, 30 Marguerite Drive (off Broadway Terrace). The cost is $10 per family; each child should bring one clean used costume to exchange. For details, call (510) 547-2562.
- Oakland Public Library hosts "Batopia" events with bat conservationist Maggie Hooper and her furry friends at 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, at the Golden Gate Branch Library, 5606 San Pablo Ave.; 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25 at the Piedmont Avenue Branch, 160 41st St.; 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27; at the Melrose Branch, 4805 Foothill Blvd.; and 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28 at the West Oakland Branch, 1801 Adeline St.
Scary stories with the library's Three Witches, recommended for kids 6 and older, will be read at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, at the Golden Gate Branch, 5606 San Pablo Ave.; 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the Dimond Branch, 3565 Fruitvale Ave. -- a 10-year anniversary celebration with special musical guest Bonnie Lockhart and Witches of the Past; and 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at the Melrose Branch, 4805 Foothill Blvd.
Not so scary stories and treats, for kids 3-10, can be enjoyed at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Ave.
A crafts workshop, "Ghastly Ghosts and Mystic Masks" with Robin Goodfellow, is set for 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at the Dimond Branch, 3565 Fruitvale Ave.
- Broadway Terrace's Halloween Haunted House is open through Oct. 31 at 5891 Broadway Terrace. A ghastly, ghoulish array of Halloween items is on display. Also, Halloween kids craft class takes place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24, for children 4-8; the $10 fee includes a pumpkin spider making kit. For details, call (510) 428-0323.
- Bay Area Community Services is serving a special Halloween lunch for seniors from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at several sites in Oakland. The suggested donation is $2.25. For the nearest location and to make a reservation, contact the BACS Senior Nutrition Program at (510) 986-8900. Dining locations can also be viewed online at www.bayareacs.org.
- East Bay Moms presents a stroller walk, Halloween parade and potluck lunch at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Ave. Walk a one-hour loop through Mountain View Cemetery on a paved walkway with some hills. Wear costumes, bring a lunch dish to share and a blanket. See www.eastbaymoms.com or call (510) 653-7867.
- Sequoia Elementary School holds its annual harvest festival 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, on the campus at 3730 Lincoln Ave. There will be a pumpkin-carving contest, and pumpkins will be available for purchase. There will be face painting, a car wash run by the fifth-graders, a bake sale and more. For more information, call (510) 879-1510.
- The Distaff Singers present a benefit concert for music education at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Oakland Mormon Interstake Auditorium, 4770 Lincoln Ave. The group will combine song, dance, costumes and props around this year's Halloween theme: "Things That Go Bump In The Night." Concert proceeds go toward music programs in a variety of East Bay schools. The suggested donation is $10-$12. For more information, visit www.distaffsingers.org or call (510) 652-4096.
- In a twist on traditional city Halloween celebrations, enjoy the "tricks and treats" offered up at night in the redwood forest around a Halloween campfire 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, at Redwood Regional Park on Skyline Boulevard. Stroll with a naturalist by flashlight and night light. Along the way, discover a stunning pumpkin-lit path. Then enjoy Halloween nature stories and songs, and roast marshmallows around a roaring fire. Registrations required; call (510) 636-1684. The cost is $6-$8.
- Celebrate Halloween with artists drawing the human figure by candlelight. Work with low, flickering light to create moody drawings 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31, at California College of the Arts, 5212 Broadway. For more in formation call, (510) 594-3710.
Contra Costa Times
Knight Ridder
(925) 943-8270
www.contracostatimes.com
|
|
|
Related links:
- Bay Area Community Services
- Contra Costa Times
- Distaff Singers
- East Bay Moms'
- Pardee Home Museum
- Splashpad Neighborhood Forum
|
