TRICK-OR-TREATING MEETS OUTDOOR CAMPING AT ALVIERA HERO CAMP BY PAULINE JOY M. GUTIERREZ

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With Halloween just a month away, brainstorming of ideas on where and how to spend it has been happening intermittently in not a few Filipino households.

Of course, the usual “ghost-hunting” escapades, horror-movie binging and trick-or-treating come to mind. But for those who are looking for the fun side of the Halloween, Alviera’s Hero Camp just might be the thing you’re looking for to celebrate the eve of the liturgical season.

Taking place on October 15 and 16 at Alviera, the mixed-use master-planned community being developed by Ayala Land in Porac, Pampanga, is a pre-Halloween event that features a brand-new adventure fix in a hero-themed outdoor camping activity.

The first day on the fair’s itinerary, dubbed the Hero Training Crash Course, involves four main activities: a hero survival lesson, a costume crafting activity, a combat training on martial arts,and, finally, a monster obstacle course in an outdoor archery maze.

Come nighttime and there’s a parade where everybody can dress up in his or her favorite hero costumes. Afterward, kids can trick-or-treat across the booths and tents at the campsite. Moreover, for this year’s outdoor offering, Alviera has partnered with The Mind Museum to lead a stargazing activity in which participants will learn about the different constellations in the sky with the help of laser pointers. A telescopic observation of the moon and the planets will also be included. Different superhero flicks will also be screened after dark. The following day, a breakfast for champions will be served to overnight campers.

SandBox, Alviera’s outdoor playground that boast of a number of rides and attractions, such as the Giant Swing, Aerial Walk, ATV and UTV rides, Adventure Tower and Avatar One roller-coaster zip line, will also extend its usual operating hours from 8 am to 9 pm to accommodate the camp’s nighttime activities. More than that, it also signals the beginning of the evening operations of SandBox set to start in the last quarter of the year.

Alviera Associate Project Manager Leonard Grape said participants can avail themselves of either two packages for the hero camp. There is the Day Adventurer package, which includes the use of free SandBox attractions and the basic hero-training crash course. The Weekend Camper package, on the other hand, includes all day activities, plus night activities, such as the parade of heroes and the Superzoom Stargazing with The Mind Museum. As for the safety of the participants, Grape said, “Ayala Land really gives importance and priority to the safety of our guests. In fact, in regular SandBox operations, we have a standby paramedic team complete with all the necessary medical equipment. And specifically for this event, we added additional security, too. We also hired a standby doctor and we have an ambulance ready in case of emergency.”

The Hero Camp, also according to Grape, is part of Alviera’s outreach program and ongoing company thrust. A portion of the overall revenue of the Hero Camp will be donated to the Hero Foundation, which aims to provide educational assistance to children and dependent siblings of Filipino soldiers killed in action or permanently incapacitated in the line of duty. “We are also bringing some of the foundation’s scholars to come and enjoy the Alviera Hero Camp,” he added. “We want people to appreciate the fun side of Halloween and, at the same time, we really want to provide a venue where participants can bring out the hero in them. It’s really us involving our partner communities and our stakeholders to join us in this nation-building fun,” Grape said.

And what better way to help those in need than to encourage everyone to channel the inner hero within them even in the littlest of ways.