Carving a niche
Night of a Thousand Jacks has quickly become a popular and productive early Halloween event at FairOaks Mall. The annual fundraiser, which benefits Advocates for Children, a nonprofit agency that provides help for children who have been victims of neglect or abuse, used to be an outdoor event downtown. However, unfavorable weather prompted the move indoors last year — and the change has turned out well.
This year’s event drew an estimated 3,500 people and raised nearly $18,000 on Oct. 29, organizers said. That’s a solid encore to the nearly $22,000 raised last year.
The event featured 16 patches of carved pumpkins, and attendees could vote for their favorite by donating $1. The event also included a costume contest, games and crafts.
The efforts of those who organized the event and those who participated and donated are appreciated.
Cautionary tale
As Thanksgiving approaches, consumers will ramp up their Christmas shopping. When they are out at stores making their purchases, they need to remember to be careful about what items they leave in their vehicles.
Consider the hard-luck story of an Indiana family that lost irreplaceable family photos when the laptop computer in which the photos were stored was stolen from their locked-vehicle near a shopping center. So was $200 in recently purchased merchandise from nearby shops.
The incident serves as a reminder that predators are out there and consumers should never assume that items will be safe even when stored in a vehicle right after shopping.
Tasty offering
Festivals and special events are things that add to the quality of life of a community, as they celebrate or highlight certain aspects of it. Taste of Columbus, sponsored for the second year by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 27 at The Commons, certainly accomplishes that.
About 400 people attended and sampled main courses, desserts and drinks from more than 25 local food vendors. This enjoyable community event brought people together in a relaxed social setting, and in some cases broadened their knowledge of the community by interacting with businesses they previously had not.
Kudos to those who organized, participated in and attended the event for making it a worthwhile experience.
