The Soboba Parks and Recreation’s Halloween Carnival attracted some of the cutest and the scariest costumed visitors to the Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 18. The three-hour “Ghostbusters” themed event was enjoyed by families who participated in games set up at booths around the perimeter of the grassy activity area. They were also treated to a delicious dinner of barbecued chicken, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, salad and rolls, all prepared by Tribal Chef Anita Morillo and staff.
DJ Mike Nevarez kept the energy moving with a holiday themed playlist as well as some classic R&B tunes. A large tent was set up nearby that was transformed into a Haunted House for those who dared to enter. The design and construction were a collaborative effort between Soboba Youth Council and the Department of Public Safety. Youth Council President Raya Salgado stayed busy handing out candy as people exited the tent. Children under 12 had to be accompanied by an adult but even so, several were scared enough to run out before completing the entire maze that was set up inside. Marion Chacon and her granddaughter Hope Chacon said the Haunted House was definitely spooky and the person with the chainsaw was especially scary.
“We did a totally different layout this year,” Raya said, adding that the youth council also hosted the horseshoe tournament.
Many Soboba departments hosted booths that offered fun games and lots of treats for successful completion of ring tosses, cornhole, and many other carnival favorites. The Soboba Foundation highlighted the Ghostbusters theme by offering containers of slime for kids to take home, along with their choice of full-size candy bars.
The Noli Indian School Beading Club members and their advisor Tashina Ornelas set up a “Spookley the Square Pumpkin” booth. They also donated quite a few exquisite items to be included in the raffle prizes that DJ Mike was announcing throughout the evening.
The Nevarez family’s game booth was set up next to the DJ station and earned second place in the Booth Decorating Contest. Third place went to Tribal Family Services for their booth that offered a Mardi Gras theme. Each player of the “Catch a Gator” game received a necklace with the gold-, green- and purple-colored beads that are associated with Mardi Gras.
The Soboba Tribal Preschool’s booth took home the first-place win again this year. Always looking to highlight what young children like, they all dressed as characters from the popular “Toy Story” film series. Their booth was decorated with pictures the students had colored, and the teachers helped the youngest visitors with the cornhole game they offered.
The Cultural Department let players try to toss (plastic) body parts into buckets that were scattered throughout a “graveyard.” Staff also offered candy bars and tote bags to carry all the goodies they collected throughout the night.
Su’la Arviso, the reigning Daughter of Soboba, helped out at the $ovóova Po’$wáamay booth, while committee members also pitched in to hand out candy to those who played the games.
Other booths were hosted by the Soboba Tribal Environmental Department, Soboba Fire, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Soboba Team, the McKay Family, the Soboba Tribal Gaming Commission, Soboba Tribal TANF, and Soboba Rx.
The costume contest is an annual favorite and this year it did not disappoint. Three prizes were awarded in each age group category: cutest, scariest, and most creative. Judges had a hard time selecting the best since there were so many great costumes in the parade of entrants that circled around them for several minutes.
Winners in the 0-4 age group were Laylah Robledo, 4, for scariest as she portrayed Michael Myers from the Halloween film series; 11-month-old Apolaki “Lucky” Pabellano for cutest, as a new pumpkin in the patch; and Remy Arrietta, 1, who was covered in pink balloons to represent the bubbles in the gum that was attached to the shoe cutout worn by her sister Emily, was deemed most creative.
The 5-7 age group included Avareign Lindsey, 7, as cutest and Bruce Valdez, 6, as most creative. One of the largest groups turned out to be those aged 8-12. The cutest honors went to Kalila Escalante, 10, as a big bunny and Gilbert Bantancourt, 12, for being the scariest as a green clown. Zaya Essapour, 11, had the most creative costume that depicted his insides pouring out.
“I wanted some really bloody, gory stuff but I wanted to create it myself,” Zaya said. Using pool noodles he painted red to resemble intestines, he glued them to an old shirt and then used more red paint to resemble “gushing guts.”
The most creative among 13–17-year-olds was Trista Cervantes, 15. She wanted to come up with a more adult version of the bogeyman, a mythical creature typically used to frighten children into good behavior, and she succeeded.
John McKay was deemed the most creative for adults, 18 and older, for his authentic looking scarecrow. The cutest was Christina Torres as Glinda the good witch. “I love Wicked,” she said. The scariest title went to Anthony Vallez, who really got into the spirit of the evening with his skeletal costume.
For youngsters who had enough of the dark, one of the baseball fields was well lit and sprinkled with several bounce houses and inflatable slides to play on.
A pumpkin carving contest resulted in Hughnee Briones winning second place for a recreation of a witches’ cauldron and D’ios Basquez took home the top prize for his scary monster pumpkin. Every guest was invited to choose a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch that was set up near the Haunted House. This gives them all time to carve them up for their own Halloween celebrations on Oct. 31.
Photos courtesy of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
