ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those looking for a bit of extra fun on Halloween will have just that thanks to New Beginnings Church.

New Beginnings Church will be hosting its annual Fall Festival from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 at the church at 2021 N. Western Ave. As coordinator Melody Castro tells it, it should be a great time for everyone who comes out.

“We’re going to have inflatables, candy, hot chocolate, popcorn, hot dogs, and a lot of other great fun and treats for everyone who comes out,” Castro said. “The main goal is to have this be a fun event for the community to come by and hang out for a little bit. They more than welcome to stay the whole time, or just to come stop by, eat a hot dog or two, talk with us, and have the kiddos play with the inflatables.”

Castro added this is her first year helping coordinate the festival, and she said she is excited about everything.

“I’m excited about how everything's going to play out. This summer we did mega sports camp, and with that experience, it opened my eyes to how great the community can come together and commune and fellowship and hang out with one another,” Castro said. “Honestly, the most exciting part is just seeing the community just come together and just hang out, eat, and just get to know each other and watching the kids have fun. It’s also great seeing the volunteers enjoying the moment too and seeing everyone happy. As long as everyone is happy, I’ll be happy.”

With everything that will be going on that evening, Castro said she hopes to see a high turnout.

“I encourage everyone to come out, it's an event they won't want to miss. It's another opportunity to see what our church is about, which is community and showing up for one another,” Castro said. “It's also another opportunity just to come hang out and stop by, so it could be another opportunity, if you get tired of walking around neighborhoods and trick-or-treating, stop by New Beginnings Church, grab a hot dog, get some popcorn or a sno cone, and enjoy some inflatables.”

Castro added the event falling on Halloween was rather happenstance.

“With the date, that’s just kind of how things oddly ended up because I remember last year, Halloween was on a Friday, so I believe it's just how it all just landed,” Castro said. “I would love to see everyone just getting together and just hanging out. New Beginnings Church has been my church home for three years now, and since going there, I've felt nothing but welcomed, and I've never felt alone – if there was ever a time when I knew I needed somebody, I knew I had somebody from the church to call. I would love to see people in the community coming by and grabbing a hot dog and popcorn and seeing the kids have fun with the inflatables we’ll have. The thought of feeding the community, feeding everybody, and having that like that space where everyone can come and have fun is what I'm excited about.”

A main goal of the festival, Castro said, is bringing the community together.

“When it comes to expectations, we really don’t have any. It's more of a situation where we’re saying, ‘How can we gather the community and do something together?’” Castro said. “In terms of numbers and turnout, there really isn't a big expectation, we’re just encouraging everyone, ‘If you want to come have fun, if you guys want a hot dog or a sno cone, come by.’ And we're more than happy to even pray for you if you need any prayers or anything like that.”

And with the festival being a short time away, Castro said she will be helping hype the festivities up.

“I work at Bright Start Early Learning Center, so I was able to talk with my principal about the fall festival and show her the flyer, so that's one of the ways I've been able to promote it along with talking to the assistant principal at MacArthur Elementary School,” Castro said. “It’s been great talking to them, and that way they can help spread the word in the schools, and then the kids can go home and tell their parents and maybe encourage them to come and be part of everything. It's going to be a fun experience, and it's going to be great for everyone.”