DEL MAR — Hundreds of children and their parents gathered in downtown Del Mar on Oct. 25, dressed up in their Halloween best.
The city of Del Mar hosted a special event along Camino Del Mar to let local children show off their costumes in the safety of daylight.
Centered around Del Mar Plaza’s mini-amphitheatre, staff from Del Mar’s events coordinating office bustled around to help keep the attendees entertained and refreshed, as the temperature outside hovered uncharacteristically around 80 degrees.
Knights, tigers, princesses, butterflies, Iron Man and Jedi wandered along the sidewalks, stopping to get their picture taken or meet up with friends dressed in theme with them. One troupe of girls even dressed up in an undead theme, juxtaposing pretty dresses with zombie faces.
While many of the children walked along the storefronts with their parents, getting candy from the various shops, others stopped by special tables set up to pass out toys, win prizes or get their faces painted.
The prize table was popular as it was also collecting raffle tickets for four movie passes, which were called during the highlight of the day, when former Del Mar resident Christopher Howe performed juggling and magic tricks onstage for the gathered families.
Howe enraptured the children with his act, juggling knives and flaming torches close to the edge of the audience.
He also brought out three apples to juggle, taking a bite out of each one as they dropped into his left hand.
His magic tricks did not fail to impress, with one focused around cutting a volunteer’s hand off. Trevor Gibson of Del Mar jumped up, dressed as a ninja, to test Howe’s mettle.
The trick was a resounding success, as Trevor’s hand was convincingly cut off, wiggling around in a bag underneath the blade to catch it, then magically put back together.
Though the big night was nearly a week away, the event surely helped the children get in the Halloween spirit.
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