Here is a roundup of Halloween events in West County:

East Bay Waldorf School presents Wanderers’ Way, a seasonal event on Friday that will take children 10 and under and their families on a journey through the decorated grounds of the school at 3800 Clark Road in El Sobrante.

A guide will take visitors (no scary costumes, please) on the pumpkin-lit paths to see storytellers, fanciful creatures, and ethereal music, with small treasures offered along the way to children and refreshments available at the end.

The tour is $5 per person over age 2. Guided groups leave every 10 minutes from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and reservations are required. To reserve a time slot, call 510-223-3570, ext. 2101.

* Children age 4 to 7 can come in costume to the Hercules Halloween Fest from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday at the Teen Center, for a non-scary tour of the haunted house, followed by arts and crafts, activities, games, and more. Admission is $7 (residents) or $21 for a family of four. Proceeds benefit the Hercules Teen Youth Council.

* Weigh of Life is hosting Spooky Fun Raiser at 6 p.m. Friday at the Veterans Hall, 968 23rd St. in Richmond. The evening includes food, a DJ, performance and dancing. Proceeds from the $45 admission benefit Weigh of Life, a program promoting fitness and healthy eating in underserved communities. Details: 510-323-3052.

* San Pablo Recreation will hold its free Haunted House and Pumpkin Patch from 6:30 to
8:30 p.m. Friday at Davis Park, 1665 Folsom Ave. Brave visitors can walk through the Chamber of Doom, and all ages are welcome at the Pumpkin Patch for storytelling, crafts, face painting, and more. Details: 510-215-3204

* The Pinole Youth Foundation presents its Halloween Carnival and Haunted House from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Fernandez Park, 595 Tennent Ave. Along with the free costume parade and crafts there will be jumpers, face painting, balloons and carnival games for a fee, with proceeds benefiting youth programs. A mega pass is available for $5.

* Richmond presents its Hauntatorium from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Memorial Auditorium, 403 Civic Center. Admission for those who dare to step inside to find Pumpkin Face is $5. A less-scary matinee version for children 10 and under is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

* An Adult Costume Ball will be held by Richmond PAL at its Hal Holt Gymnasium, 2200 Macdonald Ave., from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday. The gala evening will feature dancing, appetizers, drinks, games and prizes for best costumes. For tickets call 510-621-1221.

* El Cerrito’s Halloween Carnival and Haunted House is 2:30 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane. The carnival will have games and prizes for all ages, with ticket sales ending at 6:30 p.m.
The Haunted House (admission $4) has a preschool, lights-on version from 3 to 5 p.m. and the scary, lights-off version from 5:15 to 7 p.m. Affordable food and beverages will be sold.

Canines can get in on the fun at the third annual Dog Parade and Costume Contest at 5 p.m. at Cerrito Vista Park at Moeser Lane and Pomona Avenue. Admission is $5 and there will prizes for entrants and winners.

* Downtown Rhythm and DVC Rock Rhythm and Review headline the Halloween Dance Fundraiser at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pinole Senior Center, 2500 Charles Ave. Come in costumes or casual/night club attire for an evening includes a cash bar. For tickets send an email to mickeyconnors@sbcglobal.net.

* Come in costume to a Halloween Bike About Town starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Solano Avenue Cyclery, 1554 Solano Ave. in Albany. The Recreation Department and Albany Strollers & Rollers will lead an eerie ride around town in the dark and a limited number of front bike lights will be available for free, first come first served. At ride’s end a vote will be held for best bike-theme costume and best costumed family.

* County Supervisor John Gioia invites families to trick or treat at his office, 11780 San Pablo Ave., Suite D in El Cerrito, this week for alternatives to candy and other sugary sweets.
During open hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed noon to 1 p.m.) this week, A sample bag will be distributed, one per household, while supplies last. For details contact Luz Gomez at 510-374-3231 or Luz.Gomez@bos.cccounty.us.

* The dental office of Dr. Linh Cao-Chan will hold a Halloween Candy Buy Back from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Nov. 2 at 10110 San Pablo Ave. in El Cerrito. The office will pay $1 per pound of unopened candy “and throw in a goody bag with good stuff for teeth.”

Collected candy will be donated to Operation Gratitude (www.operationgratitude.com) to send to troops overseas, and donations of other care package items are welcome. Details: 510-526-4747.

Pictured above, from the West County Times photo files, is a 1987 view of the Faria family home at its original setting overlooking Pinole Valley Road.
The 1880 house, originally built by Pinole pioneer Dr. Samuel Tennent for his newly wedded son, James, was moved to Old Town in 2005 and renovated.In the early 1900s Joseph Dutra Faria and his wife, Maria Nunes Faria, moved into the home, raising 11 children and overseeing a dairy ranch across the street.
The open land where the home sat is now the site of the Kaiser Permanente medical offices, where a plaque will be commemorated on the southeast corner of Henry Avenue and Pinole Valley Road by the Pinole Historical Society.
“George Vincent, PHS historian and storyteller, will be conducting the ceremony. Also speaking will be one of the Faria sisters, Dolores Lucas, and Vice Mayor Peter Murray,” writes historical society member Jeff Rubin.
“Three generations of Farias lived in this home, most notably William (Bill) Faria and his wife, Margaret. Bill raised dairy cows on his father’s ranch across the street from this home in the 1920s and 1930s,” Rubin notes. “Bill’s three daughters, Margaret, Deanna, and Dolores, will attend the dedication. Margaret and Deanna live in Pinole. Dolores lives in Benicia.”
As for the Faria house, “It now sits at 2100 San Pablo Ave., preserved as a historical landmark and, hopefully, the future home of the Pinole History Museum.”

