Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
In lieu of its annual festival, Marquez Charter Elementary School is preparing for the school’s first-ever Halloween Car Parade and Pumpkin Patch drive-through, which will take place on Saturday, October 24.
Each year, the school typically hosts “one of the most festive Halloween events in the Palisades,” Holly Moss-Naim, a Marquez mom of three, wrote. The annual event is open to the community, serving as a local tradition for school kids of all ages to attend.
The school got creative in 2020, finding a way to adhere to regulations in place across California and Los Angeles County, while not entirely canceling Halloween at Marquez.
“I am looking forward to celebrating and creating special memories with Marquez families,” Principal Lauren Park Mulder wrote to the Palisadian-Post. “We weren’t sure what the turn out will be given the COVID situation, but we believe that the community-building event will be encouraging for our students.”
Community members were invited to order a pumpkin ahead of Saturday, with options available for $10 (a medium, basketball-sized pumpkin) or $15 (large, bigger than a basketball).
“Put on your costume, decorate your car and drive through the carpool lane to say trick-or-treat to teachers at the school,” the Marquez website read ahead of the event.
A car parade is slated to take place between 12 and 1 p.m. with pumpkin pickup starting at 1 p.m. in the lower yard or teacher parking lot.
“Decorate your car any way you like and please feel free to wear your costume,” the flyer encourages. “Winners will be picked by the principal and teachers present.”
The pumpkins will be brought in from Moorpark-based Underwood Farms, with all proceeds raised at the patch supporting the Marquez Enrichment Fund.
“The Marquez Enrichment Fund annual direct giving campaign is our biggest and single most important fundraising program,” according to the school’s website. “Each year, we seek 100% participation from Marquez families. From $10 to $10,000, our families and community sponsors contribute through The Fund approximately 70% of the total amount FOM fundraises each year.
“Starting with a Fall Fundraising Challenge, our campaign launches in September and continues through the entire school year.”
The Enrichment Fund is run by Friends of Marquez, a nonprofit organization with parents at the helm that works to “fund supplemental education programs to enrich the curriculum of basic education offered to students at Marquez,” according to the website.
Funded enrichment programs include class reduction size, instructional aides, digital edge tech, media lounge, physical education, science, music and an edible garden.
Those who attend the Pumpkin Patch and Car Parade are asked to remain in their cars at all times and to wear a mask. Cones placed will keep cars six feet from the curb.
Pumpkins will be placed in the rear trunk or hatch of the car to maintain social distancing measures.
“We want the community to know that we are very proud of our students who have displayed resilience and are productively learning during these times,” Park Mulder concluded.
For more information, visit friendsofmarquez.org.
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