It's become a tradition. Every year, KITV's Paul Drewes and I throw a Halloween party at Affordable Casket & Moanalua Mortuary. This year's party was a blast, as usual. We had such terrific guests who are the reason for the event's success!

(Yes, it's early this year. It's the only Saturday Paul and I both had off at the same time.)

It started in 2009 when we were laid off from our jobs at KHNL. Always ones to view life with a heavy does of irreverence, we wanted to hold a funeral for our KHNL careers. That year, the party was comprised mostly of KHNL coworkers and people we knew through KHNL. About 70 people attended.

We did not know how it would go, but it was a surprising success, so we decided to make it an annual event. In the years since, it's grown, changed, evolved slowly. We have added on a psychic reading as a guest amenity, and offer a tour of the mortuary for the curious.

Darin, Melissa Kurpinski the psychic, Claus

The guest list has expanded to include the people we work with now: my hotel coworkers and the folks I interact with via public relations; and Paul with his KITV friends, where he's a morning anchor/ reporter. There's a smattering of relatives, jujitsu club members, mommy friends, and my high school pals. Primarily, though, it's media people. I like all the worlds I circulate in. It's just logical that most of the contacts I have are from TV, having spent 16 years in it.

Cindy Paliracio, Paul N, Paul Drewes, Tabitha

I enjoy my current job, but I also loved my old one. TV was a career path I chose, not fell into. Though there were elements over the years that I grew disillusioned with, my passion for the craft and the liberal characters it attracts remains to this day. It's a fun business. Which is why it was and always is special to mingle with my former colleagues or meet new ones.

KITV reporter Catherine Cruz and Claus

A special thanks to Maile for helping me tremendously before, during and after; Jan for loaning me boxes of decorations, Rep. Tom Brower for helping clean a LOT, and Mike & Christy for making an ice run.

I'm already thinking about next year, but for now, here's a few of the night's snaps to share:

The party hosts + a party crasher

College graduate Diane and Chef Claus

Some of the KHNL friends

Hawaii News Now anchor Teri Okita, KITV producer Anna Gomes

Howard Dashefsky, Tabitha Mitchell, Malika Dudley, Kaimi Judd

American Lung Association Hawaii Chapter's Executive Director Lorraine Leslie; State Rep. Mark Takai; Mark's daughter

Jo, testing out the EternaSlumber mattress

Nancy, Kaimi Judd, KITV anchor Yunji DeNies

The chapel's reception area