Halloween activities for young goblins, college-age ghosts, grown-up zombies and even costumed pooches are scheduled throughout Friday in San Diego County.
Beginning it all is the dog costume contest, which will be held at 10:30 a.m. at The Front Porch, a gourmet food shop in Mission Hills. The first 20 dogs that show up will be entered to win prizes.
For the younger set, the county of San Diego will host community festivals at community centers in Fallbrook, Lakeside and Spring Valley. The events will include safe trick-or-treating, games and contests.
The Fallbrook and Lakeside festivities begin at 5 p.m.; the Spring Valley location begins at 5:30 p.m.
In National City, the fire and police departments are teaming up for the seventh annual “Tower of Terror,” in which the NCFD’s training tower will be transformed into a haunted house. The event begins at 5 p.m. at Station No. 34, 343 E. 16th St.
At UC San Diego, the 40th annual Monster Pumpkin Drop will feature a candy-filled gourd weighing around 500 pounds, which will be dropped from the 11th floor of Tioga Hall.
For the fourth year in a row, local grower Jack Berndes donated the doomed pumpkin, which members of the Muir Residents Council named “Bruh” — the new Instagram lingo for “Bro.”
Several big holiday parties for adults are scheduled for tonight.
At 6 p.m., the annual “Monster Bash” will be held over eight blocks of the Gaslamp Quarter and East Village, featuring five entertainment stages, dancing and a costume contest.
At 7 p.m., the “Zombie Ball,” a fundraiser for the Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company, will include professional makeup artists who will transform party-goers at the Museum of Man into the undead, or vampires, monsters, skeletons, mermaids or other creatures.
At 10 p.m., the House of Blues will hold its ninth annual Halloween Block Party, with three stages of music and a costume contest.
Late-night downtown revelers will be able to ride home on extra trolleys, according to the Metropolitan Transit System.
Additional Green Line trains will leave the Gaslamp Quarter Station at 12:08 a.m., 12:23 a.m., and 12:38 a.m., and go to the parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium and San Diego State University. The last Green Line trolley to go all the way to Santee will leave downtown around 10 p.m.
An extra Blue Line train to San Ysidro will depart the Fifth Avenue station at 12:25 a.m.
An added Orange Line train will depart at 12:27 a.m. from the Fifth Avenue station.
— City News Service