Category Archives: costumes

Happy Halloween (Salem, MA)

It’s official.  I’m a  Salemholic.  Today was my third visit to the Halloween Hub of America this October.  But, what better place to spend this crisp autumn Halloween?

I have never been so happy while at the same time being packed in one concentrated area.

The costumes ranged from the absurdly cute

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to the classics like witches

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The “Ghost Busters”

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Shrek

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The creature from Where The Wild Things Are

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The sharks and banana from the Katy Perry halftime Super Bowl show

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Edward Scissorhands (probably the costume of the day)

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Willy Wonka (with an Oompa Loompa and Violet Beauregard).  I guess Violet still hasn’t learned her lesson about eating the “three course meal gum.”

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Star Wars (I especially like how they mixed it up a bit and used Luke’s ty fighter costume rather than the robe you usually see him wear)
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Darth Vader was understandably upset that he just missed Luke and company

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Snape (I think he cursed me)

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Alice Cooper

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Jigsaw

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Jason (he brought his mommy with him, isn’t that sweet?)

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Or, is this the real Jason?

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and his buddy Freddy

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Snap, Crackle and Pop (in that order) took time from eating breakfast to pose

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Father Time didn’t look a day over infinity

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I found Waldo (actually quite a few Waldos).  He wasn’t that hard to find!

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The occult leader from the blockbuster hit, Eyes Wide Shut (or so I was told)

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I told this guy I was curious if I could take his photo.  He didn’t get the play on words but he was friendly nonetheless

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And, of course, a Halloween festival isn’t the same without Frankenstein

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One of the best things to see is when a family or couple or group of friends get dressed up together.  After all, the couple that haunts together stays together.  Or, something like that.

Some came dressed as familiar characters like Beetlejuice and Lydia (is she not a dead ringer for Winona?)

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and Ron Burgundy with Veronica Corningstone (he’s Kind of a big deal)

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Mario and crew

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The Joker (in crocs) and nurse

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Elliott, E.T. and Gertie

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Dorothy, Glinda “the Good Witch” and the “Wicked Witch”

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Alice in Wonderland

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Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf (I guess they patched things up)

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Fred, Wilma and Pebbles

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And some came dressed in these other creative costumes

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This guy was giving out free hugs

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Believe it or not, he actually had a few takers

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But, the dogs stole the show!  Whether in costume or not, they all looked great!

Dogald Trump was there

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Milo stood tall for his photo!

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Goliath is a gentle giant

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Named after the popular dish from New Orleans, Gumbo, a rescue from New Orleans, posed perfectly!

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Sam, the “zombie dog” was the cutest zombie in Salem.

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Zoe wished me a “Happy Halloween”!

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Lucy was the fairest of them all

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Due to the large crowds and the hectic atmosphere, I was unable to get the names of all the dogs from their moms and dads.  But, I did want to share their photos.

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A great day for everyone, 2 legged or 4 legged.  I will be posting a few more Salem blogs later this week mostly dealing with the memorials, statues and impressive architecture from the area and probably a few more dogs ( :  If I included all my photos from my trips in this blog it would have been even longer and I didn’t want to over do it.  Until next year, Salem!  Have a Happy and Spooky (well, not too spooky) Halloween!


King Richard’s Faire (Carver, MA)

Deep in the woods of Carver Mass is a land of yore.  At least during the fall. It is during the weekends of September and October when King Richard’s Faire takes over the woods of Carver, or as they dub it during the faire, “Carvershire”.

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The great thing about King Richard’s Faire is that you need not be a medieval history enthusiast or a larper to enjoy the faire.

There are activities such as ax throwing, no that isn’t a typo, face painting and a variety of performers to keep people of all ages entertained.

And then, there were the shows.  This particular rendition of “Snow White” was actually portrayed as Snow White’s cousin, Carrie.  That’s right Carrie White of the famous Stephen King horror novel and movie, “Carrie.”

Everything starts out seemingly harmlessly as the cast retells the story of Carrie.

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And her “friends” who decide to sabotage her prom (spoiler alert if you haven’t seen the movie or read the book).

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Keeping true to the plot, Carrie is crowned prom queen.

