Ana Barraza
For good, clean, family-oriented fun, or for a festive trip to the dark side this Halloween season, the Halloween Harvest Festival at Pierce College is the place to be.Fall was definitely in the air on a chilly Friday night at Pierce, where the bright lights and banjo music coming from the corner of De Soto Avenue and Victory Boulevard were a sure sign that the third annual Halloween Harvest Festival had commenced.Walking up to the ticket counter, there is a whole array of activities for kids and adults posted on the sign above, including a 5 acre corn maze in the shape of an American Indian’s head. Corn maze ticket prices are $6 for children and $10 for adults during day festival hours, and $12 after 7 p.m., during the Frightfair Screampark night festival hours.The labyrinth proves itself difficult even for a “maze master” who got lost trying to lead a group through. She also recalled a group who took two hours to find their way out.One of the main attractions of the festival is the one-mile trek through the “Creatures of the Corn” haunted trail. As my friend and I hesitantly approached the entrance, we were a little relieved to find out that the “creatures” were on a 15-minute break. This bought us time to muster up some needed courage and to appease our sweet tooth with a $3 bag full of cinnamon and sugar covered donut holes. After bravely returning to the haunted trail, we handed over our $12 tickets to the young man working there and he explained the rules, which were quite simple. Don’t touch the actors and they won’t touch you. Honestly, we weren’t really paying much attention to him, but more so to the couple of stragglers ahead of us, making their way in as the rest of their group faded into the darkness of the cornfield. We knew that would be us in a few minutes. We would later catch up to and eventually elbow our way passed this group, even though they had a significant head start. We were chickens and we wanted out of there. Fast.Following several attempts to turn back, I was able to coax my friend into getting through the “creature”-filled trail as quickly as possible. There was no turning back now, and we found ourselves screaming our heads off and even becoming the main attraction for two young male patrons behind us. Not convinced by the actors, they thought it would be more entertaining for them to scare us rather than have the “creatures” scare them. Perhaps they, like me, recognized the same lines used by the actors two years ago.Finally out after about 15 minutes, I decided a more wholesome activity would calm our frazzled nerves. I asked where the petting zoo was.”We have a goat with four horns,” said Dawn McAdams, an 18-year-old student from Taft High School. This is her second year working at the festival. McAdams, who works the carousel and the train, has noticed a lot of positive feedback from the guests so far.Following our noses, we paid a visit to the goats, sheep, donkeys and ponies available for petting and feeding. Admission to the petting zoo is included with activity purchases. General admission to the festival is $4, although I don’t suggest going to the festival if you aren’t planning on doing one of the activities.”Last night [Oct. 4] was the first busy night at the festival,” said Jordan Kurtz, a Chatsworth High School student who works the bungee. The festival opened Sept. 28 and will extend past Halloween, until Nov. 4. The event is part of the Agricultural Education Center, a program of experiential activities related to farming, agriculture and environmental issues, according to Larry Kraus, associate vice president of Pierce.”It’s a fundraising activity for the future of the Agricultural Center,” Kraus said of the event, which generates “somewhere around $150,000.”Halloween Harvest Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. The “Factory of Nightmares” haunted house opened Friday.”We came last year and we’re back again picking out our pumpkins. We might do the hay ride thing,” said Asuzena Loera, a visitor who plans on making the festival a family tradition.If you enjoy getting scared, take pleasure in watching others freak out, or maybe just want to pretend like you’re in a really cheesy horror flick (and don’t mind paying $12 to do it), then I recommend stopping by to say hello to the “Creatures of the Corn.” I sure wish the festival had been around during all of those underaged high school nights with nothing to do.For more information on festival hours and activity prices or to purchase tickets online, visit www.halloweenharvestfestival.com. Overall rating: B+