Every year we look forward to our Facebook notifications being filled with smiling kids, scary adults and unique costumes from our annual Halloween costume contest! We get amazing submissions from all over the base community. This year was no different. In years past, the winner has been chosen by the Northern Sentry staff, but for a slightly different twist this year: we allowed the Northern Sentry Facebook followers to vote on the winner by “liking” the photo.
The runner-up photo, submitted by Emma Arnold, showed off her cute kiddos dressed up as a ninja (William) and as lions (Harry and Grayson). Emma said, “We decided on something warm for the twins since Minot is usually always cold for Halloween. My oldest, on the other hand, decided he wanted to be a ninja because it was ‘cool’.” Emma explained that Halloween is a special time for their family because her husband’s birthday falls on October 31st. When talking about what they appreciate about the spooky season on Minot AFB, Emma said, “Our favorite event at MAFB is the trail of treats hosted by the 5th Med Group and the Trunk or Treat event hosted by 91 SFG & 5 SFS.”
The big winner of the contest was Vonica Oliva, dressed up as Nacho Libre. The character she depicted was from the 2006 movie featuring actor Jack Black as Libre himself. Nacho Libre the movie was inspired by the life of Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez, a Mexican Catholic priest who also was a professional wrestler. When describing why she wanted to dress up as this character, Vonica said, “I wanted to do it out on a whim to channel my inner Nacho Libre haha. But, growing up I was a HUGE Nacho Libre fan. It’s been my dream to wear the iconic costume and channel my inner Eagle spirit. Overall, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Halloween especially getting to dress up, and make people laugh and being able to see all the children in their awesome costumes. I hope everyone had a great Halloween and got tons of candy!”
Both Vonica and Emma will both receive a night stay at the Grand Hotel in Minot for their amazing costume photo submissions. Shout out to the entire MAFB community for submitting and voting for your favorite Halloween costumes again this year!
