Vendor Maria Ayala adjust her headpiece at Halloween Party in the Park at Quinta Mazatlan on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in McAllen. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
McALLEN — Two brothers, both dressed for the occasion as none other than Ash the Pokémon trainer, walked the grounds of Quinta Mazatlán with smiles on their faces and wonder in their eyes as they looked around at the Halloween decorations scattered across the ecotourism destination and sanctuary.
This was a heartwarming sight Saturday morning as families dressed as some of their favorite characters in pop culture to celebrate the spooky season. Looking down the entrance of the park at Quinta Mazatlán, which is part of the World Birding Center network, one could see spider webs stretching over bushes, skeletons depicting Spider-Man, Batman, Jack the Pumpkin King from “A Nightmare Before Christmas” and other movie references.
It was essentially a Halloween party in the park.
At least that was the name of the event Quinta Mazatlán held Saturday, where Rio Grande Valley residents attended and enjoyed these spooky-themed festivities, but also live music while they browsed items from local vendors.
Everywhere you turned were decorations of Halloween, such as ghost themes with white figures strewn about, but also Dia de los Muertos to create a fall atmosphere.
Karina Resendez of San Juan loved every minute of it.
“They have a lot of everything, they have music, they have things for kids, they have coloring and I really like that they have a trail of everything so you don’t get bored as you’re walking by,” Resendez said.
She was at the park Saturday with her son, 4-year-old nephew and 8-month-old niece.
“We want to take them to see absolutely everything,” she added.
Diana Orena from Edinburg also attended the event with her kids and nieces and nephews to give them a fun place to celebrate Halloween without having to walk around at night.
“I have seen so many decorations where I could take pictures of my kids, and they also have areas where the kids can do various activities, and they are just really happy,” Orena said. “There (are a) lot of places and a lot of things they can do so they are just looking around and exploring.”
Her nieces and nephews ran around following the Sticks and Bones trail wearing costumes of various characters including Black Panther, Elsa from “Frozen” and Pikachu.
“I don’t want to be a Pokémon anymore!” yelled one of Orena’s nephews, who was dressed as Pikachu as he ran out of the trail after bumping into the two Pokémon trainers.
As the trail continued one could see various movie references decorating every inch of the park. A black and white arch welcomed attendees into the trail with Tim Burton characters greeting attendees as they walked by.
“It’s Jack Skellington!” one child shouted with enthusiasm as he saw the cartoon character.
Kids walked from sign to sign filling out their Sticks and Bones trail activity sheet.
The sights and sounds at the park Saturday were enough to encourage attendees to make this part of their annual holiday plans for the scary season.
“Definitely, if they host this event next year we will be returning,” Orena said with a smile as she looked at her nieces and nephews enjoying themselves.
