Halloween Party

THERE WAS a great deal of fun to be had last weekend, when hundreds of children and their parents came to Carroll Baldwin Hall to play games, see the Deathly Diner and show off their costumes.The Savage Halloween party exceeded its organizers' hopes.Carolyn Adami, who organized Savage Halloween parties a decade ago, was a hit dressed in a white tutu as the Lottery Fairy.Eileen Johanson dressed as a gypsy and read fortunes.Mary Ann Gardes came as a black cat.She kept the ringtoss and other games going.

Monsters, Ghosts, Goblins & DemonsThe Essential Halloween Party Collection (Hip-O 314 545 048)Rob Zombie PresentsThe Words & the Music of Frankenstein (Hip-O 021 153 814)DraculaMusic by Philip Glass, performed by Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch 79542)Why is it that some holidays seem more musical than others?There are dozens, if not hundreds of Christmas songs, but can anyone name more than one Easter song? What about Passover? Fourth of July has a host of songs (George M. Cohan's "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy," to name just one)

The article on Al and Tipper Gore's Halloween party in Saturday's Today section was by Sun national staff writer Ellen Gamerman, whose byline was inadvertently omitted.WASHINGTON -- What to wear when trick-or-treating with the Clinton administration? Perhaps no one will be nervy enough to don a beret, but at least some bold guests plan to strap angel wings to their right shoulders and show up as "a vast right-wing conspiracy."There will certainly be enough fodder for political punning when at least 500 media people, White House players and their relatives gather at Vice President Al Gore's residence today for his annual Halloween party.

Five west Columbia villages are planning Halloween events for children.The Dorsey's Search Community Association will hold a Halloween party for children ages 10 and under Oct. 26.Costumed children will line up at 12: 45 p.m. at Linden Hall. After trick-or-treating around the village center, guests will visit the pumpkin patch, make scarecrows and have refreshments.Admission is one can of food for the needy.Tickets must be picked up in advance at Linden Hall.Harper's Choice Community Association will hold a Halloween party for 3- to 10-year-olds at 7 p.m. Oct. 29 at Kahler Hall.

So, who are you going to be for Halloween?Prime-time tonight offers plenty of suggestions."Wings" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Desperate to attend the big Halloween party, Joe convinces his only passenger to fly another time. Which is not a good thing, since the passenger was a courier delivering a human heart to a mainland hospital. Can the gang (all of whom are dressed in their Halloween finery) find him in time to get the heart delivered? NBC."The Nanny" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13)

SPRINGFIELD HOSPITAL CENTER continues its celebration of its centennial year with a beautification project.The new central corridor of the hospital property in Sykesville will be enhanced with 16 oak trees and 20 disease-resistant elms. They will be planted along Fourth Street. As the hospital has changed in recent years, this street has become the new center of the campus.County Commissioner W. Benjamin Brown and members of the hospital's Centennial Committee will attend the planting JTC ceremony at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

There will be no Family Fun Fest in Glen Burnie this year, and the future of the town's Halloween Safety Party is iffy at best.The Northern Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce says it doesn't have enough people to put on the two popular annual festivals and isn't interested in being the chief sponsor.Edward Kennedy, president of the chamber, said he hopes someone else will agree to organize the Halloween Safety Party.The chamber and other community groups and businesses took over the festivals in 1993, after the county's work force reduction and reorganization prompted the Office of Community Services to drop the events.

A ZEBRA, an Indian pony and a racehorse circled the ring at the Carroll County Agricultural Center in Westminster on Tuesday evening and again Wednesday evening.Children laughed with glee as several ponies passed by. One was dressed as a bumblebee, another a peacock, and still another, a ballerina.To the children it didn't matter that the makeup and black stripes had been meticulously painted on their favorite equines.For tonight, that horse really was a zebra.The costumed ponies, riders and workers were all part of the Halloween party for the 4-H Therapeutic Riding Program of Carroll County.

Is Sun Biased Toward Bentley?I am disappointed at reading so many repeat articles such as the one Oct. 24 as to just what Helen Bentley's plans are for her future.Why not devote a quarter of a page spread telling us a little about William Shepard and Ellen Sauerbrey? Be sure to include a lovely color photo as you have done for Ms. Bentley.Just how old are the announced Republican candidates for governor? Are they married? I know Mr. Shepard is, because he ran with his wife last time. All we read about him is that he got 40 percent of the vote last time.

Those of us over 40 remember Kukla, Fran and Ollie, or Howdy Doody, Mr. Bluster and that incredibly strange creature known as Flubadub, and we laughed at the endless arguments and fights between Punch and Judy.All kids love puppet shows. Unfortunately, such shows have nearly become a thing of the past, replaced by endless, often mindless, cartoon shows on television.Only the late Jim Henson's Muppet characters retain some of that old puppet magic, but even they must depend on high-tech television techniques.

She spoke quietly and timidly from the witness stand, telling jurors about the afternoon when she said Jose Antonio Bassat admitted killing "the old man." Then, the young woman said yesterday, he threatened to use the same gun on her and her family if she or her mother told anyone about it. The testimony from Giselle Hernandez came on the second day of the murder trial of Bassat, who is charged in the death of a great-grandfather who was walking through his Turners Station neighborhood at dusk the night before Halloween in 2004.

