Alegria in Sierra Madre on Halloween Night

This year for Halloween we decided to do something different. Each Halloween we have friends over and serve Chili and BBQ'd Pork Tenderloin. We usually dress up in costume and scare the trick or treaters as they come up to the door through the "fog" on our path. It is such a blast! Guests have to bring a pumpkin item so we end up with a variety of treats to taste. And to date no one has brought the same item yet. So it is always fun to see what people bring, this is making me salivate just writing about it! Well this year, since Halloween fell on a Saturday night we decided to do something different that the kids might enjoy and remember. We decided to take them to the famous Alegria Street in Sierra Madre...

The nights trek was a twenty minute drive, so we started to tell ghost stories in the car. WE each would contribute something to this progressive story. They were so cute. I should have recorded them! We finally made it up Baldwin in the train of cars. Now to find a place to park all or our cars together. That was a feat. Once we parked and hoofed it up to Alegria we were amongst hundreds of other treaters. The homes on this street go all out in decorations and pumpkin carvings. Grave yards line the lawns. Driveways are peppered with ghouls. Porches are strung with webs and creepy hangin' things. It is a sight for sure for us "older" treaters. The most amazing displays you will ever see of live pumpkins that have been carved into masterpieces...

Some homes put on a "show." There are flying ghosts on pulleys, two homes had photo opportunities - one had a live witch you can take a photo with, the other was a stationary creepy guy. One house served hot cider to everyone. You just needed to make your way up a long path filled with the most creative carved pumpkins. And the some homes have a theme.

Like this Spanish Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos , display. Complete with the hanging lanterns and skeleton display. One was a pumpkin house, the Parkers Pumpkin Porch as it read on a wooden sign secured to the top of the front door. Several homes were grave yards. One was a cacti mecha! The owners decorated their cactus plants with beaded necklaces and clothing. It is odd to describe - one had to see it in person to appreciate...

And it would not be Halloween if we did not see Michael Myers. This Michael loved the fact that I was taking his picture. He ended up posing for several. I liked the ones where I have him behind the group of people and you can see his face, as if he were following us... I don't think he was a "kid" either. He seemed like a "older" person. Creepy...

And I included this picture so you can get the idea of the number of people that come here for Halloween. The street is closed off. They bring in a porta potty. Police are visible. And the parking is difficult. The hords of people that line the sidewalk and streets are many! Some bring their oversized dogs? I observed one dog large enough to be a "bear" growling at a baby carriage. Hello! Why are you bringing a dog to an event that will be filled with children? Oh my! Crazy! Oh and do not come here with the idea of getting lots of candy. The boys were sorta disappointed that they did not get much. But that is because this street attracts over 3,000 people during the night. It was fun for them to atleast experience this treat once!