Tyler Evains
Assistant Arts Editor
From a spooky carriage in front of the smoke shop to a worker dressed in a frozen yogurt costume handing out Sour Punch Straws, La Verne’s Halloween spirit caused a stir in the usually quiet town.
In the midst of it – causing the most excitement – LVTV aired its annual Halloween Spooktacular from 3 p.m to 5 p.m. in Mainiero Square.
For it, kids lined up outside of the set and then rang the doorbell to get into hosts’ and senior broadcast journalism majors Sommer Garcia and Humberto Fabian’s Halloween house.
“How did I do?” asked one little girl dressed as Cinderella after coming off of the set.
Her friends responded with hysterical giggles as they were all excited to be on TV.
Between guest interviews, Garcia and Fabian told jokes, shared funny lists – such as the top nine houses to avoid on Halloween, which included houses made of food and those with entrances that lead straight to the basement.
“My favorite part was seeing all the costumes and just being in La Verne with all the Halloween spirit,” Garcia said.
Garcia was a floor manager for last year’s Spooktacular, which inspired her come back this year as co-host.
Children’s costumes included Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Rapunzel and a piece of sushi.
Some parents dressed up with their kids. Care Bears giraffe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more.
Garcia was dressed as a sailor and Fabian, as a magician transformed Garcia into a mermaid toward the end of the show.
Manager of Broadcast Operations Shane Rodrigues and the LVTV crew also showed Halloween spirit in Navy SEAL, scarecrow, pirate, Minnie Mouse, referee and prisoner costumes.
Nearby shops and restaurants such as Chase’s, Granny’s Yogurt and the Wine Shop passed out candy to trick-or-treaters.
The city hosted a coloring contest where winners from various age groups could win prizes.
“The community is strengthened by the things we do like this, where we provide a safe event for kids where they can get safe candy,” said La Verne Mayor Pro Tem Charlie Rosales, who along with Mayor Don Kendrick also appeared on the LVTV special.
The show aired Halloween night on LVTV channel 3 in La Verne.
Tyler Evains can be reached at tyler.evains@laverne.edu.
