Panaca was a hopping place Oct. 31, with various activities keeping kids and teens entertained on Halloween. From local businesses to the schools, there was no shortage of fun this spooky season.
Starting at 8 a.m., the Panaca Market put on a costume contest for the local kids that came in to shop. There were two groups: adult costumes and children (ages 5-12). This made the market a spooky place to be on Halloween, with costumes both creative and terrifying roaming the aisles of the grocery store. In the end, however, only two winners could be crowned. For the children’s group, that was Malloree and Jovi Gonzales who were dressed as zipper-faced zombies. As a prize, they received a $20 shopping spree at the market. For the adults, the winner was Dylan Frehner dressed as a ’70s bad boy, complete with blond wig and retro-style bell-bottoms. He received a $50 Panaca Market gift card.
But those weren’t the only costumes on display. Over at the elementary school, the Parent-Teacher Group put together a Halloween costume parade. The students showed off their costumes and were rewarded for the best out of their grade. Winners ranged from astronauts to zombies and everything in between. The students were also encouraged to bring their carved pumpkins for the chance to win another prize, and the entries were as varied as they were well-made.
As night descended on the town, those same children wandered off into the housing and suburbs of Panaca to fill their bags with sugary treats.
As ghosts and ghouls wandered the roads in search of Snickers bars, inside the Rick Phillips Gym, a small group of foam-flinging warriors gathered. Kids that were either too old or not interested in trick-or-treating were able to work off their sugar rush courtesy of Anderson Foam Wars out of Panaca. Games of capture the flag and team elimination were par for the course, and after hours of fun and exercise, the battles came to an end, as did the fun evening.
