Vic Cima, GHP manager, congratulates Nicole Holton and her strawberry-costumed daughter, Teresa, on winning the Greenhaven Pocket Farmers Market Halloween Costume Contest. Yvonne York, who was in charge of prizes, holds one the event’s posters.

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Teresa Alvarado is only eight months old, but she was the overwhelming winner in the Greenhaven Pocket Farmers Market Halloween Costume Contest on Saturday, October 28.

Nicole Holton, with her infectious smile, holds her daughter Teresa. 

Prizes were given for the best child veggie or fruit costume. A total of three winners were chosen. Each of the three winners received tickets for a free Elks Sunday breakfast. Teresa won three free breakfasts for her parents.

Lucas Wong, who is three years old, took second place, and his 14-month-old sister Mia took third place. The Wong’s got three free breakfasts.

Three-year-old Lucas Wong took second place, and his 14-month-old sister Mia took third place in the Greenhaven Pocket Farmers Market Halloween Costume Contest.

Teresa’s mother, Nicole Holton-Alvarado, had Teresa dressed as a strawberry.

Teresa Alvarado, who is only eight months old, shows off her winning strawberry costume.

Strawberries are really no longer in season by the time Halloween comes around. At the height of the strawberry season, however, you cannot miss seeing Tom Gwinn at the Greenhaven Farmers Market with over 300 baskets worth of fresh strawberries that are shipped overnight from Watsonville.  

Vic Cima, manager of the market, said, “If we have a strawberry festival next year, we already have our princess in Teresa Alvarado.”  She could ride around the market in her strawberry costume.

Teresa’s mother, who has a very infectious smile, has been a member of the Sacramento Elks Lodge for seven years. Teresa and Nicole are frequently at the Greenhaven Farmers Market.

Nicole’s father, Dennis Paul “Denny” Holton, was a very beloved member of the Lodge, and as a U.S. Army veteran of Vietnam was laid to rest in the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon about a year before Teresa was born.  

“Denny” was a retired plant manager from the Sacramento City Unified School District, and upon his retirement volunteered as a member of Elks 6’s preventative maintenance crew.  He applied his custodial talents to have the Lodge spotless.  Members marveled at how the Lodge had never looked so great, and shortly before his passing Denny was honored as Elk of the Month for the outstanding job he did.

Nicole said, “On my free time I helped my dad help the lodge. I am so glad I had that time to work with him.”  She paused and added, “It was fun! He loved the Lodge so much.”

Cima said, “Denny would really be proud that his granddaughter won the GHP Halloween Costume Contest.”

The main poster for this year’s contest featured Vic Cima in a cabbage-patch costume advertising the fact that GHP would be giving prizes for the best child veggie or fruit costume.  It mentioned that a total of three winners would be chosen, and each of the three winners would receive free tickets to an Elks Sunday breakfast. Cima did not always appreciate the poster, and he said next year they can eliminate his image!

Image courtesy of Elks 6

The GHP’s first Halloween Costume Contest was a success, but Cima noted not as successful as we hoped.  He said it will be an annual event, and that next year we need to publicize that contestants will be receiving large trick-or-treat bags filled with a number of items. We did not do that this year.

Cima was really upset, and thought it was a shame: “We did not publicize the large trick-or-treat bags we were giving away.”

Yvonne York did a fabulous job of creating these outstanding trick-or-treat bags filled with large coloring books, small reading books, crayons, and candies.  Each bag had at least 12 items.  Yvonne had at least 29 bags.

She said, “All remaining bags (about 20) I filled with remaining candy, suckers, small Elks drug awareness coloring books, etc.”

Yvonne handed out those remaining goodie bags at the Elks 6’s Trunk or Treat on Halloween.

“Next year,” Cima said, “We will advertise that part of our contest, and get our vendors to give a gift certificate for items like a bag of Truthful Popcorn, a monster cookie from Sweetbrier Bakery, a basket of strawberries, or a street taco from Yolanda’s Tamales, etc.”