GHOST AND GOBLINS, OH MY!!!
2009 RAP Halloween Celebrations

Los Angeles – Halloween is right around the corner! Do you know what you’re doing to celebrate the SPOOKTACULAR holiday? The Department of Recreation and Parks has a wide variety of spooky events happening throughout the City for everyone to enjoy.

Here’s a list of a few thrills that are sure to send chills your way:

Ride a Haunted Halloween Railroad at Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum in Griffith Park. The 11th annual Ghost Train Halloween attraction will be offered October 23-25 and October 29-31 from 7 pm to 10 pm each night. The miniature train will depart from “Scarewood” Station and travel through devilish displays of spooky spirits, creepy clowns, witches, vampire babies and other assorted frightful fiends. There is a suggested donation of $5 per person. For more information call (323) 661-8958 or visit http://www.lals.org/.

Walk if you dare or run if you’re scared through the Haunted House at Cabrillo Beach Bath House from 6 pm to 10 pm on October 23-24 and October 30-31. For more information call (310) 548-7554.

Candy, Music, Games, Prizes and a Mini-Haunted House will all be part of Cypress Park’s Halloween Festival on Friday, October 30 from 5 pm to 9 pm. The free event is open to all ages. For more information call (213) 485-5384.

The Monster Mash is sure to be a playing at Denker Recreation Center’s Halloween Teen Dance. The $1 Halloween boogie is open to teens 13-18 with a school ID. Teens can practice their THRILLER moves from 7 pm – 11 pm on Friday, October 30. For more information call (323) 733-8367.

CALLING ALL COSTUMED CANINES!! Yucca Community Center is hosting a Dog Costume Contest on Friday, October 30 from 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm. Come and enter your furry Spiderman, Frankenstein, Bumble Bee or Hot Dog or just watch the fun. For more information call (323) 957-6339.

Pan Pacific Recreation Center is hosting a Halloween Carnival on October 31 from 12 pm – 4 pm. Games, a Reptile Show and Costume Contest are just some of the spooky treats that will be offered. For more information call (323) 939-8874.

For all the die hard skaters out there, Pedlow Skate Park in Encino is hosting a SCARY Skate Contest from 12 pm to 4 pm on Halloween Day. Show off your Frankenstein ollies, Vampire kick flips and goblin board slides at the “Tricks 4 Treats” Skate Contest. For more information call (818) 266-6991.

Visit Sylmar Recreation Center’s “Trick or Treat City” and Halloween Carnival on October 31 from 5 pm – 9 pm. Local businesses will come together to create “Trick or Treat City” and hand out candy to visitors. A costume contest and carnival rides are just a few of the festivities being offered. For more information call (818) 367-5665.

To find a Halloween event in your neighborhood or to see the full list of Department events visit http://www.laparks.org/pdf/halloweenevents.pdf.

Remember, safety is important to having a Happy Halloween! Here are a few safety tips for your ghostly agenda:

- Help your child pick out or make a costume that will be safe. Make sure it is fire proof and the eye holes should be large enough for good peripheral vision.

- Plan a safe route to know where your older kids will be at all times. Instruct them to stay on main streets and not to cut through alleyways or dark places.

- Younger children should always be accompanied by an adult when trick-or-treating.

- Instruct your children not to eat any treats until they bring them home to be checked.

- Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape to make them more visible to cars.

- Go only to well-lit houses and remain on porches rather than entering houses.

- Cross streets at the corner, use crosswalks (where they exist) and do NOT cross between parked cars.

The Department of Recreation and Parks wishes you a HAPPY, SAFE and SPOOKTACULAR Halloween!!!

THE LONG AWAITED & MUCH ANTICIPATED....

VENICE BEACH SKATE PLAZA OPENING

Venice Beach - Venice Beach is known as a vibrant and eclectic Southern California beach that attracts millions of tourists yearly. But skaters know this special place as DOGTOWN, the birthplace of progressive skateboarding in the 1970's.

Saturday, October 3, 2009 was a historical day for Venice Beach skaters who have waited a long time for a place to call their own. At 11 am hundreds of skaters and spectators joined the Department of Recreation and Parks and Councilmember Bill Rosendahl in opening the VENICE BEACH SKATE PLAZA!!

Design input from local skating professionals helped make the Venice Beach Skate Plaza one of the most challenging arenas for skaters to ride. The 16,000-square-foot facility has four major components; a deep pool, street terrain course, snake run and flow bowl. The $3.4 million plaza's unique design combines both street and vert skating, allowing skateboarders to flow in and out of the two different styles.

With a maximum vertical differential of up to 9 feet, the deep pool allows for lots of speed in a single entry/exit run. The street terrain course simulates a streetscape environment with steps, rails, planters, curbs and driveways. For an old school skateboarding experience, skaters can carve from bank to bank through the snake run. The flow bowl provides maximum momentum for continuous multiple entries/exits in a single run.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri, Commission President Barry Sanders, City Engineer Gary Lee Moore and professional skateboarders Jesse Martinez, Jay Adams and Tony Alva were all on hand to help cut the red ribbon and officially open the Venice Beach Skate Plaza.

The new skate plaza is the 12th skate facility run by the Department of Recreation and Parks. Located near Windward Avenue and Ocean Front Walk, the skate plaza has an amazing view of the ocean and will provide a much-needed haven for local and visiting skateboarders.

Venice Beach has always been a hot spot for skaters from around the corner and world to test their skills. The new skate plaza will help continue that tradition!

For more information on this location, please call (213) 202-2700 or visit our website at http://www.laparks.org/.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jane Kolb: (213) 202-2694

Amy A. Garcia: (213) 202-2689

A "GREEN" IMPROVEMENT

The Dedication of Solar Lights at North Hollywoood RC

North Hollywood - The Department of Recreation and Parks proudly dedicated the first-ever solar powered lights at North Hollywood Recreation Center on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri, Councilmember Tom LaBonge (4th District), actor and environmental activist Ed Begley, Jr. and local residents were all on hand to help "flip the switch" on the new green improvement.

The project at North Hollywood included the installation of thirty-two solar light poles to illuminate the jogging paths. The total cost of $263,324 was funded by Quimby. The Department's Valley Region electrical crew installed the lights, cutting the cost of the project by about half.

The new solar-powered lights at North Hollywood RC store energy from the sun during the day and use this stored energy as a power source at night. By using solar power in the 32 lights the Department will save enough energy to light up nine average Southern California households per year. The energy saved is equivalent to planting 420 trees. The Department already has plans to install solar lighting at two other parks in the immediate future with three more locations on the drawing board.

North Hollywood RC is located at 11455 Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood 91601. For more information on this project or the Department, please call (213) 202-2700.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jane Kolb: (213) 202-2694