October is a special time of year. The weather turns cool and there’s a sweet smell of baking pumpkins in the air. At SJA we love autumn, and we love pumpkins from our local farmers. We love them so much that we hold an annual festival we call Pun’kin Palooza where we celebrate everything pumpkin (and everything pumpkin-colored for that matter). October 15th will launch SJA’s 2nd Annual Pun’kin Palooza and it’s going to be a fantastic treat for the entire community. Our long heritage of putting on Hallelujah Night Halloween alternatives carries forward to an afternoon fall celebration. Food, games, contests, jumpers, live music, a petting zoo, and even a 17-foot tall electric giraffe (because he’s orange) are on the schedule for this year. Proceeds from Pun’kin Palooza benefit our community outreach and school programs. Last year SJA purchased 57 bicycles to give away to students at San Jacinto Elementary School. This year we are hosting a bi-weekly Neighborhood Maker Night to help members of our community learn about science, engineering and math with hands-on craft projects.