The short parade of two lost souls

Tonight Nic and I ventured to Commercial Drive in East Van to check out all the freaks in costume. Lots of people were dressed up for Halloween, too.

Ho ho.

As with last year we had come to experience the Parade of Lost Souls. The 2020 version — my first — was a nifty tour along several blocks through dark and spooky alleys where most ofthe neighborhood had dressed up yards and garages in appropriate Halloween trimmings (or drippings).

Upon arrival at the park near Templeton there were masses of people already gathered. We spotted The Line and took our places in it, ready for the spooky tour.

A pair of bulldogs dressed as a bumblebee and a hot dog were in the line ahead of us (along with a couple of guys) and collectively they provided a
visual distraction as the line slowly crept forward.

The line weaved around and through the park, which featured a band andorher sundry booths and exhibits. Then the line ended, we were back where we started and we wondered what the heck just happened besides a whole lot of nothing.

Answer: nothing. No street tour this year, apparently. We wandered the park a bit (which didn’t require bring in the line to begin with) and the only thing of note was a tent filled eith a bunch of organs — the kind used to creepy effect for the music in musty horto classics. With random members of the public madhing the keys of eight organs simultaneously and none of these people possessing any apparent musical talent you get something equally or posdibly even more horrifying than a movie filled with monsters or vampires. We left.

Nic suggested checking out a fake haunted house perhaps but I figured our luck on the evening had rnded eith the rain holding off so we watched The Twilight Zone and ate popcorn instead.

Had we stayed half an hour later we eould have sern the actual parade as it turned out but them’s the breaks.

At least Nic was seriously stylin’ in his pimp suit. I went dressed in my usual straight guy outfit. Fools almost everyone!