Sunol festival celebrates Halloween

SUNOL – Residents and visitors in Sunol got an early start to Halloween last weekend.

On Saturday, the community held its fifth annual Halloween festival. Throughout the afternoon and evening, games, activities, food – and for the brave, a haunted house – greeted those who visited the former Sunol School.

Brenda Broughton, who helped organized the event along with Barb Henke and Brenda Stene, said planning for the event began in February.

Numerous community members pitched in, she said, pointing to the dozens of sweet treats that had been donated for the cake walk as an example.

"It's lots of fun," she said. "There's stuff for all ages – and this was the first year we had a haunted house."

The actors in the haunted house adjusted their routines each time someone wandered through the tour because some were on repeat trips, Broughton said with a laugh.

Money raised from the event is used to help with the upkeep of the former school building, she added.

While the event was scheduled to be a one-day affair, Broughton said the haunted house would be open again on Saturday – Halloween Day – beginning at 6 p.m.

"We're just having so much fun," she said.