SPOOKY: California Riverside Ballet’s 27th annual Ghost Walk returns to Riverside for two haunting nights of Halloween fun.
By Natalie Vargas, Staff Writer
Riverside’s Ghost Walk was held on October 26 and 27, from 6-11pm each day, at the Mission Inn Pedestrian Mall. According to the California Riverside Ballet’s website, the event had free general admission, however, story-telling tours were available for $15 a person, with either a PG or PG-13 rating. These walking tours gave people the chance to watch a frightening play that was put on by high school students in various locations in downtown Riverside. The Ghost Walk was produced with the help of an assortment of high schools, local college students, and arts centers, to create a night of Halloween ‘horror’ that people of any age would be happy to attend.
Ghost Walk combined various plays, ballet performances, interpretive pieces, and a carnival, all created by people in the community. California Riverside Ballet performed a piece to the song “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, encapsulating the classic Halloween spirit. Additionally, a University of California, Riverside (UCR) student, Senryu Taiko, performed an interpretive piece on enormous drums at the main festival stage. There was also a costume contest both nights at 7:50pm for all ages 10 and under, for the children to enjoy.
Poly High School students in both the theater and art programs also contributed to the success of Ghost Walk. Elizabeth Morrow, an art teacher at Poly, had some of her Art/Design classes create the paintings that served as the posters for the plays. Plays that were performed included: The Origins of the Hashtag Slasher, Beauty is Pain, Dead Zone, ect… , and were shown on the $15 walking tours of the Ghost Walk. These plays help Poly’s theater program mature and represent the school well. “Ghost Walk is one of the many ways for new actors, more commonly freshmen, to get their foot into the door of the theater,” Mckenna Scandura (10) said. The Ghost Walk helps give new actors confidence while acting in front of small audiences. “This was my first time acting ever on stage and… Ghost Walk really helped me get out of my shell,” Skyler Conklin (11) said. These experiences could help promote the prowess of Poly’s ever-growing theater program and bring the community together to appreciate displays of art.