Paradise Scream Queen

 

    We hope residents of Paradise weren’t too alarmed by the sounds of rattling chains and blood-curdling screams coming out of the Paradise Learning Center this Halloween. For the second year, the staff of Paradise at Parkside’s Community Center held a Haunted House for the children of Paradise, ensuring that they have a Halloween that is equal parts safe and spooky.
   
The leader of this effort is Miss Tenita Paige. This year she spent over twenty hours decorating each room with everything from a paper mache skeleton to eerily realistic bodies trapped in a spider web cocoon. Other terrors in Tenita’s House of Horrors include a coffin with an occupant from beyond the grave, a mummy standing guard in one corner, and a scary movie theater showing horror flicks. When asked what aspect she was most proud of, Tenita responded, “all of it.”      Organizing the Haunted House has been one of Tenita’s favorite activities as a community coordinator because it allows her to practice her creativity and event planning, all while scaring the kids (in good fun, of course). For Tenita, it is also a family affair, for this year’s Haunted House featured two “broken dolls.” In this exhibit, Tenita’s daughters -- Treasure and Cherish -- wore costumes that their mother crafted herself.      This year’s Halloween celebration also featured a playroom in the Community Center for our youngest residents to decorate pumpkins, explore a play maze, and dip their own caramel apples away from the activities that might be a little too scary for their age group.      I look forward to seeing how Miss Tenita will outdo herself next year. By Anna Sutton.