Pumpkin Palooza 2018: A Re-Cap

On October 27, 2018 over 100 high school volunteers and approximately 600 community members and creatively costumed children gathered at Lakewood High School for this year’s annual Pumpkin Palooza, and it was nothing less than a sensational success.

The “Haunted Hallway” attraction proved to be one of the most popular of the already well loved event—a group of high school volunteers elaborately decorated one of our E-Wing hallways and dressed up in spooky costumes to create a scary-but-not-too-scary walk-through experience that thrilled many young guests in attendance. In addition to this, a plethora of other attractions were available to guests as well, including a pumpkin carver cranking out oodles of fascinating pumpkin carvings, an entire gymnasium full of games, concessions, a storyteller from Lakewood Public Library, face painter, a costume parade, and a large scale raffle of painted pumpkins with illustrations ranging from an alien to a glitter enveloped French flag. Not to mention that this was our first event to take place in the high school since the new building opened at the beginning of this year.  

At the end of the day, though, the purpose of this event was not simply to provide a quality Halloween party-esque experience for our local kids, but to raise money for hunger relief in Lakewood. And we knocked that goal out of the park. This year Help To Others raised a total of $3,875 from the event to donate to this cause with proceeds going to the Lakewood Charitable Assistance Corporation and the Lakewood Community Services Center.

Of course, many thanks are in order as we could not do this event without the contributions of so many volunteers, local businesses, and Lakewood High School clubs/organizations. Along with the significant number of Help To Others volunteers who were fundamental in preparing for the event, making decorations and signs, recruiting, moving equipment, running games, and cleaning up, many volunteers from our high school clubs and organizations participated by running their own games and donating those delightfully painted pumpkins for the raffle. These organizations include French Club, German Club, the Early Childhood Education Program, Facing History and Ourselves, the National Honor Society, Barnstormers Drama Club, the Electrical Engineering Program, the Medical Office Management Program, the Business Management Program, multiple Lakewood High culinary classes, the Media Art and Design Program, the Ranger Hub, and the Lakewood Ranger Football team.

Endless thanks are also in order for the local businesses and organizations who generously sponsored the event including major sponsors Greg DeVor D.D.S., Lion and Blue, Kelly Payne (Realtor), the Lakewood Rangers Education Foundation, Paisley Monkey, and Erie DeSign. Other sponsors include Lakewood Firestone Tire Pros., Lakewood High School PTA, Dr. Allison Norris Chiropractic, Harter Dentistry, West End Pediatrics, Dimassa and Wenger Orthodontics, Garfield Middle School PTSA, the Campbell-Gordillo Family, and Roman Fountain.

To put it this way, my previous paragraph on the epic success of this event would not exist without all the time, energy, creativity, and funds provided by all of these people, so thank you again, and here’s to another wildly wonderful Pumpkin Palooza!

Elizabeth Halko is a senior at Lakewood High School--she is very active in local politics, co-president of the LHS Model UN team, and is involved in Help To Others as a volunteer, a new member of the executive committee, and a middle school leader. She has also worked for State Representative Nickie Antonio as an intern, and intends to attend college with a Major in Political Science and Public Policy.