Softball players, Monsters Inc. characters and vampires all showed up Saturday to celebrate Halloween, family style, at a carnival hosted by the city of Tempe.
Tempe Special Event Coordinator Jonni Wolfe said the Kiwanis Park event was designed to provide a safe environment for children to celebrate the holiday and be a safer alternative to trick-or-treating.
Phoenix resident Rebecca Strong, 23, said she brought her entire family to the carnival because the community setting was safer than taking kids trick-or-treating.
“There’s the comfort of knowing there are a lot of other parents there, kind of watching out for everyone,” Strong said.
Krisha Shufan, from Spinning Heartz Disc Jockey service, entertained kids at the event and said the street leading up to the park was closed to eliminate any potentially hazardous traffic, and police officers also patrolled the event.
“It’s safe, it’s contained. You don’t have to worry about the little ones around cars,” Shufan said.
Cheryl Hartzler, better known as “Footz” the clown, led kids in the cha-cha slide and the chicken dance.
“Halloween is all about kids,” she said. “It’s their time to be in the spotlight.”
The event had a number of booths and games including free face painting for children.
Wolfe said 26 nonprofit organizations participated in the event by hosting game and food booths in order to raise money.
“It’s a safe alternative to trick-or-treating, but moreover, it’s supporting the local nonprofits,” she said.
All money raised from game tickets and food sales will go back to community organizations, she said.
The event had several costume contests including one for the best family ensemble costume.
The Mapes family of Mesa, who won the contest by dressing up as the characters from the Pixar movie “UP,” said they attended the event because they wanted to celebrate Halloween as a family.
“We don’t eat candy, but we like to dress up,” Kiann Mapes said. “We were looking for a family event. This was one of the only [Halloween celebrations] that wasn’t in a bar.”
The event also provided an opportunity to work on their costumes as a family, she said.
“My daughter and husband both saw the movie and thought we should be that for Halloween,” Mapes said. “It became a fun project we worked on together. We made some of it, went to Goodwill, and even borrowed a piece from a friend.”
Hartzler, who helped judge the costume contest, said she was impressed by the costume ideas families coordinated.
“The creativity of the parents is just incredible,” she said.
Reach the reporter at michelle.parks@asu.edu.
