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The current challenge word on sugarfrostedgoodness.com is "mischief".

In Northeast Philadelphia where I grew up, as in most places thoughout the United States, the night before Hallowe'en was recognized as "Mischief Night". In the 1960s, the time in which I grew up, the so-called mischief was usually of the "prank" variety and, for the most part, harmless. At sundown on October 30, some neighborhood kids would mark up car windows with a bar of soap. They would toss an egg or two at a random house. They may unload a battery of toilet paper on a neighbor's tree, entwining its autumn-bare branches in yards of Charmin.
One year, my brother sat in the darkness of or yard, poised with the garden hose in his hand, waiting patiently and silently for those young vandals. A group of kids approached my dad's Dodge Dart and my brother let loose his deluge. The kids scattered. I don't remember our house being a victim for years after.
While innocuous hijinks were the norm in my neighborhood, across the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey, it was a different story. Beginning in the late 60s, things in Camden started to deteriorate. The Camden Fire Department started getting numerous false alarms and calls for trash fires. The seventies ushered in a period of significant civil unrest in Camden. The situation got dangerous for firefighters; people started throwing rocks and bottles at firefighters and their apparatus. This period of dangerous, at times riotous behavior spilled over into Mischief Night, which evolved into a much more destructive annual event. Every October 30th, hoodlums would do their very best to burn the city of Camden to the ground. Over 130 arsons were committed in Camden on the night of October 30, 1991. The next year, Camden started emptying the streets of potential troublemakers, busing thousands of teenagers to Halloween events outside the city. Camden officials also organized a massive police and fire presence, which along with a stricter-than-usual curfew, has helped tame Mischief Night.

This is an illustration I painted for the topic "mischief" for Illustration Friday a couple of years ago. I still think it's cute, so I decided to use it for the same topic here.

Anette Heiberg
www.anetteheiberg.com

Checking off all the mischievous kids from the Christmas List!

Wow! Has it been two weeks already? Okay, I admit, I've been busy this Summer...somehow so busy that I didn't even realize that 4 weeks had gone by, not just two. My apologies. I'll make efforts to make sure it doesn't happen again...lol!

The SFG Challenge was created to offer every member an opportunity to stretch their creative muscles, venture outside of their artistic boundaries and post their interpretations each week on a specific theme. This is a completely voluntary challenge!

Be sure to label your illustrations with the appropriate labels as well. Label your entries with your name and the challenge label, in this case SFG: Mischief

The next challenge begins Monday, August 11th, 2008.

Thanks everyone! And don't forget that advertising on SFG and Design Inspiration is being offered right now at an all time low price. E-mail me for details.

-Jeff