howloween spirits

Yesterday was the annual Howloween parade in Long Beach, sponsored by Haute Dogs. I don't think I realized that I haven't made it down to this for a couple years, because I do usually make it to the Easter version, but it has gotten much larger than I remember. Quite the crowd was out, and one noticeable difference from the Easter parade is that so many participants not only dress up their dogs, but themselves as well. There were a lot of very elaborate costumes, from Chiller: Chihuahuas on a float surrounded bu dancers from Thriller, to the monarch butterfly with a black pug as the butterfly's body, to several Dia de Los Muertos themed floats, though my favorite was still the 'dog in the balloon'. The parade part seems to have progressed this year by getting one lane of traffic closed for the parade instead of the usual attempt to parade along the sidewalk. I think having traffic closed in the whole direction would actually have made for less congestion, but I'm sure that probably wasn't an option for the organizers. Regardless, the gathering in the park before and after the parade is the real fun and the real show. It's so fun to see people so involved and a group of dog owners and fans just happy to be there and just enjoying the spirit of it all.