As cooler winds blow into Pleasure Island, ghouls, goblins, ghost and clowns, angels, devils, superheroes and  princesses will  flood  the streets, and the Gulf Shores recreation center for Halloween fun.

 The more green streaked hair, bright red lipstick and jack-o-lantern candy bowls, the better. With autumn leaves, some things stay the same—and one of those constants has come to be the Halloween Family Fun Night and Panic Park Haunted Trail held by the city of Gulf Shores.

 The David L. Bodenhamer Center, at 310 West 19th Ave., will come alive with chiffon, polyester and face paint on Oct. 29. Carnival games cost 50 cents and will have children of all ages fishing for goodies, choose dungeon doors, watch  monsters transform rocks into riches and pick a large nose for prizes; kids can also enjoy the toilet seat toss, haystack find, witches hat toss, pop a pumpkin, monster man, ring ghost, pirates treasure, puppet people, dice roll and cakewalk and moonwalk, according to Blake Phelps, the city's event coordinator.

 Bridget Reynolds, the city's program and events manager, said the price and the atmosphere are just right.

 “We have 50 cent games so you can spend $5-10 and it's not a huge hit on anybody's pocketbook,” she explained. “It's at the rec(reation) center so you can feel comfortable being able to keep up with your child, but let them go a little.”

 Festival goers can partake of free popcorn, movie viewing of  “It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”, goodie bags and a costume contest. Reynolds said she believes the latter is one  of the event's draws.

 “One of the biggest things I think they (guests) enjoy, it's another reason to wear their costumes,” she spoke with excitement. “We've seen some really unique things over the years.”

 “Anytime you can have a fun event where parents can socialize with their kids…that's a home run.”

 The event has taken place since the Center's opening about 13 years ago, Reynolds said, and she has been involved for the past three years.

 Employees make about 400 treat bags, she said, so at least that many children have attended regularly in past years. They also plan to change decorations up a bit.

 “We want to enhance the experience of transforming the rec(reation) center into something indicative of the Halloween holiday,” she said enthusiastically. “We're working on making it a little more spooky this year.”

 And speaking of indicative to the Halloween holiday, one word comes to mind in that regard, and that word is “fun”, according to Reynolds.

 “It's one of my favorite holidays because it's a fun holiday,” she said. “There's no worrying about 'did I buy the right gift' or organizing family meals.”

 “It's great to provide something that is fun and seeing all the costumes—including my staff; they start in July asking me, 'what if I'm this for Halloween?'”

 “There's no expectations except having fun.”

 The event will be held from 6-8 p.m. with a costume contest at 7:30. For more, call the center at 968-1420.