The Soboba Parks & Recreation Department got a jumpstart on spooky celebrations this year by hosting its annual Halloween Carnival on Oct. 24 at the Soboba Sports Complex. Guests of all ages got to don their costumes and go trick-or-treating around booths that were set up by various Soboba departments and local families.
The Soboba Foundation, Tribal Council, and Tribal Administration set up their combined booths with a Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) focus. Administrative Assistant III Bernadette Jones and Executive Administrative Assistant Jasmine Robinson started early in the afternoon to make sure all the papel picado, delicate cut-paper banners that represent the element of wind and movement, bordered the entire display. They also created a photo backdrop that had an arch of orange balloons to represent the cempasúchil (marigolds), bright flowers whose vibrant color and scent guide spirits to the altar. Visitors to the booth were treated to full size candy bars and stickers that reflected the theme.
Myra Hernandez and her son Rigel Hernandez, 12, offered a fun ring toss game at the Soboba Gaming Commission booth. Soboba Rx set up a Halloween cornhole game and Liselle Gunnels and Patty Paran volunteered their time to oversee the game. Soboba Tribal Family Services recreated a scene from the Wizard of Oz with photo cutouts of major characters and a “yellow brick road” leading inside to the “Wicked Witch Ring Toss” and lots of candy. Desiree and Lily Salazar guaranteed everyone was a winner.
Team members Darlene Adkins and Ashley Palmer from Tribal Administration’s Accounting Department were met with a constant stream of kids and adults at their huge inflated evil clown that contained a shooting gallery style game inside.
Minions descended on the booths set up by the Tribal Historic Preservation Office and they received a second-place prize in the Booth Decorating Contest. Seizing every opportunity to stress the importance of clean air and water, the Soboba Tribal Environmental Department showcased skeletons of various animals with a warning sign not to drink polluted water. Members from the Culture department offered a fun cornhole game.
The McKay family’s spooky, popular attraction earned them the first-place prize in the Booth Decorating Contest. Third place went to the Soboba Tribal Preschool for their Shrek booth which included a ring toss game.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office set up a mini haunted house which many of the younger children shied away from. Other booths, offering treats and trinkets, included Soboba Tribal TANF and Riverside County Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez’s office. The Devore family offered an old-fashioned goldfish bowl toss with many excited winners going home with a living prize. The Nevarez family and Glitter Balloon Bar collaborated on a popular ball tossing game that drew a steady line of players.
Other stops also provided fun carnival-style games of skill, where winners were rewarded with candy. Some of the youngest participants earned candy just for trying.
One of the sports complex’s baseball fields was filled with inflatable jumpers, games, and more. Nearby, an enclosed area was filled with pumpkins of all sizes, allowing each registered guest to take home their pick of the patch. The Department of Public Safety set up a dunk tank with brave officers taking turns under the bucket of water. They also hosted a haunted maze where screams and chainsaw buzzing could consistently be heard.
For the first half of the three-hour event, dinner was offered at the gymnasium, near the registration booth. Ample amounts of pasta with a choice of sauces and proteins were served, along with garlic bread sticks.
Everyone was looking forward to the costume contest where participants were judged to be the cutest, scariest, or most creative. Divided into age groups, there was plenty of competition for families who were hoping to win multiple prizes. Large plastic cauldrons filled with all kinds of treats, toys and other goodies also came with a cash prize, thanks to the generosity of Soboba Tribal Council.
With the help of upbeat, themed tunes from DJ Mike Nevarez, contestants slowly walked in a circle around the judges. Each judge was given the task of choosing from a particular category. First time judges Chanupa Basquez with the Department of Public Safety and Donovan Romero with Tribal Family Services took their roles seriously as they watched the parade of characters.
Officer Shott, who was judging for the second time, was tasked with voting for the cutest in the 0-4 age group. “This is definitely the hardest category,” she said. The winner was 10-month-old Ushla Guacheno dressed as an adorable scarecrow. Most creative was 10-month-old Kauush Arres as a ladybug seated inside a wagon full of flowers and scariest was Enrique Medina as “Chucky.”
In the 5-7 age group, Penelope Medina was cutest in her Pennywise clown outfit, complete with the signature red balloon. Most creative was Kavikvish Medina as Huggy Wuggy from the Poppy Playtime horror video game.
There were many competitors in the 8–12-year-old category. Zaya Essapour took the scariest and Izick Zelaya was most creative for his original “pyramid head” costume. Chenal Zelaya, 15, scored the scariest costume for those 13-17 and Payat Arviso, 13, was most creative for his “killer mime” outfit.
The 18-plus adult category brought out costumes that showed horror, humor, and everything in between. John McKay was deemed the scariest as a monstrous football player while the cutest was wearing a Michael Jackson outfit carrying a baby in monkey costume, á la “Bubbles.” The most creative award went to “The Flintstones” with Tekla Diaz as Wilma, Oscar Fuentes as Fred and one-year-old Sage as Pebbles.
“We’re having a fantastic time; we’ve visited every booth,” Fuentes said.
