NO GHOULS ALLOWED
Celebrate Light offers an alternative to dark Halloween imagery
EL CENTRO — Halloween has quite a complicated history, much of it is not family-friendly. Ghosts, goblins, witches and their ilk belong to a world many parents would prefer their children not inhabit.
First Christian Church of El Centro offered the community an alternative with its annual Celebrate Light event Sunday evening. As many as 1,500 children and adults were expected on the church grounds to enjoy free games, inflatable bouncers, a dunk tank, a mechanical bull ride, live music, prize drawings, face painting, puppet shows and more.
And that’s not to mention plenty of very reasonably priced food and drinks. Hotdogs, machaca burritos, pizza, soda, cold-brew lattes, pulled pork sandwiches and more could all be had for a dollar or less.
The El Centro Fire Department Station No. 3 was also on hand with a fire engine for kids and kids-at-heart to investigate.
Celebrate Light is an expansion of an idea Lead Pastor Ed Sempsrott and his wife, Debbie, brought with them from previous ministerial positions in other communities when they arrived at First Christian Church more than a decade ago.
Back then, the event was a Western-themed affair, complete with cowboy and cowgirl outfits. Elements of those origins can still be seen on the grounds — from scattered stacks of hay bales to the cowboy-clad gang roasting hotdogs in a faux Western jail. But in recent years, notably since Associate Pastor Mark Jones assumed responsibility for organizing the event, the scope has broadened to extend its appeal and to provide a more pointed antidote to the dark and negative imagery that typically prevails in October.
“We want to bring something different to this time of year. We are celebrating life,” he said.
It takes a minimum of 100 volunteers from the church to put the event together, and there is no profit motive involved.
“We want to reach out to the community and invite them to check us out,” Jones said.
“There are no strings attached,” FCC’s Sempsrott added. “This is an outreach of First Christian Church to let the community know we care and to provide a safe alternative to Halloween.”