The parade went right by our apartment and some pals came by to watch it with us. We were not disappointed, rather I got over-excited and turned into Squeaky. Was it the costumes, the sheer number of participants or the 12-deep crowd on the sidewalk?
The highlight for me was when a float went by booming Michael Jackson's Thriller, followed by 100 people dressed up as zombies, staggering around the street. I said "If they break into the routine from the Thriller video clip I'll die." And you know what, they did. It was awesome. On every block they would line up and crank out the moves. The zombie arm sway, the quarterback shuffle, the wanking hand motion....if you need a reminder, check out Youtube clip from 8.28 mins.
Other people felt the need to dress up as:
- a giant asshole
- the senator who was caught soliciting gay sex in the men's toilets at the airport, complete with pants around the ankles, toilet cubicle and fake hand tapping
- Posh & Becks
- an iPhone
- Wii controllers
- huge penises (there were countless numbers of these. why?)
- Jedis, replete with glowing light sabers
- Scrabble pieces (I can't escape it)
There were all the usuals - ghosts, scarecrows, witches - and some families where the parents evidently had got the kids involved in something elaborate, that they had no choice about participating in. There were also a lot of people who looked like they had dusted off costumes from Gay & Lesbian Pride / Puerto Rico Day Parade / Mermaid Parade and just wanted to get their kit off in public.
Just to give you some context of the size of this thing, the parade started at 7pm and went until about 11pm, and it was thick with people and floats, stiltwalkers and marching bands.
Work was a sea of people dressed up from Kermit to satan worshippers to Lara Croft to House, and we had a party with dry ice wafting out of the punch bowl, as well as a lot of orange food. Its one of the biggest adult party weeks in the year.And who was the celebrity in the parade? Ron Jeremy. Truly scary.
1 comment:
I now have the chorus of 'Thriller' running through my head - the perfect tune to accompany me as I make my way to Oaks Day. Quite a weird juxtaposition to hear of your Hallowe'en Super Yankee festivities as we fling ourselves headlong into Spring Carnival madness down here. I'll let you know if I see any frocks more appropriate for All Saints' Day than for "Ladies" Day...
Toodle Pip,
Fifi M-P.
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