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Check out our OC photographers’ favorite images from October 2023

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  • Students dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” during a Halloween costume...

    Students dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” during a Halloween costume contest and flash mob at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Pinocchio, a.k.a. 5-year-old Aiden Ayala, leads the annual Fountain Valley...

    Pinocchio, a.k.a. 5-year-old Aiden Ayala, leads the annual Fountain Valley Regional Hospital Pediatric Halloween Parade with rescued dog Hazel the Hobbler on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. Aiden is a former pediatric patient and Hazel was rescued by Georgia and Glenn Bleiweis after she was hit by a car and abandoned. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • People take a selfie at the Orange County School of...

    People take a selfie at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. The school was celebrating Halloween with a costume contest and flash mob dance. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Clergy attend a Christian burial mass for the late Bishop...

    Clergy attend a Christian burial mass for the late Bishop Tod D. Brown at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA, on Monday, October 30, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Buckingham cruise in style...

    Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Buckingham cruise in style while taking part in the Corgi Beach Day “Howl-O-Ween” costume contest in Huntington Beach on Saturday, October 28, 2023. The royal pair was 1-year-old Rumi Jen who didn’t enjoy wearing her fancy hat, and Ken the corgi whose crown fell off. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Mourners watch as the casket of Bishop Tod D. Brown...

    Mourners watch as the casket of Bishop Tod D. Brown is carried out of Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Monday, October 30, 2023. Brown led the Diocese of Orange for 14 years. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The annual Halloween golf cart parade in Laguna Woods, CA,...

    The annual Halloween golf cart parade in Laguna Woods, CA, on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Six-month-old Zaya Lloren of Lake Forest, along with her ,...

    Six-month-old Zaya Lloren of Lake Forest, along with her , dress as characters from the movie, “Encanto,” as they visit Irvine Park Railroad ’s Pumpkin Patch on Sunday, October 22, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Fran Conroy, left, and Jojo Baker get ready to ride...

    Fran Conroy, left, and Jojo Baker get ready to ride in the annual Halloween golf cart parade in Laguna Woods, CA, on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The Halloween decorations at the home of Anne Pothier on...

    The Halloween decorations at the home of Anne Pothier on the 1200-block of Cherry Hills Street in Placentia on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. Each year residents on Cherry Hills Street pull out all the stops with their Halloween decorations attracting hundreds of visitors. The event attracts so many visitors they close down the street to vehicle traffic. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Ocean Bonilla, 7, gets whipped around on the Himalaya ride...

    Ocean Bonilla, 7, gets whipped around on the Himalaya ride during during Buena Park’s Silverado Days at William Peak Park on Saturday, October 21, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Archie Cachola, a former pediatric doctor at CHOC, puts on...

    Archie Cachola, a former pediatric doctor at CHOC, puts on a chef’s hat and apron while standing in the backyard patio at The Heavenly Home in Mission Viejo on Thursday, October 26, 2023. Cachola, who loves to cook, talked about his career as a doctor and his love of cooking during a conversation at the residential facility dedicated to end-of-life hospice care. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Charles Mendola, left, and Jessica Stiffler of Huntington Beach make...

    Charles Mendola, left, and Jessica Stiffler of Huntington Beach make their way along the beach just north of the Newport Beach Pier early on Saturday morning, October 28, 2023, as surfers wearing a variety of Halloween costumes gather for the annual holiday event of riding the waves in Newport Beach. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Three sea lion pups, birthed by mothers poisoned with domoic...

    Three sea lion pups, birthed by mothers poisoned with domoic acid this summer, are now at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, CA, on Friday, October 20, 2023. The pups will soon head to SeaWorld for further rehab and then be released in to the wild. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Victor Serrao, with Victor’s Custom Christmas Trees, prepares a fresh-cut...

    Victor Serrao, with Victor’s Custom Christmas Trees, prepares a fresh-cut 100-foot white fir from Mt. Shasta to be installed at the Outlets at San Clemente on Thursday, October 26, 2023. The tree will be decorated and lit on Nov. 18th. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Clergy pay their respects during at Christ Cathedral during a...

