On Thursday, Oct. 28, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School hosted a FALL-o-Ween party for students, staff and families of Coral Springs and Parkland from 5:00-8:00 p.m. Tickets were purchased for $6 on the day of the event. Students and families entered through the senior lot on Holmberg Road. Face masks were required for entry.

The party was a joint-hosted event by MSD’s drama department and MSD’s Student Government Association and included games, activities, a Trunk or Treat and a petting zoo. Attendees were encouraged to show up in costume, just as students were during the school day, as part of Red Ribbon Week.

Activities included a cake walk, a ball toss, an obstacle course, craft areas and a dance area.

“About 95% of the people wore costumes,” freshman Charlotte James said. “My favorite was the trunk across from me that had an inflatable clown outfit doing a handstand and Cindy Lou Who two cars down had really cool hair.”

Other activities were musical chairs, limbo and races. The petting zoo was a smashing hit at the after-school carnival during Homecoming week this year and was called back to do MSD’s Fall-o-ween event.

Both drama and leadership students were required to participate in the event and the date was coordinated by leadership teacher and SGA adviser Danielle Driscoll and drama teacher Melody Herzfeld.

The purpose of the event was to raise money for the drama department at MSD. This is the first FALL-o-ween, but both SGA and Drama have held fundraisers around Halloween in years past.

In 2017, 2018 and 2019, SGA held a ‘Trunk or Treat,’ but they were unable to keep the tradition alive last year, due to COVID-19. The MSD Drama Club put on “MSD’s Not So Scary Halloween,” named after Disney’s “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween” party, in 2018 and 2019. Likewise, COVID-19 blocked them from being able to put on another event in 2020.

“This is our fifteenth year hosting a Halloween event. Prior years have been ‘Very Scary Haunted High School,” Herzfeld said. “The last few years we have pivoted our direction to a ‘Not So Scary’ event to welcome and encourage our students, families and community to feel welcome at our school.”

Similar to “MSD’s Not So Scary Halloween” event, Fall-o-ween was Disney-themed, with stations of different characters and references to the Disney company.

“The inside was Pixar-themed and I would say at least 60% of the trunks were Disney-themed,” James said.

MSD drama has several other events coming up, including their first play of the year, “Puffs,” to be performed on November 4 and 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 per student and $13 per adult and only sold online.