Submitted by Tom Kupfrian

My earliest recollection of the Halloween Festival is when my daughter won best costume in her age group (she was dressed as a Capri Sun juice box) back in 2000 and I joined her on a float with the other winners of the costume contest. We sat on hay bales on a flatbed truck in the afternoon parade.

However, my fondest memories are from more recent years when I helped build many floats including Andy Anaheim and the Rocket Witch.

The Andy Anaheim build team was honored a few years ago when we autographed the wall mural of the float at the local Applebee’s.

Driving the Candy Box float was another fun experience until the battery went dead towards the end of the route and we had to push it the rest of the way.

I also enjoyed building games for the Fall Festival including the Plinko game and Four in a Row.

The camaraderie and sense of community during the time spent building floats is something I will always cherish.