A golden year for annual Halloween Carnival
By Ashley Shah
The annual Miramar Ranch Elementary School (MRE) Halloween Carnival will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the school grounds.
The theme of this year’s carnival will be “Going Gold.”
“We wanted to make this year’s carnival more exciting by including surprise elements related to the theme,” carnival chair Kevin Werner said. “So, for our theme, we will have things like ‘golden hour’ where you can get double the prizes, or every time a gold bell rings, there will be cheaper food or something to that effect.”
The carnival will include around 25 games.
“We will have games that we have had in the past like the toilet toss and milk the cow. But, we are hoping to bring in some new bottle flipping games,” Werner said.
In addition to the games, there will be a silent auction.
“The silent auction is something that we wanted to change by having a wider and more diverse list of items. We have tickets to the Old Globe, SeaWorld, the Birch Aquarium, In-N-Out gift baskets and much more,” Werner said.
Similar to years past, the Miramar Ranch Elementary School fifth graders will be hosting two haunted houses as a way to raise money for their end of the year celebration and class gift.
“The fifth grade classes put on a ‘less scary’ haunted house for younger students, and a ‘scary’ haunted house for those who are older,” Werner said.
Other activities at the carnival include dance parties, costume contests, the pumpkin patch, the bake sale and more.
There are several options for lunch at the carnival.
“We always have an affordable lunch option hosted by Newbreak Church. There will be a taco truck and a lemonade stand. This year, we will have a new soda vendor,” Werner said.
Tickets for the carnival games and haunted house will be less than one dollar.
“The more tickets you buy, the less each ticket will be,” Werner said.
The Miramar Ranch Elementary School Halloween Carnival takes months of planning, many volunteers and 10 committee members to bring about a successful event.
“We start planning in mid-August. We have 10 committee members who are in charge of different aspects of the carnival, such as volunteers, sponsors, tickets, games, etc.,” Werner said.
There are around 150 volunteers each year.
“Our volunteers mainly consist of parents, the Boys and Girl Scouts, high schoolers from Scripps Ranch High School, and the Kiwanis Club,” Werner said.
As the chair of the carnival, Werner spends more than 100 hours to plan and coordinate the event.
“Every minute that we put into this event is worth it. I love seeing everything come together. This event is really about the community coming together to support our kids,” he said.
The MRE carnival generates about $25,000 in revenue for school events and projects each time.
“All the money we raise goes right back to the school. The money helps to support programs like music. The proceeds allow us to bring in speakers and events for our students,” Werner said.
The entire community is invited to the annual Miramar Ranch Elementary School Halloween Carnival on Oct. 24. Entrance is free. Tickets for games and activities will be available for purchase at a booth near the entrance.
For more information on the carnival, how to volunteer, or to buy tickets, visit www.halloween.miramarranch.org.
