The La Jolla Reservation is a community centered in Palomar Mountain. Due to the terrain, houses built here tend to be in scattered cul-de-sacs. As you can imagine, it can be rather tricky for youngsters to organize their trick-or-treating route in a safe manner. Luckily, the Tribal Council came up with the perfect solution!
Each year, the Tribe hosts a Halloween event near the Tribal Hall. Each Tribal department is given a chance to contribute to the event however they want. I helped the natural resources department set up one of the many booths present at the event that distributed candy to trick-or-treaters. It was a lot of fun managing the booth with my colleagues, but trick-or-treating wasn’t the only activity planned that day!
"... it can be rather tricky for youngsters to organize their trick-or-treating route in a safe manner. Luckily, the Tribal Council came up with the perfect solution!"
Other departments also contributed to the effort of turning Tribal Hall into a haunted house. While I unfortunately didn’t have the opportunity to experience the finished product myself, I think it’s safe to assume they did an excellent job, considering the screams I heard from next door.
Everyone was encouraged to dress up for the event. While there was quite a unique display of costumes out there, I must give props to the wardrobe of choice one of my supervisors had:
"While I unfortunately didn’t have the opportunity to experience the finished [haunted house] myself, I think it’s safe to assume they did an excellent job, considering the screams I heard from next door."
Overall, it was great to be part of the Tribe’s community event! This was only one of many holiday events hosted by the Tribe. Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of helping with the Christmas raffle event held in December. It was a pleasant time where Tribal members gathered for not only a catered Christmas dinner, but also a raffle that was held. With the help of a bunch of other volunteers, we gave a multitude of prizes that included but was not limited to bikes, portable basketball sets, and tablet devices.
Assisting with this event was a great way to introduce myself to other members of the Tribe. During both events, I’ve met a lot of new faces and was able to show that I care about this community - whether it’s through my work with natural resources, or lending a hand with public events.
It's nice to see communities find ways to bring everyone together this way. In the coming months, there will be more holiday events that will be hosted by the Tribe, several of which I plan to aid with too!
"I've met a lot of new faces and was able to show that I care about this community - whether it’s through my work with natural resources, or lending a hand with public events."