Alameda-Haunt Your House! 2010 Contest & Food Drive

Alameda-Haunt Your House! 2010 Contest & Food Drive
We're happy to announce the return of the Alameda-Haunt Your House! 2010 Halloween Decorating Contest

This year, The Alameda-Haunt Your House! contest is excited to announce their partnership with the Alameda Food Bank and the addition of a canned food drive that will coincide with the contest. The end of October is the start of the busy holiday season for the Food Bank and we’re hoping that the Haunt Your House contest will start off their collections with a bang. Every house and business in the contest will have a Halloween themed can collection box for donations. The food bank has a specific holiday wish list consisting of stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, Jell-O, dry potato mix, canned pumpkin, canned yams/sweet potatoes and condensed milk. The Food Bank cannot accept glass containers, perishable items, expired items or any open items.

The contest began as a project in 2006 by Patti Cary, who grew up on San Jose Avenue at Grand Street. As a child, Patti waited not so patiently every year for her favorite season, Halloween. The excitement of seeing the beautiful homes and tree-lined streets of Alameda bustling with ghosts and goblins is the inspiration behind this community-building event.
Patti, a second generation native, reflects, "Alameda-Haunt Your House! was born out of my love for Alameda and the incredible architecture that surrounds us. Walk any four blocks and the diversity of style and decor can really take your breath away. We live in an amazing city and Halloween is the perfect time to highlight the history and beauty of this unique island. Plus, it's really fun!"

Patti is joined this year by Daniel Neumansky, a Pacific Avenue resident and veteran house haunter. Daniel, also an Alameda Architectural Preservation Society member says, "This island has so many neat Victorian homes that are just begging to be decorated for Halloween. We can creepify our old houses while helping those in need so enter the contest, decorate your house, and have some fun."

This year’s first prizes are two roundtrip tickets on Frontier Airlines!! More prizes to be announced!

The contest has been gaining in popularity over the last few years and the Boo Crew, as they were dubbed by a 2008 contestant, are expecting this year to be the biggest yet. They hope more and more citizens of Alameda will join in the festivities, decorate their homes and businesses and encourage their friends and neighbors to participate as well. For more details on how to enter go to:

http://www.alamedahauntyourhouse.com Now let's get haunting!