The City of Cupertino hosted its annual Monster Mash at the Quinlan Community Center to celebrate Halloween on Saturday, Oct. 25. The event featured a variety of mini-games that participants could play to earn prizes, along with trick-or-treating, which began an hour after the event started at 5 p.m. As the evening came to a close, the celebration wrapped up with a lively night parade that showcased the children’s costumes, which ranged from iconic Disney and Pokemon characters to many other creative costumes.
Among many organizers contributing to the event were student volunteers associated with Cupertino who helped the activities run smoothly throughout the night. Volunteers were assigned to each activity and to booths throughout the trick or treating area, interacting with participants and handing out candy. Homestead High School freshman Thanmayi Haridass Prasad helped run one of the craft stations, assisting children as they crafted Halloween-themed decorations. Prasad expressed that her enjoyment at the event came from seeing the children’s costumes and their participation in the activities.
“Seeing the kids’ reactions, and then watching them craft things and decorate pumpkins was super fun,” Prasad said. “I also saw this little kid in a really cute pumpkin costume, and I thought that was really cute.”
While the volunteers helped keep the event running, the city staff handled the planning and coordination. Intern Nataly Garcia, who stepped in for Officer Assistant Mariah Greene, helped organize Monster Mash this year. Alongside her team, Garcia assisted with early preparations for the event’s crafts and games before Greene went on maternity leave. Garcia was pleased to see how the event’s organization came together successfully.
“We were thinking of ideas and planning everything out,” Garcia said. “But once you actually put it together and have everything in person, and seeing every child come in super happy, their faces just kind of glow up when they see the trick or treating and all our inflatables. My favorite part of the event is a little bit of everything.”
