20 Years of Fun and Fright in the Washington Neighborhood
The Washington United Youth Center will be hosting the 20th Annual Washington Community Haunted House & Festival on Saturday October 26th from 6:00-8:00pm. The event will feature food, music, carnival games, face painting, pumpkin patch, arts & crafts and a haunted maze. Children are encouraged to wear their costumes. Proceeds will go to support programs at Washington United Youth Center and local community groups. Volunteers are needed to help set up and run the "scare booths" inside the haunted maze as well as help with the food and game booths throughout the festival. Please contact Mark Lopez at (408) 938-6739 or e-mail:
[email protected] if you are interested in helping out.
The event has become a neighborhood tradition, first taking place in 1993 at adjacent Washington Elementary School, followng an unfortunate drive-by shooting the previous month. In response to this incident, a local shopkeeper, neighborhood leaders and the school principal came together and created the event to demonstrate the strong will of the community to combat crime. In 2004, the event moved into the Washington United Youth Center and continues to involve youth and volunteers to creating it every year.