My plan on Thursday was to attend the reopening ceremony of the historic Maritime Center in Richmond, then rush back to the office to file a story on the event and write the community column for Sunday’s edition.
That plan came crashing down, when I came crashing down myself, tripping on the sidewalk and injuring a finger pretty badly. Instead of hurrying back to the office, I was hurrying to the emergency clinic at Kaiser Richmond, which, thankfully, was nearby.
This note is just to explain why there won’t be a column on Sunday as I recuperate and to offer my apology to all the readers and contributors who depend on it for their community news. I plan to be back at work next week, typing laboriously with the fingers I can still use.

Residents around Canyon Drive gathered Tuesday to “take a bite out of crime” — and barbecue and pie and coffee — at the home of Joe and Debbie Ojeda (the Neighborhood Watch block captain), one of 11 block parties held in Pinole for the annual National Night Out.
More than 440 residents attended events around the city, reported Al Chavarria, community safety specialist with the Pinole Police Department.

Pictured above (photo submitted by Sandie Parker) are players and coaches of the the Marin Luxury Cars 9- to 10-year-old girls team that went undefeated in its 12-game Pinole-Hercules AAA Minor Division softball season and swept through five wins to take the District 4 Little League Tournament of Champions title in Walnut Creek. Team members are Lydia Quiros, Kaylynn Parker, Amber Holland, Sophia Martinez, Mikaela Cantiller, Shania and Anikka Richardson, Caitlin Schilt, Brianna Dilley, Jordyn Boykin, and Logan Silva. Piloting the team was manager Ken Quiros.

The All Star team from the Pinole Hercules softball division, which played home games at Ellerhorst Elementary, also had a successful run in July, taking the District 4 championship over Antioch Little League on July 9 and advancing to a winning string in the Northern California Little League Division II Tournament. Playing on the All Stars were Lydia Quiros, Kaylynn Parker, Amber Holland, Milaeka Cantiller, Shania and Anikka Richardson, Caitlin Schilt, Andrea Siverson, Liliana Campos and Jessica Nunes. All Star coachers were Ken Quiros, Kevin Siverson and Dale Cantiller.

COLLINS-Aryanna Davis _6th grade_

COLLINS-Zachary Holloway _3rd grade_

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The 20th annual Cruisin’ in the Sun Classic Car Show in Old Town Pinole on Sunday drew more than 6.000 people who strolled San Pablo Avenue and Fernandez Park next door to see 265 classic and meticulously cared for American-made rides from 1975 and earlier. Music in the video is by the Dave Crimmen Band, whose drummer was wearing the same Sun Records shirt as your columnist.

El Cerrito lags behind Orinda in home prices, per capita income and local schools (all related, as any real estate agent will tell you).
But when it comes to the condition of local streets, Orinda has to take a back seat to its counterpart in West County.
That news comes from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which ranked El Cerrito second in the Bay Area in its latest pothole report, released this week.
El Cerrito earned a total of 85 (or “very good”), just behind Brentwood, which tallied 86 on MTC’s pavement condition index, or PCI score.
The ranking is a major turnaround for El Cerrito, which lagged near the bottom just three years ago (a 53 score in 2006), before the city successfully pushed through a half-cent sales tax measure in 2008 dedicated to road repair.
The change prompted the MTC to single out El Cerrito in its report, which cites the city as “A Pavement Success Story.”
San Pablo also fared well for 2010, pulling in a “very good” ranking of 80 in the survey, a nice climb from a 67 score in 2006.
Hercules (73) and Pinole (70) were both ranked “good” for 2010, Richmond was in the “at-risk” ranking with a 2010 score of 55, while Albany was in the “fair” category with a 66.
So what about Orinda? It climbed three points from to 2006 to a score of 49 (still categorized as “poor”), which kept it ranked in the bottom five of the survey, keeping company with St. Helena, Larkspur, Sonoma County and Rio Vista.
Besides, Orinda has half as many BART stations as El Cerrito and none of the views of the Bay.

One restaurant chain’s loss could be another’s gain.
The announcement Tuesday that Marie Callender’s had filed for bankruptcy protection included news that the restaurant chain would close seven of its Bay Area locations, potentially displacing 270 workers.
The Mel’s Diner chain wasted little time in reaching out to displaced Marie Callendar’s workers in the East Bay, posting a Craigslist ad marked “ATTENTION: MARIE CALLENDERS LINECOOKS AND SERVERS (concord / pleasant hill / martinez)” that invites them to apply for positions at the new Original Mels of Pinole location on Fitzgerald Drive.
“If you have recently lost your job due to the closing of a Marie Callenders, and you are a great server, linecook and team player, we would love to help get you back in the workforce, in a fun and fast-paced environment,” the ad states.
The drive-in would get some experienced workers in the bargain, of course.
The location is open 24 hours and is hiring for all shifts, according to the ad, which advises applicants to come by from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and adds, “Please no phone calls.”

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