On The Town:

While the dress code for this Halloween may include just about anything from the garb of goblins to the petticoats of princesses, on Oct. 24, attendees at Wax Poetic’s City of Hope fundraiser adhered to the specific request that they be decked out in pink.

Wax Poetic Salon, Spa and Gallery on Magnolia Boulevard teamed up with the Wella Corp. to stage the charity auction to raise funds to fight breast cancer.

“Wella came to us wanting to do a matching fundraiser for breast cancer research at the City of Hope,” said the salon’s owner, Kerry Nicole, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor. “We got on board immediately because the people who work here know that being a part of what we do includes being involved with our local community and with organizations like City of Hope.”

Nicole, who solicited auction items from business associates throughout Magnolia Park, employees, clients and friends, said she was pleased with and appreciative of the support she received.

“Every dollar we earn this evening will be matched by Wella and go toward breast cancer research and treatments that save lives,” she told attendees at the outset of the auction.

Promoted as a “pink party,” supporters donned pink as they nibbled on pink cookies and sipped pink libations being mixed by Michelle Bertollini, who herself was pretty in pink. Among those in attendance were Councilwoman Anja Reinke, Rosemary and Layla Hoyo, Lauren Shryock, Christa Scott, Nicole Simon, Marty Valenzuela and Tate Parker.

Halloween may be billed as the most terrifying day of the year (with the exception of April 15), and tutors are helping to make learning less terrifying for those who cannot read or write.

Tutors who have changed the lives of others by giving the gift of literacy were honored Saturday at the Buena Vista Branch Library.

In her remarks to the honorees, Reinke related a story about her late grandfather, Augustine Gonzalez, who came to the United States from Mexico at the age of 13 but did not learn to read or write until he was in his 30s.

“Even in his 90s, he never forgot those people who taught him to read and write,” Reinke said. “You have done the same thing for the people whose lives you have impacted. They will never forget you.”