It was spooky. It was scary. And it was a whole lot of fun.

As the sun set on Oct. 29, The Eastmark Great Park® transformed into the old Arizona ghost town, Pontiac Station. True to legend, the infamous stagecoach stop came to life for one night only, just days before Halloween, and this year more than 1,200 Eastmark residents and guests stopped by for a haunting good time.

While a live DJ spun hip Halloween tunes, Eastmark partygoers tried their luck at old time carnival games and then moseyed over to the General Store to redeem game tickets for assorted toys and treats. A ghostly maze sponsored by Gothic Landscaping conjured up a few frights for the older kiddos and adults, as the youngins made their way through an inflatable obstacle course. A fabulous face painter was on hand, and oh, did we mention there were bouncing pony races? Yee haw! A few good laughs were had by riders and onlookers alike. Plus, guests sunk their teeth into frightfully good eats like soft pretzels, snow cones, cotton candy, churros, and kettle corn, while the Eldorado Saloon served up devilish brews for the 21+ ghouls.

This group of guests sure knew how to dress for the occasion, too. We were impressed! The (awesomely) costumed crowd got the chance to strut their stuff on the Pavilion stage with a costume parade for the kids (complete with treat-filled goody bags for participants), and teens, couples, families, and neighborhood groups took to the stage to compete for special prizes in the Very Scary Costume Contest. High fives to the Forrest Gump and Captain Dan duo, Super Mario cars crew, Ghostbusters family, and the Evil Queen – well done!

A huge thank you goes out to our more than 40 resident and BASIS Mesa volunteers who helped make the magic come alive. The Community Life Team is grateful to you! And thanks to all who joined us for a frightfully fun night! Check out our Facebook photo gallery to see more pictures from the event.

Residents, be sure to scope out Eastmark’s Community Calendar for a rundown of all the upcoming holiday events.