Postcard from Pine Grove

Mark Alexander, the former Kellogg art teacher and extraordinary puppetmaker who lives year round at the Pine Grove Association, spent Halloween parading in New York City. Here's his report:

"Whewww! Pine Grove sure is quiet after last night's tremendous ear ringing NYC Halloween Parade! This year the parade theme was Wings, so I made sequined wings and cool hats with embedded lights. It was tremendous. Weather was perfect, about 60*, so crowds were the thickest I've ever seen. I admit I get all keyed up by the literally millions of viewers and TV lights. Very fast paced and high spirited stilt dancing and spinning for 22+ blocks of Avenue of the Americas. I think I'm finally getting better at arabesques. They were much more predictable last night, and I actually pulled a few of them out of pirouette-like spins. Katherine and I were assisted by a sherpa friend named Bella. She was also wearing sequined wings and colorful costume, but not being on stilts she was able to carry water and gear on the parade route for us, and about half way through she was able to help me quickly fix a problem with my stilt pants snagging and tripping up my stilts. I've moving much slower, remaining in my bathrobe most of the day, but I've been grinning ear to ear constantly. Here's a picture from last Sunday's performance at a church in New Jersey, added here just for the contrast. I love contrasts."
--Mark