It’s time to harness the imagination and create that special doggy Howl-O-Ween costume for the Kiwanis Club’s Ocean Beach Canine Carnival. The canine caper features a costume parade led by Chopper the Biker Dog and an array of contests for doggies and their securely leashed humans, kept on a maximum six-foot lead. The carnival takes place Sunday, Oct. 30 at Dusty Rhodes Park on the west side across from Robb Field at Sunset Cliffs and Nimitz boulevards. The activities get under way about 10 a.m. with the canine carnival and street fair, featuring vendors offering canine-related merchandise and services. Registration for dogs participating in the parade and contests runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the parade from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Costume judging and contests will continue throughout the day until judges award prizes around 3 p.m. All times are, of course, OB time. Contests tend toward the whimsical, with prizes for the scariest, funniest, most OB-like, best surfer, dog/owner lookalike and for the more standard categories like the biggest dog, smallest, cutest and so on. Groups of dogs and canines on “floats” of skateboards and wagons will be judged separately.  But expect the unexpected, said event chair Melanie Nickel. “Part of the charm of the event is the goofy contests they come up with,” Nickel said. “The judges make it up as they go along.” The judges are members of the Ocean Beach Kiwanis Club. Qualifications for judging include a lively sense of humor and an appreciation for dogs. The Ocean Beach Kiwanis Club started the event six years ago to pay tribute to Obecians’ love for their dogs. Every year, 60 to 80 dogs participate in the Howl-O-Ween party and this year the club expects up to 100 canines. “We had wanted for years to do a dog-related event because Ocean Beach is a dog kind of town. They take their dogs everywhere,” Nickel said. Obecians love to dress their dogs for Howl-O-Ween. Among the highlights of past parades include a man dressed as a pirate with a Chihuahua riding on his shoulder dressed as a parrot, Nickel said. Another year, the grand prize winner was a dog attired as Cleopatra with a gold earring and a wig, riding on a “barge” accompanied by five people dressed as slaves. Admission to the festival is free for both dogs and humans, but registration fees to participate in the contests or the parade are $7 per single dog and $10 for groups of dogs or floats. Event parking is located on the Sunset Cliffs side of Dusty Rhodes Park, with overflow parking available at Robb Field. For more information, call (619) 225-8705, email [email protected], or visit www.oceanbeachkiwanis.org. Other Halloween activities in the Peninsula area: FRIDAY, Oct. 21 • Silver Gate Elementary School will hosts its annual community Harvest Festival from 5 to 8 p.m. at the campus, 1499 Venice St. The event will feature games, food and plenty of Halloween fun, with a costume contest, haunted hallway, cake walk, games for the kiddies, pumpkin patch, face painting and other activities. Tickets for games and activities are on sale for $1 each at the door. For more information, visit www.sandi.net/silvergate. SATURDAY, Oct. 22 • Point Loma Nazarene University will host its 2011 Fall Festival for the community from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The event will feature a day of free food, fun and festivities at the university’s spectacular ocean-side campus. Activities include an ice cream social and grand prize drawing with PLNU President Dr. Bob Brower at 2 p.m.; hayrides; a pumpkin patch; live music; pony rides; puppet shows; bounce houses; and a climbing wall. The event will also feature a free Taste of Point Loma restaurant area from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; an electronics recycling drive for computers, cell phones, TVs and batteries; community booths featuring university groups and local nonprofits; and a scooter giveaway at the 2 p.m. ice cream social. There is no cost to enter, but you must be present to win. Guests are also asked to bring a new or gently used children’s book (ages 4 – 9) to benefit Rolling Readers. For more information, visit www.pointloma.edu/FallFestival, or call (619) 849-2298. SATURDAY, Oct. 29 • Ocean Beach Halloween Carnival at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center from 2 to 5 p.m. The event features food, carnival-style games, costume contests, jumpers and plenty of spooky fun. Wristbands for all games and activities are available for $2. The rec center is located at 2726 Santa Monica Blvd. For more information, call (619) 531-1527. • The 2011 Sunset View Halloween Carnival takes place from 3:30 to 7:30 pm. Families are invited to dress up and enter the silly-string spray zone, have faces painted, enjoy locally catered food, decorate a pumpkin and other activities. For more information, visit www.halloween-carnival.com.