1,000 attend Halloween Carnival, Trunk or Treat

BY Dawn Rankins

The Canyon Lake Family Matters Club held its 7th annual Halloween Carnival, Trunk or Treat and Movie Night at Holiday Harbor Saturday and the turnout was a huge success with well over 1,000 guests in attendance, according to club members.

The club sold 331 wristbands which, according to club founder Shawna Bowen, was double what it sold in the past.

The Family Matters Club’s Jeannie Hooniran said they ran out of wristbands and had to run to go grab more at the storage facility. In the meantime, she said they simply stamped kids’ hands so they could immediately participate.

The hundreds of kids that came out with their parents and or grandparents were excited to be there and enjoyed the festivities, Shawna said.

The carnival included many events where the wristbands were required. The carnival included game booths and crafts. The games included Old Fashioned apple bobbing, a pretzel eating contest and a costume contest and parade.

The Trunk or Treat took place afterward where community members dressed up the trunks of their vehicles and passed out candy to the costumed kids. The movie, Hocus Pocus, was the final event of the day and although most stayed to watch it, the effects of the long day, Shawna said, understandably resulted in many leaving before its conclusion. Because of the large number of attendees, the vendors did particularly well. One vendor said she was pleased and had record sales at this year’s event and is looking forward to next year.

“We would like to give an extra special thanks to all those who put such an amazing effort into their Trunk or Treat displays,” Shawna said. “We are grateful to all the volunteers, because without them, this event would not be possible.”

Business sponsors for the event were Queen of Fun Travel, The Super Zingg’s, J&K Catering and Inspired Hippie Designs.

Money raised from the carnival will go towards upcoming events. The Family Matters Club’s next event is its Turkey Hand Drawing Contest. Later, it will prepare for the Winter Carnival, Santa Letter Program and Breakfast with Santa.