OKMULGEE – The MCN Head Start Preschool held their annual Spooktacular Carnival at the Mvskoke Dome on Oct. 24. Different carnival-style game booths and prizes made an afternoon of family friendly fun. Participating MCN departments were able to create their own booths and have fun games for children to play.
MCN Head Start Preschool Parent Family Community Engagement Specialist Tina Ward (Mvskoke) spoke to Mvskoke Media about this year’s Spooktacular event.
This year marks the program’s third year of hosting the Halloween event for MCN Head Start Preschool centers. They’ve gained more involvement within different MCN departments and programs, and Head Start wanted to involve more children’s families this year. Throughout previous years it was held at the Okmulgee Indian Community Center, however with the overwhelming support and participation they had to move to the Mvskoke Dome to accommodate everyone.
This year they wanted to try something different and incorporated more carnival games.
“As family involvement is a huge part of Head Start Preschool, we decided to host a Family Fun Day Spooktacular Carnival focusing on family involvement in making it a memorable occasion for the children and families. We had 295 family members (parents, guardians, grandparents) and a total of 64 fathers or male role models in attendance,” Ward said.
30 MCN departments participated including the National Council, Executive Office, Office of the Attorney General, Human Resources, Food Distribution, and Social Services. “We are so appreciative of all their involvement and participation during this event,” Ward said.
Ward likes seeing all of it come together and also seeing families’ engaged and involved while spending their time together. Ward believes that the children and their families enjoyed playing the games and, laughingly, that the kids probably enjoyed the candy more.
The event also featured a costume contest for the participating departments. MCN Elder Services won first place, dressing up as hippies. The second place winner was MCN Marketing and Tourism, who dressed up as Ghostbusters.