    Clergy pay their respects during at Christ Cathedral during a Christian burial mass for the late Bishop Tod D. Brown in Garden Grove, CA, on Monday, October 30, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • David Saldana is embraced by his grandma, Martha Lara, after...

    David Saldana is embraced by his grandma, Martha Lara, after not seeing her for ten years. Twenty-five families from Mexico were reunited with relatives in Fountain Valley on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. Curacao and Fundacion Jalisco USA sponsored the event. Some family members had not seen their loved ones for more than two decades. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Bernie Budzyn of Orange dances to the music as approximately...

    Bernie Budzyn of Orange dances to the music as approximately 150 seniors gather for the Halloween costume party put on by Meals on Wheels Orange County and the Orange Senior Center on Friday, October 27, 2023 at the Orange Senior Center in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Amelia Endo, 4, of Huntington Beach has her photo taken...

    Amelia Endo, 4, of Huntington Beach has her photo taken in the pumpkin patch by her mother, Tatiana Endo as the city of Huntington Beach holds Falloween at Worthy Park on Saturday, October 21, 2023, in Huntington Beach. The fall-themed event had a variety of family activities including: a pumpkin patch, games, pumpkin carving, a reptile show, food trucks and a movie. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Julia Heiman of Irvine is overcome with emotion as she...

    Julia Heiman of Irvine is overcome with emotion as she holds posters of two girls being held hostage by Hamas during a vigil at the corner of Alton Parkway and Culver Drive in Irvine on Thursday, October 26, 2023 in support of the more than 200 people who were kidnapped in Israel earlier this month. “Its so painful to me that Israel has to defend its right to defend itself and to think of the brutality of what the children have endured,” said Heiman. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Lily gets ready to nab a tennis ball during the...

    Lily gets ready to nab a tennis ball during the Corgi Beach Day “Fetch Fanatic” contest in Huntington Beach on Saturday, October 28, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Lulu wears a matching outfit with owner Cynthia “Dog Lady”...

    Lulu wears a matching outfit with owner Cynthia “Dog Lady” Lopez at Buena Park’s Silverado Days on Saturday, October 21, 2023. Lopez, who custom sews the clothing, says “We do it to make people smile.” (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Doug Smith has been at the Santa Ana Navigation Center...

    Doug Smith has been at the Santa Ana Navigation Center for a little over a year after battling a methamphetamine addiction and lupus for years. Smith said he was in a cycle of drug use, jail, detox and relapse for the last 15-20 years. He said he has been drug free for the last 2 1/2 years. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Bishop Tod D. Brown’s grand nephew, Graham Brown, 9, touches...

    Bishop Tod D. Brown’s grand nephew, Graham Brown, 9, touches Brown’s casket before funeral services at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Monday, October 30, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The Chargers’ Cameron Dicker jokes around with John Rosell, 11,...

    The Chargers’ Cameron Dicker jokes around with John Rosell, 11, during The Los Angeles Chargers Host 6th Annual Halloween Trick -Or-Treat Party for Pediatric Cancer Patients at Hoag Performance Center in Costa Mesa, CA, on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The Borgelt family, from left, Milania, 11, her parents Stephanie...

    The Borgelt family, from left, Milania, 11, her parents Stephanie and Stephen, and sister Malvina, 13, are shown with their Hollywood-themed Halloween creation in Placentia on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. Each year residents on the 1200-block of Cherry Hills Street pull out all the stops with their Halloween decorations attracting hundreds of visitors. The event attracts so many visitors they close down the street to vehicle traffic. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Seba Alnsour, 7, who is from Jordan, holds her American...

    Seba Alnsour, 7, who is from Jordan, holds her American flag during a Halloween-themed USCIS citizenship ceremony for 25 children at the Santa Ana Zoo in Santa Ana on Monday, October 30, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A composite of images taken during the annular solar eclipse...

