Friday, November 12, 2021

Any Excuse For A (Costume) Party




Here in Denver, people just love to dress up in costumes and parade around the city. I was thinking about that a few weeks ago, as I was walking past the Colorado Convention Center, which was hosting Fan Expo Denver 2021. This festival seems to celebrate all things involving sci-fi, comic book heroes, old television characters, and God knows what else. The featured speaker on it's final day was Captain James Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. All of the attendees dress up in elaborate costumes, walking through downtown Denver on their way to the event. I don't know who the people in the photograph on the left are supposed to be. Students of 18th Century history? And yes - that is indeed the foot of the famous Blue Bear sculpture, loved by one and all, in front of the convention center.



In addition to Fan Expo, people here dress up for Halloween (naturally), Oktoberfest, the Denver Zombie Crawl, St. Patrick's Day, and sometimes just for the hell of it. I noticed when the last Denver Zombie Crawl took place in 2019, creepy clowns, like the one in the photograph on the right, were very popular, thanks to revelations about the life of Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Why should this guy make all clowns into creeps? Back when my sister Susan was little, our Grandfather Spillard would take her to the circus, where he personally knew a lot of the clowns, who were often former vaudeville performers. After vaudeville disappeared, many had no other option than to try and make a living at the circus. Sometimes, the crowds did not find them very funny, and let them know it, and Susan thought it was a pretty sad thing to witness. Of course, these days, thanks to PETA, there are virtually no more circuses, which solves that particular problem. And no, I have no idea who the other character in the photo on the right is supposed to be. After all, I am old, and only know about TV shows such as Mr. Ed. A true classic.

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