Ghouls and goblins, princesses and super heroes crowded onto the avenue for a “monster event.”

By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

Honolulu Avenue was the place for characters of all types on Halloween night when the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. hosted its annual Spooktacular event. Ghosts, zombies and creatures that were, well, difficult to define populated the 2200-2400 blocks of the avenue in search of sweet treats.

According to Spooktacular coordinator Linda McMenamin, the event was hugely popular.

“[This year was] probably the largest crowd we’ve had since we began Spooktacular in 2005,” said McMenamin. “We estimate about 25,000 people came through Spooktacular this year.”

Despite the obvious sugar rush that many trick-or-treaters experienced, most were well behaved, McMenamin added, crediting the onsite support of the Glendale Police Dept.

Costumed children – and some costumed parents as well – had the chance to visit the MSPA stores to collect candy, visit booths scattered along the avenue or play on inflatables brought in for the event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For observers, seeing the creativity of the community come into play was especially entertaining.

“There were so many wonderful, funny, inventive and some downright scary costumes this year,” McMenamin said. “We had everything from fairy princess to superheroes to washing machines full of laundry! As always, our four-legged companions were out in full force and we had some fantastic dog costumes.”

Many regulars from the Sunday Harvest Market and other MSP events were in attendance as well and this year live music was provided.

Organizing an event of this size can be daunting, and McMenamin – who coordinates the event logistics including permits, street closure, rentals, music, vendors and anything else that needs to be done – credits a “fantastic” team for its success. These include Ambassador Steve Pierce, Mike Baldwin of the the American Legion and VFW who volunteered his services, J’s Maintenance, which she said did an “amazing” job of making Spooktacular disappear from the streets of Montrose, and Dale Dawson who coordinates the ordering of candy for MSP merchants to distribute.

“Spooktacular is a monster event in terms of scope, logistics, and the sheer number of people who attend, but it’s one of my favorite events to coordinate for MSPA,” McMenamin said. “There’s such a great sense of community and goodwill on the streets during Spooktacular. It’s pretty amazing to have an entire town open its doors to tens of thousands of people in the spirit of celebration. No matter if you were raised locally or in another city or state, Montrose feels like everyone’s hometown on nights like Spooktacular.”
To see more Spooktacular photos, visit www.cvweekly.com/NEWS.

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  Dan GOLDSWORTHY, robin goldsworthy