Downtown goes bananas
Oct. 30—A bunch of bananas showed up Saturday in downtown Lewiston.
What sounds like the lead-in to a bad joke was actually just standard fare for the Beautiful Downtown Lewiston's 12th annual Pumpkin Palooza festival.
Hundreds of people came out to enjoy the event on a lovely fall day.
Banana costumes seemed to be a popular choice for kids and adults alike, but there were plenty of witches, skeletons, ghosts and princesses as well, along with dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes.
It was the shape of Canon Johnson's Tyrannosaurus rex costume that proved to be his downfall.
He took part in the Great Pumpkin Roll, trying to bowl two gourds down the Fifth Street grade between two lines of hay bales to a target at the bottom. But with those pitiful little Tyrannosaurus rex arms, he couldn't get a good release and both pumpkins missed the entry lane entirely.
"It's kind of hard," he said.
Johnson wasn't having much luck collecting candy from the various Pumpkin Palooza vendors, either, but a friend dressed as a fireman (or woman) tagged along to help him out.
"I gave him some of mine," she said. "He's my bestest friend."
Marie Woodward and her two young kids were all dressed up in green avocado suits.
"They're cute," she said. "They're really colorful."
Her kids weren't raking in a lot of candy, but she was having fun checking out all the different costumes.
"I love it," Woodward said. "I come every year."
Jeff Cochrane didn't dress up as an avocado or a banana, but he looked a little like one. He was dancing his way down Main Street, wearing the same vibrant yellow pants, long suit and green face paint that the Jim Carrey character had on in the movie "The Mask."
"This is so much fun," Cochrane said. "I wore this last night with a bunch of adult friends and decided to come downtown today and talk with the kids, get involved in the community."
And community is what Pumpkin Palooza is all about. The Great Pumpkin Roll raised money for the Gina Quisenberry Foundation, and a number of other community groups had booths on Main Street, offering candy and games for the kids.
Dana Gludt, co-founder of the Confluence Valley Ghostbusters, was decked out in full Ghostbuster gear, including the overalls and a proton backpack in case any unruly phantoms tried to disrupt the fun.
"These suits get really hot — but it's all for a good cause," Gludt said.
The Ghostbusters, which includes about 14 volunteers, hold raffles and other events year-round to help raise money for local non-profit groups.
They were raising money Saturday for Christmas Connection. Whoever won the raffle got to dump a bucket of slime over one of the new recruits.
Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.
