City celebration brings Westlake Village alive

'This is one of my favorite things in the city. It has that hometown feel.' — Tami Miller Celebration co-chair



Hundreds of families turned out last Sun., Oct. 26, to celebrate the Westlake Village community. The sixth Westlake Village City Celebration, held at the city’s civic center, featured six events—running races, pancake breakfast, carnival and fair, haunted house, and boutique and magic show.

“This is one of my favorite things in the city. It has that hometown feel, and I love seeing all of the families come out,” said Tami Miller, co-chair with Alison Piggot of the White Oak PFC Fun Fair.

The fair was a fundraiser for White Oak Elementary School, the only public school within the boundaries of Westlake Village.

Fairgoers could have their photos taken in front of a fall scene, buy a pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, pose for a caricature, or play games such as Duck Pluck or Scary Spider Ring Toss.

Moon bounces, pony rides, a mechanical bull ride and prizes were among the attractions. The school usually raises between $12,000 and $15,000, which benefits its art, music, computer and physical education programs, Miller said.

The Triunfo YMCA sponsored the pancake breakfast and haunted house to raise funds for its teen programs, including Youth and Government.

Marissa Hair and Maddie Horton, 10-year-old classmates in the fifth grade at White Oak, confirmed that the haunted house was scary.

“There was a bloody towel, and this arm came out at me, so I slapped it,” said Marissa after she and Maddie exited the haunted house and described the experience to Maddie’s mother, Siobhan, who was working at the pumpkin patch.

The day kicked off with the pancake breakfast and three races—10K, 5K and one-mile fun run—and concluded with a free magic show sponsored by the Friends of the Westlake Village Library. The boutique featured vendors selling clothing, jewelry, toys and other merchandise. An animal rescue/ adoption area attracted fairgoers.

Kathy and Chuck Ungerman and their children Nick, 12, and Natalie, 9, spent the day at the event, beginning with the early morning races. The family, 20-year residents of Westlake Village, attends the celebration every year, Kathy Ungerman said.

“Our kids have grown up at White Oak,” said Kathy Ungerman, whose daughter is in fourth grade. “We love how there are so many different aspects to the event. This is our community, and we want to support it.”

Alexis Konis, a White Oak second-grader, especially loved a spinning game involving ducks that she played at one booth.

“We want to give back to our school and do what we can to keep our teachers,” said her mother, Roxy Konis. “This is a great way to do it.”


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