by Lorie Lewis Ham
I remember attending the Halloween Carnival in Reedley all the way back when I was a kid–it was a highlight of the season. It is still going strong and now combined with Red Ribbon Week, and I took some time to chat with one of those in charge of the event, Sarah Reid, the Community Services Superintendent in Reedley. One of the Red Ribbon events already took place on October 5-a newspaper sale which is their annual fundraiser. This year’s Red Ribbon theme is “Your Future is the Key; So Stay Drug Free!.” The Halloween Carnival is scheduled for October 27 from 6-8 p.m. at the Reedley Armory Building.
KRL: Who are involved in putting these events together?
Sarah: KCUSD, Reedley PD, Reedley’s Boys and Girls Club, City of Reedley Community Services Dept., PATH Project (Performing Above the High), Reedley’s Elk Lodge 2699 and Eminence.
KRL: How many years has there been a Halloween Carnival?
Past Carnival costume contest-7-9 years old
Sarah: I have been here fifteen years, and it has been offered before my time. I would say 25+ years.
KRL: Has it changed over the years? And if so how?
Sarah: Yes we have gotten better? The amount of support and partners has grown which of course increases our resources. The event is something I feel the community looks forward to and truly supports through contributing to the fundraiser.
Face Painting
KRL: Why do you think this is important for the community?
Sarah: Drug Awareness is so important and bringing attention to the message of “your future is the key, so stay drug free” is a good reminder to kids and parents. BTW this is the Red Ribbon tag line for this year “Your future is the key; So stay drug free!”
KRL: Why Halloween? How did Red Ribbon events and the Carnival become connected?
Sarah: About ten years ago there were two events offered: A Red Ribbon Carnival and Halloween Carnival. It was felt that by combining the two we could join forces and put a fun spin to Red Ribbon. We have found the parents really appreciate the opportunity to wear their Halloween costumes one extra time. There is a costume contest offered at the event which is really popular and has fun competition to it.
KRL: What ages are able to participate?
Sarah: All ages, but the games are really geared towards 2-12 years old. There is a fee for ages 2 and up. But under 1 and adults are free. Everyone receives a meal and can participate in group games, carnival style games, and visit the informational booths.
Ring toss
KRL: What is date, time, place, and cost of carnival?
Sarah: The Carnival is on Friday, October 27, from 6-8 p.m. at the Reedley Armory Building. The cost is $3 for ages two and up.
KRL: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Sarah: There is also a poster contest the Red Ribbon Committee supports. This is done through the Reedley after-school programs. The site with the most participation wins a pizza party. This is also a popular event.
Editor’s note-details on the poster contest and a video contest at the very end of this post.
Watch for more Halloween related articles throughout the month of October, and you can check out the KRL Halloween event page for even more fun Halloween events!
The Red Ribbon Committee would like to invite the Afterschool Programs to participate in a poster contest. The poster contest is for students in grades k-5th.
Incentive to participate: The Afterschool program that submits the most entries will receive a pizza party for your students within K-5th. Since all programs serve a different number of students this will be based on a percentage to students within the grades of K-5th to the number of posters received to make it fair for everyone. In case of a tie, we will do a random draw.
The theme this year is “Your Future is the Key, so Be Drug Free” All posters submitted must be no larger than 11 by 24 inches in size and no smaller than 8 by 10 inches. All posters submitted will be judged so encourage your students to do their best.
Judging will be based on:
a. Closeness to the theme
b. Neatness
c. Originality
d. Correct grammatical structureEach grade K-5th will have a top winner. These students will be recognized. Posters are due to the Reedley Community Center, 100 N. East Ave by 5:00pm on FRIDAY, October 27th to be considered for the pizza party contest. Please put all your posters in one envelop with the School Name, Contact Person’s name, e-mail address and phone number. Very important that each poster has the child’s NAME, GRADE, and SCHOOL on the back of each poster. Without this information, poster will be disqualified and not judged.
New this year is a video contest for grades 6th-8th. Due to this we are not collecting posters for these grades.
Video Contest Rules (6th-8th Grades only)
Video Theme: “Your Future is the Key, so be Drug Free”
New this year the Red Ribbon Committee is offering a video contest for grades 6th-8th. Each Afterschool Program is allowed to submit up to 3 videos (one for each grade). Below are the rules for each entry.
1. The contest is only open to grades 6th-8th.
2. The Afterschool Program may select to do the video as a group or break into grades for upto 3 entries.
3. Videos should be 2-3 minutes in length and submitted on a Flash Drive.
4. Videos should have an anti-abuse message or making the right choice (anti bullying, ect.)
5. Each video must be submitted with the following information:
Name of School
Grade
Contact Person6. Judging will be based on the following:
A. Closeness to the theme
B. Neatness
C. Originality
D. Age and Language Appropriate
E. Postitive Message
F. Quality of the video7. One video will be selected as the winner and the Afterschool Program the video came from will recevie a pizza party for all 6th-8th graders.
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