A Ghoulishly Good Time

Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) held their annual Halloween Festival at the Topanga Community Center on Saturday, October 25, for the first time since 2019. The organizers scaled back and limited ticket sales to ensure a safe and successful celebration. “It’s wonderful to see a tradition return to TECS. This is a great community builder for the school! Thank you to the parent volunteers, donors, and sponsors,� said Kevin Kassebaum, Topanga Elementary Principal. Local favorite, Kummerspeck, provided the rock and roll, Kristy Beauvais of FOCUSfish hosted the costume and dance contest, and Oasis Arts provided a stilt walker, a hoop artist, and an LED poi spinner. Party-goers wandered through a haunted labyrinth built by fitth grade parents and students, complete with a skeletons, gravestones, and special effects. “I really liked this experience because it was fun to see a bunch of my friends in costume after such a long year of quarantine. My favorite part was the haunted house," remarked fourth grader Zach Bertolli. “The costumes were more fun than scary. I didn’t want to go to the haunted house but glad I did because although it was scary it was really hilarious! It was also such fun to dance at the end!� exclaimed Maya Peterson (second grade). Maya was not alone; the dance floor brought out kids and parents alike, because ghouls just want to have fun. The Tropic Truck and Angeleno’s Pizza Truck provided devilishly good food to the crowd, and parent volunteers had a great time running the fang-tastic bar and bake sale. Donut be scared, there were lots of boo-tiful treats to be had. Third grader Vianna Crabtree commented, “I had the spookiest night with family and friends celebrating the scariest night of the year. I really liked being able to hang out with my family while eating delicious eyeball cookies!� “We were blown away by the generous support from the community,� said festival co-organizer, S. Miria Jo, “Especially the TCC and our ‘Great Pumpkin’ Sponsors: Stefanie Becker, Shawn SOL Pereira, Chryssa Lightheart, and Tanya Starcevich, and of course our top sponsor, family law attorneys, Walzer Melcher.� Additional sponsors and donors included Nate Daneshgar of Pine Tree Circle, Humane Pest Control, Liquid Death Mountain Water, Flying Embers Hard Kombucha, The Atrium, Canyon Gourmet, Cup and Cone, FOCUSfish, Garber and Company, Grocery Outlet Bargain Market of Canoga Park, Luna Optometry, Modern Times, Sexy Hair, Val Surf, WellAcre Wealth Management, and Whittenburg Immigration Law. The students and parents of TECS thank Miria and co-organizers Bridget Cook and Molly Drobnick for a spook-tacular time! And, too, all the parents who gave their time and effort to make the event happen: fangs for the great memories! Funds raised from this fa-boo-lous event support the TECS booster club, Topanga Enrichment Programs (TEP), which provides for arts enrichment at Topanga Elementary. Whether you are a parent at TECS, or a community member who believes in the importance of public education, TEP has many ways for you to support our school throughout the school year. Contact: TepBoard@topangaelementary.org