What happens when you take a not-quite-so-ordinary museum, and add to it the excitement of Halloween several days before the actual night of Halloween? What happens if over 350 adults and children in costume show up during a two-hour period; you add in seasonal art projects, carnival-style games, wiggling and jiggling at a Monster Mash Dance Party? What happens when you take all that and add in face painting, and yummy snacks and sweets provided for free?
You get Nightmare@triton: Community Halloween Party at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara. On Thursday, October 29, Halloween came two days early to the Triton. Continuing with a tradition started four years ago, the Triton held its Community Halloween Party. This year’s version was a combination of the Triton’s ever-popular Family Art Day event and a family friendly event full of Halloween fun for children and the young-at-heart of all ages.
Running from 6- 8 p.m., the event was a huge hit. With an estimated attendance of more than 350 during the course of the evening, it was an event that showed that museums don’t have to be places where you can’t speak loudly and children aren’t allowed to run around, throw paper airplanes and generally enjoy themselves.
The crowd varied from long-time fans of the Triton to families with very young children who enjoy coming to the Triton because it’s a place where kids can have fun. “It’s great to have this available to the community,” summed up Sundara and Karthik of Sunnyvale who were in attendance, with their two-year old son, Kavin, all dressed as superheroes. “We didn’t come last year because Kavin was too young, but he’s having a lot of fun.” For more information on the Triton’s activities, please visit their webpage: www.tritonmuseum.org.