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PRESIDENTIAL PUMPKIN HEADS, VAMPIRE POETS, FREAK SHOWS, HEARSES AND MORE SCARE UP FUN AT O.C. MARKET PLACE TRICK OR TREAT FESTIVAL
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10/26/2008 : COSTA MESA, CA-- Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain will share the stage in an entirely different format when world famous sculptor "Farmer" Mike Valladao carves their likenesses into a gigantic pumpkin weighing about 500 pounds during the 11th Annual Trick or Treat Festival on Sunday, October 26 at the Orange County Market Place in Costa Mesa, the weekend swap meet at the O. C. Fair & Event Center.
It will be up to the public to decide who has the best pumpkin head during a Mock Election also held during the event. Could that be an early indication who becomes the next U.S. president? If previous experience is an indicator, the answer is YES.
Valladao, who is returning for his ninth year at the Market Place' Halloween fest, has carved the presidential candidates of two previous elections-2004: Bush and Kerry and 2000: Bush and Gore. Bush won both mock elections.
Valladao will begin carving at 7 a.m. when the swap meet opens and is expected to have the candidates three dimensional likenesses completed before noon. The mock election will begin with results posted by 2:30 p.m. He will carve a second Atlantic Giant, but will stay with his traditional "bi-partisan" scary face.
But political heads will not be the only "scary" characters at the annual festival, which will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The 9th annual Hearse Procession and Show will bring out an entirely different dimension with nearly 50 classic, antique, restored and custom altered hearses and funeral cars many of them owned by members of the Phantom Coaches Hearse Club„o making their way through Costa Mesa at 10 a.m. for a four mile "parade" before arriving back to the swap meet for an all day exhibition.
Though all of them unique in their own right, among the more unusual entries is a homebuilt coffin go-kart owned by Jerry Frazier of Huntington Beach, a custom purple painted 1971 Cadillac Superior Landau hearse owned by Costa Mesa resident Lorie McDonald and Northridge resident Dee Reynolds's 1970 hearse with a Tiki bar in the cargo area.
The grand marshal of the hearse procession, also appearing for the ninth year, is radio personality Dr. Demento. Known best for his discovery of Weird Al Yancovic, after the hearse procession, the Dr. will perform three half-hour sets, "The Festival of Dementia," at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Like past years, this living encyclopedia of music (he holds a Master¡¦s Degree from UCLA in folklore and ethnomusicology) will play wacky and demented songs embodying the spirit of Halloween, including that staple of the season, the late Boris Pickett's 1962 novelty hit, "The Monster Mash." He will also sign autographs after each show.
Joining the Dr. as co-grand marshal is Count Smokula, a fez-wearing, vampire looking, rockabilly vaudevillian accordionist, who will also serve as the host entertainer in the hearse show area. A new entertainer for this festival, The Count is not new to the entertainment world by any means. He's a regular host of the Los Angeles Music Awards and Rock City Music Awards, and has served as a ringmaster for a traveling circus, emcee for horror film festivals and has had guest spots on the Stan Lee hosted reality show "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" and shows hosted by David Spade and Tom Green.
Perhaps distant cousins of The Count, the League of Vampiric Bards will return to perform their Gothic parodies and poetry at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on the Westside Stage, which will also be shared by Freak Show Deluxe, a Los Angeles based performance troupe, at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. A trio of carnival side show entertainers will include Vincent Nazario of Buena Park who specializes in fire eating and sword swallowing; Talia Pacheco, AKA The Devil's Plaything, from Hawthorne whose main forte is climbing the ladder of machetes and glass walking and Daniel Hopkins, AKA Brother Daniel the Demented, of Covina who shows his pain threshold as the human pincushion and while lying on a bed of nails.
Other highlights include free trick or treating for kids in costume throughout the swap meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., free face painting and balloons, stilt witches, Count Minuscula (small Dracula character), Freaky Follies marionette puppet shows (10:30 a.m., Noon and 2 p.m.), a scream test contest and blood drive to support local hospitals. All entertainment is included with admission.
Admission to the swap meet is $2 for ages 13 years and over and free for kids 12 and under. More information may be obtained by calling (949) 723-6616 or visiting the website www.ocmarketplace.com or emailing info@ocmarketplace.com.
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