Monday, October 27, 2014

31 Days of Halloween: Anaheim Halloween Parade 2014


The Anaheim Halloween Parade celebrated its 90th year Saturday night in the downtown district. For all my years living in Orange County, this year was the first time I had ever heard about this parade! What really interested me in the parade were the vintage floats, displays and decorations they still use as well as the rich history of the parade (which you can read all about here). I have been following the float-building progress on their Facebook page and just couldn't wait to attend!

Reuben sandwich and curly yam fries from Healthy Junk while
waiting for the parade.

The Anaheim Fall Festival was that same day as the parade, so Mister Spooky and I showed up around 4pm to get a parking spot, grab a bite to eat, and check out the festival, held a block away from the parade route. We parked in the residential neighborhood a few streets south of the beginning of the parade route, then walked a mile or so to the Anaheim Promenade where the fall festival was taking place. I grabbed a delicious Reuben sandwich and yam fries from Healthy Junk, we walked around a bit, then headed back towards the beginning of the parade route to grab a good viewing spot and to enjoy our food. 

There were lots of people who showed up for the parade, and the two-mile parade route was pretty packed. Some people even came dressed up and those who lived in the area had parties to watch the parade from their front lawns or porches (the old houses down there are gorgeous, by the way!). It was a fun, energetic atmosphere! 

The parade started a little after 6pm, right as the sun was going down, and lasted about an hour and a half. I had a great time and will definitely add this to my Halloween traditions to do every October! Here are some photos I took (apologies if they are a bit blurry, it was hard to get pics!):

The Headless Horsemen kicked off the parade!

These vintage-inspired floats/characters were one of my faves!

The Flying Sasser, a historic float that was first in the parade in the '50s!

 The Rocket Witch! Totally cool retro float!

 These characters are creations of artist Rhode Montijo (read about 
him here!)! They were my faves!

 I love pumpkinheads! And this one was riding a wooden horse!

Blurry pic, but this witch float was really cool! The main witch in 
front is riding a broom! 

 This big haunted house float (left) was amazing! It had a neat
graveyard that preceded it (lower right corner), plus a spooky hearse
(middle right), and cute costumed kids behind it (top right).

 These beautiful Halloween trees where mesmerizing! So pretty!

 This spooky spider float even had shoes on its legs! So creepy cute!

 Dia de los Muertos float, complete with an altar filled with marigolds
and candles, and two towering calaveras!

 Silly but adorable pig, the Anaheim Brewery float (the arm moved so 
it looked like the dude was drinking beer), creepy guy on stilts, and a fun 
pumpkin lantern float!

 Another creepy skeleton on stilts...loved these guys and from all the 
screaming the kids in attendance were petrified by them, mwahahaha!

Another Day of the Dead display!

You can find more information on the parade on their official site!

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