Pumpkin Palooza packs them in
Oct. 31—Legions of characters, from the cute to the creepy, paraded through downtown Lewiston Saturday for the long-awaited resurrection of Pumpkin Palooza after its pandemic-related mummification last year.
10-year-old Cooper Elliott of Clarkston summed up the general glee pulsing up and down the city's crowded Main Street, which teemed with costumed people celebrating the rebirth of one of the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley's favorite seasonal events.
"It's fun," said Cooper, elaborately dressed as the character Drift from the "Fortnite" video game. "It's a cool character. The skin is cool. He kind of glows in the dark."
His little brother, Brody Cooper, 6, shifted from foot to foot as he patiently awaited his turn to explain his costume.
"It's a creeper from Minecraft," Brody said of his boxy green getup, which also depicted a video game character. "I wanted a pickaxe, but there was no Steve."
Minecraft-obsessed kids would have no trouble understanding that sentence, but luckily mom Jessica Elliott was there to translate for the uninformed. Steve is another character from the wildly popular building-based game who uses a pickaxe to mine his materials and build his universe. But the Halloween store in Lewiston had no Steve costume, so Brody settled for a creeper.
Both boys said their favorite part of the event was careening through the bouncy castle set up near Ninth Street by the city of Lewiston Parks and Recreation Department. And, as in years past, the signature pumpkin roll down the Fifth Street hill attracted a long line of kids and adults hopeful that their gourd would find the target and give them a chance at a drawing for a $500 prize. The event and contests are organized by Beautiful Downtown Lewiston.
Dillon Agee, a 23-year-old from Lewiston, jumped for joy when his pumpkin hit the mark. The celebration looked both comical and awkward thanks to his inflatable tyrannosaurus rex costume.
"I was going for the Red Imposter from 'Among Us,' " Agee said, referring to another video game character. "But I couldn't find it, so I bought this one instead."
Agee said both strategy and luck were involved in his successful roll.
"First of all, it's best to find a pumpkin that's basically like a circle with a small stem," he said. "Then, it takes a lot of muscle and aiming."
His pumpkin veered down the hill after Agee gave it a good shove, bounced off a couple of hay bales and trickled in the target box, triggering his hyped-up celebration.
And while Agee's fan-inflated costume was working perfectly, around the corner 9-year-old R.J. Egbert of Asotin couldn't get his going to pump up his creepy alien getup.
"We had a grandma fail with his costume because we couldn't figure out how to work the fan," grandmother Connie Lorenz of Lewiston said with a laugh.
R.J. was taking the mishap in stride, however, mostly due to the growing mound of candy in his bag. His brother Aron, 8, was also busy collecting sugary snacks, gathering his treat after successfully knocking down some bowling pins at one of the many business and vendor booths lining Main Street. Aron was dressed as one of a few versions of the DJ Marshmello, with his white mask and black, X-like eyes.
One booth was staffed by an entire squadron of members of the Confluence Valley Ghostbusters, each dressed as a specter-slaying character from the movie franchise. David Curry of Clarkston said the group has been around for four years, offering volunteers to other organizations when they need extra help.
"We're a nonprofit for nonprofits," Curry explained.
Today the group will be helping out with trunk-or-treat events at Gamers Edge in Lewiston from 3-5 p.m. and at the Clarkston Wesleyan Church from 6-8 p.m.
Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com
