MRE Halloween carnival rewinds prices to 2000
By Ashley Shah
Miramar Ranch Elementary School (MRE) will host its annual Halloween carnival on Oct. 18.
“This is our 52nd year. It is a long running Scripps Ranch tradition. We are excited for another year,” carnival Chairman Kevin Werner said.
The carnival will feature numerous games and activities for attendees.
“We always have our carnival games, which are fun for kids of all ages,” he said.
Some of the activities have been offered at previous MRE carnivals, but there will be some new activities this year.
“We have some activities that have been around for many years like the pumpkin patch where you get to pick your own pumpkin,” Werner said. “We will also have the ‘Cake of Fortune’ where we have cakes that have been donated and place them on a wheel and assign each one of them a number. If the host calls the number that the cake is on, you get to take it home.”
Other activities include a costume contest for both adults and kids, dancing, a splash tower and more.
“The splash tower is where a volunteer gets splashed with a bucket of water if the player hits a target. Some of the teachers at the elementary school have volunteered to be splashed,” Werner said.
Another activity that is a yearly favorite is the haunted house.
“The fifth graders run our haunted house, and it is a big fundraiser for their end of the year celebration. They will also have preview night for the haunted house, but the date has not been set yet,” Werner said.
One new activity this year is the Puppy Patch.
“The Puppy Patch is like the pumpkin patch. Attendees will be able to go into the patch and play and pet the puppies,” Werner said.
While entry into the carnival is free, the carnival games and activities require tickets. Tickets can be purchased online or in-person.
“This year, as a way to thank the community for always supporting this carnival, we are rewinding ticket prices back to the year 2000. A ticket will be 75 cents – and even cheaper if you pre-order online,” Werner said.
There will be a silent auction that will include items or packages that local companies have donated to the carnival.
“Some of the companies that donated include Soapy Joe’s, the San Diego Zoo, and Farmer’s Insurance (tickets) for the Torrey Pines Open,” Werner said.
Food options at the carnival will be similar to previous years.
“There will be affordable meals, such as cheeseburgers and pizza. The Newbreak Church will be volunteering at our food booth,” Werner said. “There will be a bake sale that will include traditional sweets like cookies and brownies.”
The carnival will take place on the MRE grounds. It will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.
About 1,500 people are expected to attend.
“With the ticket prices being down, we are hopefully expecting more people,” Werner said.
This event takes many months of planning and lots of volunteers.
“There are a lot of moving pieces like rentals and setting up the games. It really takes an army to get this ready to go, but it is one of the biggest events that we have to get the community together and to raise money for the kids. Every dollar goes a long way,” Werner said.
There will be around 100 volunteers this year.
“We have a lot of high school students that come and volunteer. There is a lot of administration and teachers that come by to support and volunteer. The families that are in this area are a huge help. To see all of these different people volunteer their time really adds to the strong community feel of this event,” he said.
For more information, visit www.halloween.miramarranch.org.