Where the Weird Things Are: An Upside Down Parade

From the venue:

Atlanta Beltline Art has a new addition to its fall line-up: “Where the Weird Things Are: An Upside Down Parade,” an immersive, participatory experience created by the visionary behind the long-running Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade, Chantelle Rytter and the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons.

For the past 14 years, the Lantern Parade has illuminated the Beltline trail, drawing thousands of spectators and hundreds of community participants. Rytter and her Krewe have now created “Where the Weird Things Are,” a special Halloween experience that brings together local folklore, giant mythical creatures and their stories.

After debuting last fall as a pop-up parade, this year’s event has been reimagined into a reverse parade format where parade participants are stationary and spectators are invited to walk around them. Attendees will stroll around the pond of Historic Fourth Ward Park to experience the puppet line-up or, as with the Lantern Parade, may join in with their own “weird” creations.

“Where the Weird Things Are” will feature live music, provided once again by Atlanta-based marching band the Black Sheep Ensemble. Special to this event, however, is the addition of storytime, where Rytter will tell of the tales of her featured creatures.

As always, the community is invited to create the upside-down parade with the Krewe. Four free “Weird Thing” workshops will be held October 5 -14 at the Krewe’s Parade Studio, located at 1200 White Street SW, 30310. The Krewe is thrilled to welcome guest parade artist Henry Lipkis, a founder of the New Orleans Monster Parade, who will give an artist talk, teach a master monster class, and co-host the headdress workshops. The full workshop schedule as well as at-home ideas can be found here.