By Fiona Deutsch
I arrived at Mira Loma’s Fall Festival to the sound of music playing and students busily working to set up for the evening: People were getting into costume, a girl was applying creepy makeup to an actress, another actor was walking around in a Pennywise costume, and another was donning a Demogorgon costume. Out in the quad, students were setting up activities like pumpkin bowling and a ball toss game, which I ended up playing later. I helped to set up the food stand for my class from which we were selling fall drinks like hot cocoa and apple cider. I also was briefly in the haunted house, where people were busily hanging drapes and attaching decorations to the walls. Loud music, a mixture of old favorites and today’s hits, was playing in the quad as people started arriving, setting a lively, enjoyable mood for the night.
In other stands, students sold a variety of baked goods and sweet treats, including miniature pies of every flavor, donuts and sugar cookies. A food truck was selling Hawaiian barbeque that, in my opinion, was priced a little high for a high school event, but it turned out to be quite tasty.
The “Stranger Things” themed haunted house, created by Student Government, gathered a long line of students reaching all the way down the breezeway to the B and C buildings. I went into a haunted house with a friend and a group of freshmen girls. Once inside, we were led by a couple of lab workers who calmly began the tour. Almost immediately, one was taken out by a Demogorgon, and the other urged us to run. We were guided through a maze of drapes to the next hallway where actors jumped out at us from all angles. Because I knew the actors, I didn’t find it particularly frightening; however the ear-splitting screams coming from the freshmen girls indicated that they were having quite a different experience. Because only 6 people could enter at one time, the wait to get in was close to 30 minutes. Still, that didn’t deter most visitors, as was shown by the long line of students eagerly waiting to discover what was inside. In talking to students afterward, I got the sense that most people enjoyed it, but didn’t feel that it was worth the 30-minute wait. If the wait was reduced, the opinion would probably have been much higher. Perhaps next year, larger groups could enter together, which would reduce the wait time. Despite the long wait and pricey food, I found it was a cozy event and made a nice evening to spend with friends. I had a good time, and I think it is a fun tradition to have at the school.
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