By Clyde Noel

Town Crier Correspondent

Ghosts and goblins trolled for treats along Main and State streets in downtown Los Altos on Halloween, but the annual Spooktacular wasn’t as spooky because the attendance was down from previous years.

While parents kept a watchful eye on them, spacemen, medieval characters and current day heroes walked the streets and entered store fronts to find candy for their paper satchels.

Lillian Brennan, a New Jersey resident visiting Los Altos to see her grandchild, applauded the event.

“We don’t have anything like this in New Jersey,” Brennan said. “To be able to trick or treat the merchants into giving them candy in the afternoon is unusual. At home, the kids go out at night to beg their candy.”

After traipsing Main and State streets for several hours getting Halloween treats, the trick or treaters gravitated to the Community Plaza for youthful entertainment and costume judging.

The eighth-grade Egan Music Department, 100 strong, provided music. “Farmer Mike,” a recognized pumpkin carver, sharpened his knives and sliced a 200 pound pumpkin into a recognizable face.

The costume contest was divided into sections by age.

Danielle Aucoin and Kimberly Fletcher, third-grade students at Loyola School, won the overall prize, a $50 US Savings Bond from United California Bank. The two girls carried a long board with looping wires that resembled the Golden Gate bridge.

Multiple prizes were won by the La Poll family. Entered in different age groups, William, Katarina and Kelly La Poll each received a costume award provided by downtown merchants.

Alexis Wise, as the Statue of Liberty, was an award winner in her class, as was Dorian Clay in a zebra suit.

Crazy costumes were the theme of the day. Although the crowd was smaller than other years, Kathleen Byrne, executive director of Los Altos Village Association, said the event was a success.