    A composite of images taken during the annular solar eclipse as seen from Caspers Wilderness Park in San Juan Capistrano early Saturday morning, October 14, 2023, At the height of the eclipse, the moon covered approximately 70 percent of the sun’s surface. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Kalani Chang, 3, gets a flag from a veteran in...

    Kalani Chang, 3, gets a flag from a veteran in the “Honor Convoy,” during Placentia’s Heritage Festival parade on Saturday, October 14, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Colin Currie, 8, hugs crossing guard Larry Lanterman at the...

    Colin Currie, 8, hugs crossing guard Larry Lanterman at the crosswalk at Oso Grande Elementary School after Lanterman was surprised by parents and students on his last day in Ladera Ranch on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. The community rallied to support Lanterman with a fundraising page to help him raise money as his only means of income currently is delivering for UberEats. Lanterman announced that he might be at the crosswalk for another 3-weeks since his planned move to Palm Springs was delayed. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A woman out for an afternoon run makes her was...

    A woman out for an afternoon run makes her was past halloween decorations in a yard on Shaffer Street in Orange on Wednesday, October 18, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Margot Clifford looks at her hair that was cut off...

    Margot Clifford looks at her hair that was cut off during the Cancer Awareness Assembly at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, CA on Friday, October 20, 2023. The hair is donated to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to make wigs for kids battling cancer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Gabriena Halwani and her daughter, Synova Halwani, 2, share a...

    Gabriena Halwani and her daughter, Synova Halwani, 2, share a laugh with Sal, the Salvation Army mascot, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new Center of Hope in Anaheim, CA, on Monday, October 9, 2023. The ceremony signifies the completion of a $38-million project delivering 72 units of new homeless Permanent Supportive Housing. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Cypress, CA – October 18: Hailey Swanson, with her sons,...

    Cypress, CA – October 18: Hailey Swanson, with her sons, receives a flag from Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rachel Johnson, during her husband’s funeral at SeaCoast Grace Church in Cypress, CA, on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Motorcycle officer Chad Swanson, 35, a 13-year veteran, died in a multi-vehicle crash on the northbound 405 Freeway in the Carson area earlier this month. Swanson was married with three sons.  (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

  • The San Diego Gulls mascot, Gulliver, flirts with a fan...

    The San Diego Gulls mascot, Gulliver, flirts with a fan during a game between the Ducks and the Stars at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Thursday, October 19, 2023. Mascots from several teams attended the game to celebrate the 30th birthday of the Ducks’ mascot, Wild Wing. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A woman walks past window reflections on a pink wall...

    A woman walks past window reflections on a pink wall at The Source, a shopping, dining and entertainment destination, located at the corner of Orangethorpe Avenue and Beach Boulevard in Buena Park, on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Elvis impersonator Steven Cardenaz, 17, of Riverside sings “I Was...

    Elvis impersonator Steven Cardenaz, 17, of Riverside sings “I Was the One,” as Elvis fanTamela Gari swoons on stage during the 23rd annual Elvis Festival in Garden Grove on Sunday, October 8, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Frank Field of Coventry, Rhode Island, sets the ball for...

    Frank Field of Coventry, Rhode Island, sets the ball for teammate, Ian Bicko of New Orleans, during qualification day of the AVP Tour Series, Laguna Beach Open, held on Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, October 13, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Looking through a solar viewer, Linda Akins of Laguna Woods...

    Looking through a solar viewer, Linda Akins of Laguna Woods watches the annular solar eclipse at Caspers Wilderness Park in San Juan Capistrano early Saturday morning, October 14, 2023. At the height of the eclipse the moon covered approximately 70 percent of the sun’s surface. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Ilona Lilien, left, and her mother Mila, of Orange, comfort...

    Ilona Lilien, left, and her mother Mila, of Orange, comfort each other during a “Community Gathering for Israel” at the Jewish Federation of Orange County in Irvine on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Aurora Jones, 3, of Santa Ana, enjoy riding the teeter-totter...

