The annual Hermosa View, Vista, Valley Parent Teacher Organization Halloween Carnival and Raffle took place at Hermosa Valley School on Friday evening, October 28th.
The group’s largest fundraiser featured carnival games and prizes, a haunted house, food and more. Last year’s event raised $50,000 for the HVPTO, and organizers said they hope to increase that number at this year’s carnival.
The exact year the carnival began is unknown, but it has been at least 30 years, according to HVPTO President Nicole Ellison. The carnival is a “quintessential Hermosa event,” she said before Friday’s event began, which couldn’t happen without its many volunteers.
“When kids grow up in this community, they remember coming to the carnival,” Ellison said. “It’s an important fundraising event, but more importantly, it helps us build a strong community and lasting memories.”
Elliot Clifford, 8, and Max McCloskey, 8, dressed as the characters Fishstick and Drift from the video game Fortnite, at the Halloween carnival at Hermosa Valley School, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
(L-R) Tucker Olsen, 12, Rex Ramber, 11, Tucker Fulbright, 11, and Logan Gibson, 11, perform for a crowd in their band, Mother Tucker, during the Halloween carnival at Hermosa Valley School, Friday, October 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, contributing photographer)
A haunted house maze was one of many different attractions set up at Hermosa Valley School’s annual Halloween carnival on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
9-year-olds Violet L., left, and Kyra K., right, dressed as Harley Quinn and Wednesday Addams while eating cotton candy at the Hermosa Valley School Halloween Carnival, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Photographer contributor)
(L-R) Tucker Olsen, 12, Rex Ramber, 11, Tucker Fulbright, 11, and Logan Gibson, 11, perform for a crowd in their band, Mother Tucker, during the Halloween carnival at Hermosa Valley School, Friday, October 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, contributing photographer)
Rex Mamber, 11, dressed as Top Gun protagonist Pete Mitchell while performing in his band Mother Tucker at the Hermosa Valley School Halloween Carnival on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer )
Tucker Olsen, 12, plays the guitar while dressed as Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash during the annual Halloween Carnival at Hermosa Valley School in Hermosa Beach, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Photographer contributor)
Hundreds of attendees gathered at the Halloween Festival at Hermosa Valley School in Hermosa Beach, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Peyton Thelin, left, and Eric Bell, right, look on as Mason Bell, 5, shoots at the roller coaster during the Halloween carnival at Hermosa Valley School, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Photographer contributor)
Reagan Richards, 9, and Harper Richards, 6, perform with their band The Diamond Bears during the annual Halloween Carnival at Hermosa Valley School, Friday, Oct. 29, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
A Halloween carnival participant dressed as a dinosaur walks through a crowd at Hermosa Valley School, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Audience members listen to student-led bands perform at the Hermosa Valley High School Halloween Carnival, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Elliot Hubbard looks on as his son Colin Hubbard, 5, tries to ring the bell in a carnival game at Hermosa Valley School’s annual Halloween carnival, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Lisa Vargas Gardner, vice president of operations with the HVPTO, said 2021 was its highest fundraising year ever.
“This year, we’re going to be right on pace for last year,” Gardner said. “I think we see that people really want to be together and come out and celebrate our schools.”
The $50,000 raised last year — $27,000 of which came from the carnival raffle — went toward grants that teachers could use for classroom supplies, physical education or playground equipment, or to run lunch clubs or extracurricular activities, Gardner said.
Over the years, Ellison said, the money the carnival has raised has contributed to special project grants, such as the $10,000 that went to the Hermosa Vista School library or a future butterfly garden at Hermosa View School.
All parents or guardians who have children enrolled in the Hermosa Beach City School District are automatically members of the HVPTO, according to the group’s website.
