Halloween fun in H.B.

Looking for something to do on All Hallows Eve? Well, the City of Huntington Beach has something for those seeking the citywide blowout or the intimate soiree.

Halloween’s a big to-do in Huntington Beach, said Karen Dunbar, who works at the Beach Store on Main Street.

She should know. In the heart of downtown, the tiny retail store spends every Halloween participating in the Trick or Treat Main Street Celebration.

“It’s all a fun, safe evening for the kids and family,” Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory owner Stephen Daniel said.

Daniel founded the event 13 years ago with the help of several merchants on the downtown strip. It has grown over the years, involving the police and fire departments, music, carnival games, a costume contest, a petting zoo and, of course, tons of free candy.

From 5 to 8 p.m., families travel up and down the strip, trick-or-treating in an unconventional way, as they visit storefronts rather than frontdoors.

“All the merchants come out and give away candy,” Daniel said. “It’s something that we as merchants can give back to the community.”

When the kids clear out around 9 p.m., the ghosts and goblins come out to play.

All the adults make their way to Main Street after the family event and party all night, Dunbar said. The bars are open, and there will be plenty of candy left around.

Thinking of something more intimate? Stay home and carve a gourd.

At the Jackson household, October is all about the pumpkins.

If you carve, Tim Jackson has a box full of tools you can borrow. This tool box wouldn’t work well in car mechanics, but if you happened to have a pumpkin that needs an artistic touch, you’re in luck.

The tradition began for Tim and his wife, Cathy, in 1992. According to Cathy, they were hooked. Over the years, the technique — which began as a simple poke-and-cut design system — evolved into elaborate three-dimensional portraits.

This really got serious when the Jackson’s oldest son Hunter began kindergarten. His parents decided to carve a portrait of Hunter’s teacher in a pumpkin. The likeness gained so much recognition from Goldenview Elementary School staff that the next year, Cathy and Tim were asked to give a presentation of their technique during a school-wide assembly.

On Halloween Day, the Jacksons will present once again to the students at Goldenview. And now that daughter Maddie is in the first grade, they have two assistants for the display.

“The kids love it, because it looks so much like the teacher they carve it to look like,” principal Karen Spane said.

This is no small undertaking at the Jackson household, either. Beginning the second week of October, they pick out somewhere between 15 to 20 pumpkins at the local patch, and they are quite selective of what comes home with them. to look for,” Cathy Jackson said. “You want it to have a flat face, then it’s easier to transfer on.”

If you choose to go the carving route, check out the Johnson Brothers Pumpkin Patch, located in the parking lot of Golden West College.

Small, large, skinny, round, mini or bigger than a grown man can lift with two hands, brothers Tom and Eric Johnson have offered a pumpkin for every kind of pumpkin connoisseur for the last 17 years.

If you bring the kids, plan on staying longer than the time it takes to grab a buy and pay. There is much more to do than just shop.

Visit the “Land of the Giants” and witness pumpkins weighing on average 150 pounds, or check out the “Sonic Crypt” and have your senses assaulted with shocking sounds and sights. Sample the do-it-yourself face painting or check the pumpkin graveyard.

The patch on the corner of McFadden Avenue and Goldenwest Street will be open through the end of the month, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

KELLY STRODL’S PUMPKIN BREAK

(from the cookbook of her mom, Vicki Damato)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three regular-sized pans. In a very large mixing bowl, combine:

In a separate bowl, combine:

Stir the wet ingredients together until well blended. Then combine with dry ingredients. Beat on slow setting until all ingredients are well blended and then beat on high setting for two full minutes. Pour equal amounts into 3 prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 55 minutes to an hour, or until top of loafs are stiff and slightly cracked. Let cool and remove from pan.