You know when you are lounging around at home and have had enough lounging? It may sound weird, but it’s like you need to leave the comfort of home so that you can truly enjoy it again.
Well, my wife and I were in this very predicament. My wife is amazing at finding festivals, parades, concerts, and other fun things to do. In this instance, she found a Halloween Parade & Street Fair that was happening at that very moment in Tacoma.
Now the pressure was on. Do we sit on the couch or throw a coat on and brave the cold and the public?
Braving the cold and public won out.
I had never heard of a Halloween parade. I knew of Thanksgiving parades, 4th of July parades, and even Christmas parades. But a Halloween parade?
I find that having no idea, or very little of one, is the best way to try something new. In my opinion, it leads to a purer experience.
By the time we arrived, the street fair was in full swing. Part of Proctor Street was shut down.
Our senses were hit head-on.
Music floated towards us from a stage. The warmth of the car evaporated as the chilly air tried to jump down my coat. The smell of the food trucks that were located at one end wafted into our nostrils. My gaze moved past the food trucks to the pop-up canopy tents that lined both sides of the street.
The first things that caught my interest were multiple men and women walking around in legit-looking Ghostbuster uniforms with proton packs. The craftsmanship of the costumes made me yearn to build my own.
At this point I was wishing I had dressed up in a cool costume. The drudgery of adulthood has to be lifted sometimes, right?
As we got closer, we saw that there was a Ghostbuster car, a.k.a. the Ectomobile. Full disclosure, I had to look up what to call a Ghostbuster car. The Ectomobile was parked to the side as children and adults stepped up to get a closer look.
I ended up talking to one of the Ghostbusters and found out that they were not just random people dressed up, but were an organized group. The Ghostbuster told me they go by the name of Pacific Northwest Ghostbusters. Recently they had performed charity work for the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital by donating hospital gowns that had Ghostbusters themes printed on them.
We continued on down the line of vendors. One tent featured what looked like a Krampus family. These costumes looked like they had taken hours to complete. The detail of the horns, hair, and grotesque teeth made me want to sit and marvel over them. I would have, if it wasn’t for the line of people waiting to take a photo with them.
Once we had made our way past the stage of musicians in the middle of the fair and down to the other end of the vendors, we decided to warm up by grabbing a coffee at a nearby shop. We waited inside, letting our bodies soak up the warmth until ten minutes before the parade started.
I have to say I was unimpressed with the beginning as lines of children dressed in dance uniforms advertising their dance group walked by. I don’t mean to sound mean, but where were the costumes and Halloween charm? It didn’t get better as a roller derby group, a Girl Scouts group, and a mom’s group that gave free hugs passed.
Then there was a break in the darkened clouds of my happiness.
A single hearse passed, then another and another. Children sat dangling their feet out of the back of one. One hearse sported a Batman logo. Though most were bone-chilling enough that they came as they were.
This was the Halloween parade I wanted.
Jeeps rolled by, with skeletons hanging onto them. The crowd cheered and taunted them to rev their engines. The drivers were more than willing to as they rolled by.
Other cars joined in. One practically creaked by as it was covered in cobwebs from roof to hood to fenders. Okay, maybe creaked by is a stretch. The parade started as a disappointment, but eventually grew into something I didn’t want to end.
As the parade came to a close, we walked with the throngs of people back to the car. Once back at home, we were again able to enjoy it. If I had gone to the parade with more judgements than I had, would I have enjoyed it as much? I don’t know, but it’s food for thought.
I will see you in the next post, dear reader.
-Abe
