Halloween Traditions Part 1

If you are like most people, you probably think that Halloween is a one-day event. Perhaps a school assembly or party, and then some trick-or-treating that night. Oh, and a few weeks of eating candy.

But not around here. Halloween is a season.


Why is this?

Because there are just too many cool things to do around Ann Arbor.

And, perhaps a little, because the kids will only delight in the pretending and the dressing up for a few years. Why not stretch it out a little?

(Honestly, though, Jameson isn't quite into the costume thing yet... sure, he wore his Yoda costume with no complaint last year, but he was still a baby. This year, he was DEATHLY AFRAID of his owl costume. Until he was bribed, that is. Yes, I bribed my child into his Halloween costume.)

And so here we have, Hermione (Sylvie), Hedwig the Owl, and Harry Potter. For those unfamiliar with the Harry Potter series, Hermione and Harry are two of the main characters, and Hedwig is Harry's pet owl.

One of the two big Halloween events--besides the trick-or-treating itself--is the annual Halloween Concert by the University of Michigan student orchestra. For five years now--FIVE!--we have treated Alex and ourselves to this delight. Jameson joined us in 2006, as a baby in arms, and our friends Jenni and Bill (and daughters Sylvie and later Julia) started attending about then as well. (see previous years' pictures here)

The musicians all dress up, and the student conductors do skits between every act. Alex and Sylvie (err... Harry and Hermione) were thrilled with the references to the Harry Potter books, and Jameson was thrilled with the enormous lollipop that Jenni thoughtfully provided.

Although, honestly, in just reading last year's post about the concert, I can see how Jameson has grown leaps and bounds. Instead of being a baby that needed constant distraction, he was a little boy in awe of the music. As soon as the musicians started, he stared, transfixed, at the orchestra below us. Between songs, he looked at me with a very injured expression and said, "MORE MUSIC MAMA!".

Well, for a few songs anyway. We did take a turn walking out in the back of the enormous auditorium when sitting still became too difficult. And even this wasn't too bad, as Jameson and I sat on a step and cuddled. We don't nearly get enough cuddle time.

So each year we look forward, with delight, towards this tradition. But there's one more tradition that needs mentioning, the Leslie Science and Nature Center's Animal Haunts. Stay tuned for more blogging about that!