Now that Halloween has passed and we're now dealing with the terrifying anxiety of Election Night, it's time for my annual homage to the best Halloween costumes I saw this year.
On Halloween proper, we had relatively decent weather -- 50s and not raining. Compared to snow last year, I'll take that any year we can get it. The only downside is that we were way low on trick-or-treaters, and I have no reason to believe it had anything to do with my costume.
But the Saturday before that, we had our annual Halloween party. This year's theme was our great city: Chicago. Attendees were encouraged to wear costumes that had anything to do with Chicago, be it landmarks, TV characters, movie characters, musicians, historic events, and the like. And I'll tell you, people killed it.
I didn't get pictures of everyone, so pardon me if I missed something, but here are is what we had (and, as usual, I'm not limiting this to ten, nor am I ranking anything):
Roxy Hart from the movie Chicago, as well as a gangster and flapper
Chicago Bears mascot Staley and Walter Payton
The beloved Tamale Guy and a Tamale Girl. And staying true to their costume, they actually brought a cooler full of tamales!
Local roller derby stalwarts the Windy City Rollers
Billy Goat Tavern workers, as made famous in the iconic '70s SNL sketch
The Chicago Fire, Mrs. O'Leary's cow, and Mr. O'Leary
Chicago's long list of criminally indicted/imprisoned elected officials and a bag of Garrett's Popcorn
Dibs. For those of you unfamiliar with what that means, in the winter, people in our fair city shovel out street parking spaces for their cars. When they leave for work or to go to the store or dispensary, they often put chairs, cones, or other things down in the parking spot to call "dibs." The implication is that if you park in someone else's shoveled-out spot, your car will be vandalized. Not pictured: the sign on the back of his chair that said "I will key your car."
Dave Matthews Band shit victim. As you may be aware, in 2004, the Dave Matthews Band tour bus was driving through the Loop, across a bridge over the Chicago River. It was at that moment that the bus driver decided to unload the tour bus's commode reservoir. On a passing architectural river tour boat full of tourists. Yet another reason to hate DMB.
The Wet Bandits and Marley. Not pictured: the Wet Bandits' other son who went as Kevin and looked exactly like him.
Peg Bundy and The Walking Man. You all know who Peg Bundy is, but The Walking Man was a homeless man who was a staple in the Loop for years -- always walking, and nearly always wearing a sport coat or suit.
Peter Ceteradactyl. Yes, I know last year's Halloween party was puns and word play, but puns and word play are always welcome when it comes to Halloween costumes. What I was shocked to find out was how few people know who Peter Cetera is or that he was (a) from Chicago and (b) the co-founder and longtime bassist and vocalist for the band Chicago. But as I learned at another Chicago institution, Second City, never write down to your audience.
The Rat Hole. For years, there was a rat-shaped hole on a sidewalk in the Roscoe Village neighborhood, but last year, Instagrammers discovered it, and suddenly it became a local tourist destination. People would take photos, leave money, and I think some idiots actually got married at The Rat Hole.
Bill Swersky and Steve Bartman. I didn't get any individual or smaller group shots of these guys, but you can see Bill Swersky (of SNL Superfans sketch fame) on the right behind Peg Bundy, and you can see Steve Bartman right above Peter Ceteradactyl.
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