It all started with a conversation between my mom and me as we were riding down Forest Drive, in the great little city of Forest Acres. We were talking about how much we love Halloween because it's such a beautiful time of year and a fantastic time to use your creativity. I told her that I wanted to have a Halloween parade. My inspiration for the idea came from a book I've been reading to my boys for several years now...Amanda Dade's New Year's Parade by Harriet Ziefert. For some reason the setting and characters seem so familiar to me and I could see this happening in our little city.
But I didn't want a New Year's parade. It's too cold and too commonplace. And seeing that we're such Halloween junkies (here and here) and I love the fall so much I thought that'd be the perfect time.
As most of you know, my mom has been costuming her family and going all out on Halloween for as long as I can remember. So her natural reaction to my idea was "LET'S DO IT!" With it being just a couple of weeks before Halloween I said "maybe next year, mom. We don't have enough time to get it together."
She said, "We can do this! Come on."
I really didn't take her enthusiasm seriously, but I should have. A week later she had recruited another friend of ours to help us take it on and suddenly, an "event" invitation popped up on my Facebook.
The 1st EVER FAN Halloween Parade was on!
We sent emails, Facebook invitations, and I posted it on the blog and in just 5 short days we had about 150 people participate in our 1st parade. Mom provided lots of refreshments and was able to secure a couple of donations and discounts from local businesses. We were grateful that so many wonderful people showed up with snacks and baked goods for the children, too. Mom and dad served everyone hot chocolate, cider, and goodies.
The turn-out was impressive and the feedback was even better. Neighbors came out to tell us it had made their day. Parents were just as excited as the kids. And EVERYONE has said they can't wait til next year!
We've already started planning and hope you'll join us in 2012!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who came out and helped make it happen. Here's a small recap in pictures. If you attended and have any pics to share, feel free to email me with them. I'd love to create a scrapbook. Contact me, also if you'd like to participate next year so I can keep you in the loop!
