Sanayah Orr, Kyla Phillips, and Hannah Adams at The Kessler School Costume Parade

On Halloween night, I just wanted to share this photo with our readers of Sanayah Orr, Kyla Phillips, and Hannah Adams…from last Friday’s Halloween costume parade at The Kessler School.

Look for more photos of those adorable Kessler kids all costumed out in this week’s Oak Cliff People.

According to Dells District resident Gay Revi, 74 percent of her neighborhood speaks Spanish. All the more reason for the neighborhood association, in partnership with the Dallas Police Department,  to host an informational event for the Hispanic community.

The event, dubbed “Unidos,” will be held on Nov. 8 at the Weiss Recreation Center (3400 West Clarendon Dr.). Speakers include immigration attorney Byron Thomas, WIC program official Elizabeth Sanchez, and Ana and Albert Gonzalez of Gonzalez Funeral Homes.

For more information, contact DPD Sgt. Gil Cerda at 214-671-0061.

If you have an ever-growing pile of items bound for Goodwill (and rest assured, mine’s probably big enough to be a fire hazard), know that the Kessler School is offering an easy chance for a drop-off this week. From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, they’ll have a temporary Goodwill donation station — with an attendant, tax forms, and everything —   on campus.

Just a heads-up.

"Cease the Grease" ambassadors Katelyn Cook (left) and Ruby Aguilar with City Councilwoman Delia Jasso

Huge congrats to students and teachers at W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy for  ”Ceasin’ The Grease!” Say what?

Dallas Water Utilities initiated the “Cease the Grease” program to teach students the importance of collecting/recycling grease and cooking oil vs. pitching it down the drain. They held a contest among Greiner’s 1,700 students…the winner being the class that collected the most household cooking oil and grease.

This morning, the school held an awards ceremony for the sixth- and eighth-grade winning classes (seventh-grade will take place this afternoon). City Councilwoman Delia Jasso was on the scene to congratulate students and teachers and present the award certificates.

Drum roll, please…
6th-grade winners: Ms. Alaina Dearman’s class
8th-grade winners: Ms. Connie Redic’s class and Ms. Sibusisiwe McNeal’s class, who also took the overall award for the most grease collected — 14 gallons. (The total amount of grease collected by the school was 76 gallons!)

Keep up the great work Greiner students! And look for more photos from the event in next week’s Oak Cliff People.

Although Halloween isn’t officially ’til Monday, this weekend is filled with ghosts and goblins, spooks and treats. So have at it…

Head over to the North Oak Cliff Library (302 West Tenth Street) for the Bishop Arts Foundation’s premier “Dia De Los Muertos” — a celebratory event honoring Mexico’s “Day of the Dead” (from 3 to 8 p.m.). Greiner Middle School’s mariachi band will entertain; Sunset and Adamson high school’s drill teams will perform; and fifth- and sixth-graders from La Academia de Estrellas will decorate alters for late historical figures. You’re also invited to stroll an onsite graveyard, hear some spooky storytelling, checkout a ballet folklore performance, and do some arts and crafts with the kiddos, such as decorating skull masks. Local vendors will be onsite offering up their yummy Mexican cuisine, and the festival will conclude with a candlelight procession through the graveyard and alters.

What could be more fun than racing your bike dressed like a zombie? On Saturday starting at 10 a.m., Bike Friendly Oak Cliff is holding its final Cyclesomatic event —  “Spooky Cross Cyclocross Race” — at Rosemont Elementary School. You can race (and maybe win some cash) or go as a spectator — high entertainment, minus the dinero. Woman, man, or child, there’s a race for you — nine total, with names like “Living Dead Masters,”  “She-Devil Women’s Open,” “Brain-Dead Junior Open,” and “Kiddie & First-Time Rider Race.” And word on the street says if you don a Halloween costume, you just might get a treat! Register at bikereg.com or on the day of the event.

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I have no idea what “The Collective” is, but according to this agenda for tomorrow’s meeting of the Fort Worth Avenue TIF District Design Review Committee, it’s going to be built on the former site of the Colorado Place apartments on Fort Worth Avenue.

Mayor Mike Rawlings

The good ole’ OC Chamber of Commerce has arranged a lunch fete with mayor Mike Rawlings tomorrow, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Mayor Rawlings will give a “State of the City” update and discuss pressing issues affecting Oak Cliff and the rest of Dallas.

The luncheon will be held at Cedar Crest Golf Club (1800 Southerland Ave.). Tickets are $25 for club members and $35 for perspective members. You can purchase tickets here or by calling 214-943-4567.

Come ye, come all…
…enjoy A Midsummer Night’s Dream on these perfect nights of fall.

While we love Dallas’ Shakespeare In The Park, let’s face it…picnicking in 100-plus degrees has its downsides.

To our delight, Sunset High School students will be performing Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the school parking lot tomorrow and Friday evenings, beginning at 7 p.m.

Whether you can quote the play by heart or are a Will-newbie, this performance is sure to shine. So bring a warm cup of cocoa and a cozy blanket and enjoy the wonderings of that infamous Midsummer Night.

Merry and tragical! Tedious and brief! That is, hot ice and wondrous strange snow. [Theseus’ wonderment at the description of the play that Bottom and his friends are about to perform.] …we thought appropriate.

Admission is FREE, and in case of inclement weather, the performance will be held in the foyer by Bo Bison in the new wing.