The Anaheim Fall Festival has announced the Grand Marshall of their annual Halloween Parade. This year it’s Sid Krofft, famous puppeteer and, together with his brother Marty, architect of Generation X’s childhoods.
The festival turns 100 years old this year, and the parade itself turns 100 in 2024 so there’s a lot to celebrate. The Fall Festival takes place on Center Street Promenade in downtown Anaheim, a little bit northeast of Disneyland. The festival will take place October 28 from 11AM – 6PM. The parade kick-off is at 7PM and lasts between an hour and two hours. The parade steps off at Broadway and Anaheim Blvd to Center Street Promenade, down Harbor Blvd. then west on Broadway to Manchester.
The Festival is an old-fashioned Halloween carnival with local artists, live music, magic shows, costume contests for kids and dogs, float decorating, variety acts, kid crafts, food, beer, treats and photo ops with the parade floats.
Stick around to see the parade with its ghosts, goblins, rocket witch, a “flying sasser” and pumpkin men. The parade route stretches a mile and a half through downtown Anaheim. A must-see California tradition since 1924.
The renovated historic Rocket Witch float is sponsored by MiceChat partners, the Howard Johnson Anaheim Resort. HoJo Anaheim’s spirited team will be marching alongside it!
The MUZEO is getting in on the fun with a special juried exhibition called “Anaheim Fall Festival and Parade Celebrates 100 Years” from September 23 until November 5. There will be two exhibitions in the Carnegie building called “Hallowe’en Greetings” and “Tricks, Treats and Traditions”.
Sid Krofft is responsible, with his brother Marty, for bringing 26 television series to life. Here are just a few:
And who could forget…
Sid and Marty received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award in 2018 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2020. They also built the world’s first indoor theme park, but that’s a story for another time.
Sid was born in 1929 in Montreal, Canada, and is often called The Grandfather of Puppeteering. He began puppeteering at the age of ten, and by the time he was twenty he was a seasoned performer, working with Vaudeville and Burlesque shows. This led him to Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, where he was featured as “The World’s Youngest Puppeteer”. He toured with Judy Garland and Liberace, and created a daring adults-only puppet show called “Les Poupees de Paris”, entertaining over nine million people during its US tour.
Sid and his brother did shows for Six Flags and other parks and venues, culminating in the aforementioned theme park, “The World of Sid and Marty Krofft”. They created many shows for all ages in their “Show Business Factory”, where they crafted costumes, floats and other creations for clients all over the world, as well as their well-loved kids shows.
Sid remains deeply connected with his fans, and can be seen every Sunday at 3PM Pacific time on his Instagram live show “Sundays with Sid”, where he brings on special guests and interacts with Krofft fans.
Here’s another look at the parade:
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