Share: mail

It’s Halloween night and the screams can be heard some distance away. But at Victory Park on Saturday they were screams of joy, not terror filled screeches.

As families and dogs dressed-up in costumes walk to the park, the enticing smell of burgers and kettle corn wafted across the warm fall breeze.

Locals came out in large crowds on Halloween to the park for the Heroes and Villains themed festivities that included food trucks, professional photos and a live band as well as other fun-filled activities for the family. The park even allowed patrons to bring their beloved canines along for some fun.

Although admission was free, there was a charge for rides, games, and face-painting. Rides included a trackless train that circled the park, a pony and free zones for kids with arts and crafts. There was also a live band and food trucks such as The Lobos Truck and Pie N’ Burger.

As the band belted out Prince’s “1999,” kids danced with their parents and people and dogs relaxed and enjoyed watching all the revelry. The Pasadena Humane Society had a small agility course to keep the pets busy and a few dogs available for adoption were there to meet potential new families.

“We are handing out treats, showing people the agility-course and introducing them to the classes the Pasadena Humane Society offers,” said volunteer, Mary Ann Ortolano. She had Charlie, a five-year-old shih tzu, with her that was available for adoption. A new family was possibly in the works.

“We have so much to offer in addition to spay and neuter services,” said Ortolano. She talked about the senior for senior adoptions and free adoptions for veterans. They started the veteran program last year for Veteran’s Day, offering low-cost vaccines and free adoptions. “It was a huge success,” said Ortolano “so now we offer it all year.”

Natalie Vasquez, a local Pasadena resident dressed as Pocahontas, was on her way to the food truck with her sister’s pug, Bijou.

“It’s our first time here, we usually go to Sierra Madre,” said Vasquez.  Vasquez received an email from her children’s school and it sounded like fun. Plus, they can bring the dog.

Vasquez’s son liked all the games and her daughter liked the pony ride. Vasquez’s sister brought her daughter for her first Halloween outing. Vasquez said she was excited about the food trucks and Bijou was going to see about a potential new canine sibling at the Humane Society’s area.

Later in the evening was a Halloween costume contest. In the meantime, a photographer had a long line of costumed kids and pets to photograph to memorialize the holiday fun. The line was almost as long as the lines for the giant air slide.

The Duarte family was there for their second year in a row. This year their son Henry was an astronaut. “The first time I was six, now I’m seven,” said Henry. He was excited to get his tickets and go try out the bouncing slide. “We did a thing on astronauts out of a book, that’s why I’m an astronaut,” said Henry.

As the Duarte family made their way over to the games, the locals were still coming in by the droves as kids and dogs ran excitedly around the park. The night’s fun was set to go until 8:30 p.m. and the kids and dogs all dressed-up showed no signs of tiring out before the festival ended.

Follow: rssyoutubeinstagrammail

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.