Heroes, villains gather during Halloween carnival

Elizabeth and Robbie Perry came to the party dressed up as members of the living dead during last week's Super Safe Halloween Carnival at Hacker Middle School.

Hundreds of superheroes, sinister villains and the living dead gathered at Hacker Middle School for an evening of fun and candy during this year's Safe Halloween Carnival last Wednesday.

Costumed characters young and old were already making their way to the middle school well before the doors were due to open to the public at 6 p.m.

About 700 people took part in this year's festivities, which exceeded last year's attendance numbers according to representatives from the city's parks and recreation department, which sponsor the annual carnival.

Bailey Rogers took the adage "what's for dinner" to the extreme with his costume design. "It's a new recipe," said his mother, Katy Rogers.

Torrie Shaw was one of several parents who were already at the school well before the doors opened that evening. The family arrived early since a couple of her children were due to perform as part of this year's festivities.

"Beating the rush is always nice along with getting a good parking space," Shaw admitted.

The parks department started hosting the festival 35 years ago as a way to promote fun and safety, according to parks and recreation spokesperson Crystal Anderson. It helped alleviate concerns with young children going door to door for Halloween treats at night with so many cars traveling on city streets at the same time.

In addition, the indoor event ensures people can enjoy the Halloween holiday without dealing with Idaho's often-unpredictable fall weather, Anderson said.

"It's a safe place for children to go trick or treating," added Pam Jackson, one of the many adults who brought their children and grandchildren to last week's event.

Unlike traditional Halloween candy gathering methods of going door to door, the carnival used an assortment of games to hand out the sweets.

At one booth set up in the middle school cafeteria, Ashtyn Fletcher took her turn to toss ping pong balls into one of three pumpkins as she vied for a fistful of candy. Meanwhile, others like Jaden McDonald tried their hand at playing shuffleboard to compete for their share of the treats dished out at the festival.

Over the course of two hours, volunteers gave away hundreds of pounds of assorted sweets donated by local businesses and parents.

Fantasy creations that walked through the door during the evening included a host of characters based on children's fairy tales, classic television shows and current action movies.

Eric Abrego and his wife, Toni, continued a family tradition by selecting a theme for their costumes. This year, the couple and their children attended the party dressed up as members of the Adams Family from the classic television series.

"I kinda wanted to do this one for a while," said Toni Abrego, who came dressed as Morticia Adams.

It took the family about a month to put the costumes together.

"The kids really get into it, and everyone has a lot of fun doing it," Eric Abrego said.

Others like Elizabeth, Robbie and William Perry came to the party dressed up as members of the living dead. The zombie theme remained a fairly popular choice for many people attending the Halloween celebration.

"We came here to have fun," said Elizabeth Perry, whose family made their first appearance at the parks and recreation event last week.

"Well, actually, we came here for the 'zombie apocalypse,' " the youngster said in jest as she saw the other zombie characters in the school cafeteria.

Bailey Rogers took a more unorthodox approach on his costume. He took the adage "what's for dinner" to the extreme with his design. With his head popped up through a hole in a makeshift table, it appeared that he was the main entree as he rested his chin on a silver platter surrounded by fresh vegetables.

"It's a new recipe," joked Katy Rogers, his mother.

Nearby, Bertonia McFadden was getting into character. Wearing a hodgepodge of mishmashed clothing with her hair deliberately disheveled and a crazed look in her eyes, she sat on the floor in the school gymnasium holding a tattered cardboard sign that read, "I work for candy."

She based the costume off an idea from her aunt. The youngster took the concept a step further by putting leaves in her hair.

"I like scaring my friends, and this costume makes me look a little crazy," McFadden said.

Meanwhile, Jenya Linger created an entire backstory for her own creation. Dressed up as a character named Daniel Gogorichi, she created the fictional assassin based on characters from popular Japanese animated films and shows.

While some children continued to fill their buckets with sugary treats, others gathered in the school's main gymnasium for a shot at winning an assortment of prizes for the costume contest.

To make judging fair, parks and recreation included a total of 14 categories that allowed competitors to vie within their respective age groups with the winners walking away with a basket of treats and prizes.

One of those categories allowed entire families to go toe-to-toe for a share of the winnings.