    Aurora Jones, 3, of Santa Ana, enjoy riding the teeter-totter at the new playground at Santiago Park in Santa Ana on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. The city held a grand reopening of the park following a two-year, $3.5 million renovation project. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Tustin residents and others enjoy first day of the 66th...

    Tustin residents and others enjoy first day of the 66th Annual Tustin Tiller Days at Columbus Tustin Park in Tustin on Friday, October 6, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Orange County School of the Arts 11th-grader Johnathan Leanos displays...

    Orange County School of the Arts 11th-grader Johnathan Leanos displays his pumpkin creation titled, “The Bride of Frankenstein” in Santa Ana on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 as part of OCSA’s Annual Painted Pumpkin Auction. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Students from St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School hold up...

    Students from St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School hold up stuffed animals and a even a photo of their pet to have Fr. Michael Nguyen bless them during the Blessing of the Animals at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Two-year-old Eva Setyawan checks out others on the Kaiser Permanente...

    Two-year-old Eva Setyawan checks out others on the Kaiser Permanente picket line in Irvine where a couple hundred healthcare workers joined 75,000 other workers in multiple states for what they say are unfair labor practices and staffing issues. Eva’s mother is a Kaiser medical assistant. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The Great Park Balloon, decorated for Halloween, floats above Irvine,...

    The Great Park Balloon, decorated for Halloween, floats above Irvine, CA, on Friday, October 13, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Painter Drew Stirdivant works to repaint a mural that was...

    Painter Drew Stirdivant works to repaint a mural that was originally painted in the 1970s along the Lemon Street pedestrian bridge in Fullerton, CA, on Friday, October 6, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Artist Jennifer Guidi’s colorful art is photographed by a visitor...

    Artist Jennifer Guidi’s colorful art is photographed by a visitor to the Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa on Sunday, October 8, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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We asked our photographers to pick their favorite images from October 2023, and here are some they selected.

People at the OC Parks at the nature center in Caspers Wilderness Park in San Juan Capistrano joined the rest of Orange County as they looked to the sky early Saturday morning, October 14, 2023, during the annular ring of fire solar eclipse. At the height of the eclipse, the moon covered approximately 70 percent of the sun’s surface. It was the most coverage of the solar surface in an eclipse visible in Southern California until 2045.

In Santa Ana, students at Orange County School of the Arts showed off their pumpkin creations as part of OCSA’s Annual Painted Pumpkin Auction.

Over in Tustin, visitors came out for the 66th Annual Tustin Tiller Days at Columbus Tustin Park. The three-day event, held since 1957, celebrates Orange County’s agricultural heritage.

SeaCoast Grace Church in Cypress was host to funeral services for Manhattan Beach police officer Chad Swanson, 35, a 13-year veteran, who died in a multi-vehicle crash on the northbound 405 Freeway in the Carson area earlier this month. Swanson was married with three sons.

In Irvine, Julia Heiman was overcome with emotion as she held posters of two girls being held hostage by Hamas during a vigil at the corner of Alton Parkway and Culver Drive, in support of the more than 200 people who were kidnapped in Israel earlier this month. “It’s so painful to me that Israel has to defend its right to defend itself and to think of the brutality of what the children have endured,” said Heiman.

At Christ Cathedral, mourners came together to remember Bishop Tod D. Brown. Brown led the Diocese of Orange for 14 years.

October ended with Halloween, as it always does – there was a dog parade in Huntington Beach, folks in Laguna Woods held their annual decorated golf cart parade, Orange County School of the Arts had a costume contest and flash mob dance, and Fountain Valley Regional Hospital Pediatric Halloween Parade with rescued dog Hazel the Hobbler.

Check out the photos and follow The Orange County Register on Facebook and Instagram. Here are our staff photographers’ individual pages: Paul Bersebach, Jeff Gritchen, Leonard Ortiz, Mark Rightmire, and Mindy Schauer.

Stay safe and stay healthy!