Treated

McALLEN — Tiny fairies, witches and ghouls filled the Lark Community Center as families gathered there for Halloween festivities Saturday night.

“We’re very comfortable here,” Angelica Hinojosa said as she sat at a table with her grandchildren. “Very content.”

The woman’s granddaughters, who are from Mission, are accustomed to visiting the facility for art classes and were looking forward to spending the evening at the center.

“I’m a vampire queen,” said 5-year-old Emma, clad in a purple dress sprinkled with shimmery silver glitter.

“I’m not sure what I am,” Hinojosa said as she looked down at her star-lined black robe. “Some kind of magician. Or a wizard. … Yes, I’m a wizard.”

City officials hoped the event would give families a chance to celebrate the occasion without exposing children to traffic or other potentially dangerous elements Halloween night.

“They can be safe indoors,” said Rosemary Fuentes, the facility’s manager. “It’s open to everyone.”

Some families weren’t sure what to expect when they showed up at the event.

“We’ll probably still do a little bit of trick-or-treating,” said McAllen resident Autumn Cortez, 36. She was dressed as Princess Peach, the damsel-in-distress character in Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. video games. Her husband, Anthony, was dressed as the character Luigi and her youngest son, Houston, wore a Mario costume.

“We just wanted to try something different,” she said.

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Ana Ley covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.