
Stephanie George will speak on Anaheim’s Halloween Festival at the Orange County Historical Society’s next meeting, Thursday, October 11, 2012, 7:30 p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange.
Once called the biggest Halloween celebration west of the Mississippi, the Anaheim Halloween Festival began in 1924 and grew to capacity crowds in the late 1950s, with estimates of more than 150,000 people traveling from all over the Southland to attend this city’s celebration. These days, the Anaheim Fall Festival and Halloween Parade bears only a slight resemblance to its predecessor, but rest assured, this month’s presentation will conjure up the sprites, hobgoblins, and broom-tooting witches of the past. We promise, you’ll be spellbound in discovering the Festival’s disputed origins, bewitched by the Slick Chicks, and howling after learning who was behind the ousting of the Steve Allen, the 1970 parade’s grand marshal. Eek! Finally, the unexplained will be explained as we explore this city’s long tradition of Spooktacular!
Stephanie George, an Anaheim native, is the archivist at the Center for Oral and Public History at California State University, Fullerton, as well as the recording secretary for the Orange County Historical Society, president of the California Council for the Promotion of History —and second place costume contest winner at the 1962 Anaheim Halloween Festival Pancake Breakfast.