Ghost Muster

They’re baaaack! Another Halloween, another Spooktacular. The city’s “all treats, no tricks” Halloween celebration returned to Mackle Park on Saturday afternoon, bringing family-friendly fun for hundreds.

Little kids, typically dressed up in the costumes their parents selected for them, wandered and mingled under the airnasium on a beautiful day with cool air that signaled the heat of summer seemingly has broken and cooler autumn weather is a real possibility.

The Spooktacular, sponsored again by the City of Marco Island Parks & Recreation Dept., gave children of all ages the chance to dress up as someone else, or maybe let out a side of themselves they keep buttoned up the rest of the year. And by kids of all ages, we don’t mean just the under-four set, who clearly have little input into how they will be transformed. Many parents appear to delight in playing dress-up themselves, and having children is a convenient excuse to wear a matching or complementary outfit. Vanessa and David Arhinger went full Western, channeling their inner cowpokes with matching 10-gallon hats, and a pair of cows, or calves, in the form of their baby Julius, four months, and Whiskey the dog.

Some of the younger set, though, were clearly in charge of their own image and the garb they wore to express it. Rushana Zaripova and her friend Kim Tran, both 11, came as a set of angels – with a twist. Rushana was the angelic, white-clad angel, while Kim as her devilish counterpart wore solid black, including her wings and her halo. They worked together to concoct the costumes. “We just figured it out,” said Kim, who Rushana credited with the germ of the idea.

A number of the outfits inspired double takes, as they caused onlookers cognitive dissonance at first glance. Lia Balderrama, 10, appeared to be riding “Rex,” her pet T-rex, with blue jean clad legs straddling the dinosaur – until you looked again and realized those legs, like the rest of the costume, were inflatable. The twosome took Funniest in their age group. Piper D’Elia, nine, took a similar approach with her duck costume. She claimed to be the Ugly Duckling but was much too cute to fit the part.

Sofia Parsons, seven, also had inflatable legs dangling down in front of the fireplace as she portrayed the “elf on the shelf,” walking around with the whole contraption and eventually winning Most Creative in her age group. Wyatt Guillen, eight, turned himself into a 3-D baseball card, and won a Most Creative as well.

The judges tasked with the job of choosing the Most Creative, Funniest, and Scariest entries in each age group were city councilors Becky Irwin and Darrin Palumbo along with MIPD Capt. Dave Ennis. He came, appropriately, as Captain America, while Palumbo suited up as Pittsburgh Steerers great Ben Roethlisberger. Irwin went minimalist with what looked like kittycat ears. Parks & Rec manager Samantha Malloy, resplendent in her chef’s attire, “cooked up” the festivities and kept it running smoothly.

For those old enough to have done their trick or treating back before rumors of razor blades in apples kind of spoiled the whole vibe, there is a feeling of nostalgia for the classic Halloween, when children headed out after dark, unaccompanied by adults, and filled up bag after bag of candy – and oh yeah, some pennies for Unicef. All Hallows Eve, when spirits rise and roam the earth to demand candy in return for not committing unspecified mayhem, has had the wickedness and spookiness largely drained from it – but the city is to be commended for giving children, parents and grandparents a way to keep the spirit(s) alive.