I crossed another item off my list last night!
I finally went to the Halloween Parade on 6th Ave.
I have avoided it in years past because it's crowded (FACT!) and too cold to be out gallavanting (er, opinion). I almost didn't go this year. I had a sinus infection and, oh, yeah, there was that that nasty snow storm over the weekend.
Then I got an IM from Mary:
Mary: "Girl. TONIGHT. Whatarewedoing."
Me: "No. Sinus. Bummer."
Mary: "NO. We got snowed on and that sucked but we did NOT spend way too much money (TRUTH) on cute costumes that we didn't even wear."
Me: "O-kaaaaaaay."
And so, I rallied.
And I waited for the subway with the rest of the monsters:
Remember Mary....? From the trip to the Outer Banks last summer...?
Mary is good times. She got A LOT of attention everywhere we went last night and she wasn't even dressed slutty. She's 5'10" in bare feet. In her platform Mary Janes, she's 6'3". I'm sure people thought she was a famous model. I mean, she is a model in real life...but they probably thought she was a celebrity.
I don't think Mary would mind being a celebrity. We couldn't walk more than 10 or 15 feet without someone stopping us to ask if they could take her picture and she was always happy to pose. She recently started her own production company and I jokingly said, "Mary! You should be handing out your cards and saying, "Sure you can take my picture, but please tag me on Facebook!"
She could have expanded her fan base by at least 200 people. And we were only out and about for a couple of hours!
She was all, "Doh. THAT'S why you are a Managing Director and I'm an Artistic Director."
Here's a few pics on our way to the parade route:
No CANDY?! Womp womp.
Here's my favorite:
This guy saw that I had my camera out and he just worked it. Brilliant.
Here we are at the Parade!!
I know. CROWDED.
I thought this would bother me, but it was just fine. People were friendly and cooperative. No hooligans grabbed at our bottoms or leered at us or tried to scare us. Mary got some *ahem* attention from a group of young men that one might categorize as ne're-do-wells, but she's such a pro at handling people. They kept yelling about how beautiful she is and how "she so built, yo" and she smiled and thanked them. When they realized that was all they were going to get, they wandered off -- but not without looking back several times all, "Daaaaaaaaaamn!"
Hah.
Here's a video - you can sort of hear one of her admirers if you listen closely:
These skeleton puppets were awesome. Part of me wishes I captured them on video - the movement was truly other-worldy. However, I didn't want to experience the entire evening from behind the lens. I took this quick picture and then decided to just enjoy it "in real life" for awhile.
Which brings up an interesting point - so many people were walking in the Parade and documenting their experiences on their phones at the same time. You have to wonder about the quality of the experience when you feel like you have to update your status and upload pictures to twitter all the time.
I will definitely come back to the Halloween Parade again. I love Halloween! One of my actor friends made the point that he doesn't celebrate Halloween because he already wears costumes year round -- it's his JOB. Good point. But for me, it's a chance to try on characters I don't normally get considered for.
This year, I was a Steampunk Ghost:
My mom was all, "I don't like it! Too scary!"
(I like it.)
You know what the surprise hit of the night was for me?
THESE EARRINGS
I bought them at a costume store for FIVE DOLLAH. I expected that my earlobes would fall off halfway through the night. I expected them to be made out of really cheap metal. However, these are quality earrings, my friends. I have no idea what they are made of, but I am not allergic to it...which is rare and awesome.
What was your biggest surprise on Halloween?