You felt awkward walking to last year's Halloween party in your bunny outfit? Thought driving in your mummy costume was tricky? Try running nearly four miles dressed as a sumo wrestler. Dan Parry can tell you - from personal experience during yesterday's XTERRA Gwynns Falls Trail Run - it isn't easy. Parry, a 46-year-old computer specialist, couldn't put down his arms because of the inflatable layer of skin. And after finishing the 6K, Parry said, "It was pretty hot, too." But he and others - including a Batman and Catwoman, a Green Giant and a skeleton - said the Halloween apparel added an element of silliness to the race, a fundraiser for the Gwynns Falls Trail Council.

In cubicles and on laptops, a group of Johns Hopkins University students is quietly protesting on its own - on Facebook.com. Ever since a Sigma Chi fraternity invitation for a Halloween weekend party prompted charges of racial insensitivity, heated - sometimes hateful - words have been exchanged in a variety of online groups that have formed. There's "That Halloween Party Was SO NOT Racist" with 399 members. Its discussion threads include 74 posts on "BSU Demands," referring to the Black Student Union, and less popular threads on "Free to be Offended, Free to Offend," and `The BSU is RACIST.

South County center sets Halloween party South County Senior Center will offer these activities: Today, 12:30 p.m., Halloween party and Monster Mash. Bring grandchildren for trick-or-treating. Tomorrow, the county Health Department will offer flu shots. Donation of $20, or bring Medicare Part B card. Tuesday, 9:30 a.m., Advisory Council meeting. Tuesday, 1 p.m., New Kids on the Block club meets. Tuesday, 10 a.m., Garden Club meets. Growing herbs is the topic. Nov. 2, 1 p.m., Baltimore Ballet Theatre performs at the center.

There's just nine more days to enjoy this time of year, when you can throw on a mask and some fake blood, act a little nuts and still get in pretty much any place you want. If haunted houses aren't your style, there are plenty of other Halloween happenings to choose from in the days ahead. Here's a list to make sure your calendar is full this weekend and beyond: Oct. 27 Poe and Pipes -- What could be better than brown-bagging with Edgar Allan Poe? At noon, the University of Maryland School of Law's "Lunch Under the Pipes" series of performances at historic Westminster Hall invites you to take your lunch, meet at Poe's Grave for a tour of Westminster Catacombs, then enjoy an organ medley and a theatrical presentation of Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart by longtime Poe impersonator David Keltz.

There's just nine more days to enjoy this time of year, when you can throw on a mask and some fake blood, act a little nuts and still get in pretty much any place you want. If haunted houses aren't your style, there are plenty of other Halloween happenings to choose from in the days ahead. Here's a list to make sure your calendar is full this weekend and beyond: Oct. 27 Poe and Pipes -- What could be better than brown-bagging with Edgar Allan Poe? At noon, the University of Maryland School of Law's "Lunch Under the Pipes" series of performances at historic Westminster Hall invites you to take your lunch, meet at Poe's Grave for a tour of Westminster Catacombs, then enjoy an organ medley and a theatrical presentation of Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart by longtime Poe impersonator David Keltz.

The community is invited to participate in a Harvest Party, an evening of family fun, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday at Celebration Church, 6080 Foreland Garth in Long Reach village. The party, which is to include children's games, rides, prizes and other attractions, is expected to draw 300 to 500 children. It is intended to provide a safe Halloween alternative for children. The Harvest Party will be held on the church's back parking lot. Information: 410-997-2088. Talbott Springs pupils joining Red Ribbon Week Talbott Springs Elementary School is participating in Red Ribbon Week, a national program to encourage a drug- and violence-free society.

FUN TREATS, NO TRICKS Halloween ranks as one of the biggest party days of the year, just behind New YearM-Fs Eve and Super Bowl Sunday. Here are some ideas to help you get in the spirit of the celebration: TOAST THE HOLIDAY For a creepylooking drink for the grown-ups, why not check out HPNOTIQ, an aqua-blue French liqueur made from vodka, cognac and fruit juices? Try combining 1 ounce of HPNOTIQ with 1 ounce of amaretto and 1 ounce of pineapple juice in a martini glass and garnish with a glow stick for a Halloween treat.

FOR A sleepy, residential area, a lot happens here in just a week. For starters, the afternoon Halloween party held Sunday at Carroll Baldwin Hall was a raging success. The hall was festooned with hanging moss and chains dangling from the lights. Admission was a bag of candy to be distributed as prizes for the games. Inside were refreshments and a half-dozen traditional games, such as ring toss and guess-the-weight-of-the-pumpkin. But the most entertaining aspect was the partygoers themselves.

NEW BEGINNINGS are usually thought to come with the spring. But ever since kindergarten, almost all of my new beginnings have occurred in the fall. So it seems fitting to start my first east Columbia column on a beautiful autumn day. Exactly 15 years ago, on a crisp fall day like this one, I had another new beginning: my very first day in the newsroom of a daily newspaper. The endless rows of creamy gray computers were dizzying and intimidating to a young college graduate who could type about 11 words per minute.