Orange County Halloween Fun

Halloween is right around the corner. Here are a few options for a ghostly good time!

CYPRESS

City of Cypress Halloween Carnival
Thursday, October 31, 2013
6-9 pm

Family Games, Entertainment and Trick or Treat! Food will be sold for an additional cost at the event

Admission – $3 (cash only), children under 1 year old are free. Professional pictures will be available for $10 (cash only)

LOCATION:
Cypress Community Center
5700 Orange Ave

INFORMATION:
714-229-6780

Garden Grove

Trunk-or-Treat
October 31, 2013
6 pm

King of Kings Lutheran Church is hosted a Halloween event with games and meal. Kids come in costume and there will be photo opportunities.

LOCATION:
King of Kings Lutheran Church and School
13431 Newhope St
Garden Grove, CA 92843

INFORMATION:
714-530-2152

HUNTINGTON BEACH

Main Street Halloween Celebration
Thursday, October 31, 2013
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

For children of all ages, this annual Halloween celebration comes courtesy of the Downtown Business Improvement District. The spooky festivities include a moon bounce, petting zoo, Ferris wheel, pumpkin carving, costume contests and more.

LOCATION:
Downtown Huntington Beach
Main Street and 5th Street by Pacific Coast Highway

INFORMATION:
(714) 536-8300

IRVINE

 

Fall Fest Hosted by Compass Bible Church
October 31, 2013
6-9 pm

For the past 8 years, FALL FEST has become a favorite event for families to enjoy on Halloween night.

Costumes are welcomed…and encouraged. But please, for the sake of our younger guests NO SCARY COSTUMES.

ALL FREE family event

LOCATION:
Compass Bible Church
150 Columbia in Aliso Viejo – There will be PLENTY OF PARKING and an event drop off zone available onsite.

SANTA ANA

 

Bowers Museum presents ‘Horror of Dracula’
Thursday, October 31, 2013

After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle, the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker`s fiancée. (1958) (82 minutes)

Free

LOCATION:
Bowers Museum
2002 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706

INFORMATION:
714.567.3677

TUSTIN

Halloween Howl
October 31, 2013
3-5 pm

Costume contests, family entertainment, carnival games, prizes and candy. Hosted by City of Tustin Parks & Recreation

LOCATION:
Columbus Tustin Activity Center
17522 Beneta Way (Corner of Irvine Blvd & Prospect)

INFORMATION:
(714) 573-3326

 

Mold In Your Mobile Home

Mold spores are present everywhere in the air we breathe, they usually die or settle into a perfect location to grow. Do not let your mobile home become that location.

Mold thrives in moist and warm environments, do not think that just because we are moving into winter and a colder season that mold will be unable to grow in your home. As the weather grows colder many people turn the heat up in their homes, if your windows are not sealed correctly, or your insulation is ripped, moisture could seep into your home. This wetness coupled with the warmth from your heater produces the perfect environment for mold.

Protect yourself and your home by making sure your windows and doors are properly sealed and check for any leaking pipes, sinks, toilets or washing machines. All of these can allow moisture into your home.

If you find mold in your home make sure to clean it quickly and thoroughly. For more information on how to do this you may visit the California Department of Public Health’s website. You may also click here to be directed to their website.

Who Really Lives in Mobile Homes? The Perception and Misconceptions of Mobile Home parks and their residents.

Mobile home parks and their residents are beginning to be featured more and more in today’s media. First came Welcome to Myrtle Manor, a reality TV show about a handful of quirky mobile home park residents in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Then, more recently, with the controversial statement made by Miss South Carolina in her intro to the Miss America Pageant, “I’m from the state where 20 percent of our homes are mobile, because that ‘s how we roll.” Some argue that statements like these and TV shows like Welcome to Myrtle Manor only serve to perpetuate the “trailer trash” stereotype. Others say it brings a lighthearted nature to mobile home living that has not been there in the past due to the stereotype of the poor and downtrodden mobile home owner.

So who really lives in mobile homes? According to a recent article written by Tom Geoghegan: Pamela Anderson, Minnie Driver, and Matthew McConaughey are all residents of the mobile home park Paradise Cove in Malibu, California. In this park the homes boast marble floors and sell for around $2.5 Million. The same article alluded to parks in Thermal, California where conditions are terrible and most homes are held together with spit and a prayer. Both of these parks are the exception and not the rule.

If it is neither the exorbitantly wealthy nor the unemployed and destitute that live in the majority of the over 8 million mobile homes (US Census, Manufactured Housing Institute) located in the United States, who really lives in mobile homes? According to the US Census 57% of mobile home owners distinguished as the “head of household” have full time employment and 23% of residents are retired. Young families just starting out and seniors tend to populate the majority of mobile home parks. This is in part due to the cost of the average mobile home, “70% of all new single family homes sold for under $125,000 are manufactured”(Manufactured Housing Institute). The affordability of a manufactured home versus a site built home attracts younger families just starting off. It also attracts many seniors wishing to retire. Many of them sell their site built homes for the ease of Mobile Home living; with little to no yard to maintain and many amenities, including clubhouses and pools, some event boast tennis courts, the value far exceeds the cost. Other than being the average American, the mobile home owner is really just someone who has the opportunity to enjoy, as the old adage goes, “More bang for your buck”.