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Then, cue, the “pigs mud” (they want to keep it “family friendly”)

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All hell breaks lose as Carrie unleashes her wrath (just like in the movie)

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Then, weirdly, they all become friends again in the end.

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Jacques Ze Whippeur gave a great performance with his whipping skills.  He asked the audience to name a song and he was able to keep the beat to the song by cracking his whip and singing the lyrics.  He did this with songs from groups such as Journey and even the theme song to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

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The actors at King Richard’s Faire reenact the days of knights (I couldn’t help but think of the obvious similarity to the characters in Monty Python’s Holy Grail movie)

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magicians (with their assistants)

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wizards

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fair maidens

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and more

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And, yes, visitors do come to the faire dressed in their own garb.

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One of the highlights was the jousting contest.

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But, the best part of the event was the pirates and fairies costume show.

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Although pets aren’t normally allowed in the faire, an exception was made for Lionitus because he is a service dog.

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If you’re in the Massachusetts area and you want to go, this upcoming weekend (Oct 24th and 25th) is the last chance to see it before it closes for the season and you will have to wait until 2016.  If you can’t go this weekend, I’ll see you there next year!

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Haunted Happenings (Salem, MA)

Since it is Halloween is imminent and Salem is so well known for its Halloween attractions, I will be posting a series of blogs from the Salem, Massachusetts, area from my recent visits.  If I took a photo of you or your dog and I haven’t posted it yet, I promise I will post it very soon. Also, I want to thank everyone (4 legged and 2 legged) and their folks who agreed to have their or their children’s photos taken. If you’re reading this, I greatly appreciate it.

Today’s blog features some of the sites, people and dogs of historic Salem.

There is something about Salem, or really any busy town or city, in the early morning hours.  There’s a certain serenity in the early morning hours, especially when you contrast it with the throngs that will soon descend upon the town. While the city is still sleeping and the roar of vehicles seems a distant memory, street vendors prepare for a busy day and other early risers take to the empty streets.  In a scant few hours, these city streets will be jammed.

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There were some other early  risers on the streets of Salem as well.  I ran into Quincy while I was roaming the empty streets.

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One of the things about Salem that attracts a lot of visitors, apart from the Halloween attractions, are the memorials and structures in the area.  This particular structure in the heart of downtown Salem is the East India Square Fountain.  In the warmer weather seasons, they often have water flowing in it.  Designed as an abstract map of Salem, the two levels represent the pre-Colonial and contemporary shorelines of Salem.

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A little farther down the road is the Revere Bell, a tribute to the citizens of Essex County which encompasses the most northeast section of Massachusetts, who have served in the armed services.

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There is also a pretty arch near the Revere Bell that with overgrown foliage.

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There were lots of people dressed up for the season

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I also saw Chica

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and Stanley during my visit

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More photos from Salem and the Salem area to come…


Howl-O-Ween Costumed Pet Parade (Salem, MA)

Dressing up for Halloween is not just for humans.

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And there were plenty of pets on display Sunday in Salem, Massachusetts, to prove this.

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Sunday, the dogs, and a few cats, took over Salem at the Howl-O-Ween Costumed Pet Parade.

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The costumes ranged from the scary, like this dog bone skeleton

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and this shark

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to the funny like this pooch dressed as Beetlejuice.

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In fact, a lot of animals dressed up as other animals and insects.  Like these bees

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and these bat dogs

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or this elephant

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There were also an octopus, lobsters, a spider and even a squirrel riding a dog.

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Some dogs decided to dress more like humans like Sherlock Bones.
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and this working class dog

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Some dogs wore more creative costumes, like this Chia-pet

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and this wolf in sheep clothes

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and Goldilocks

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And for those of you who thought dinosaurs were extinct, think again

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There were also a number of pets dressed as fictional characters such as Chewbacca and Superman/woman (with a tutu no less) and a super hero.

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Sleeping beauty was also at the parade.

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And of course, what would a Howl-O-Ween parade be without a witch?

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There were also some sports themed costumes

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And some food themed costumes like these hot dogs and taco

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Dogs were not the only participants.  There were these two brave cats.  One was dressed as a sailor and the other cat, Briggs, was just a spectator

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Although all the participants were winners winners, the prize for best overall costume went to “Max” from the his “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” outfit.

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