The South Seattle Emerald presents . . .
T’Challaween —
A South End Tribute to Our Heroes
Sat., Oct. 29, 1–4 p.m.
T’Challaween is a socially distant costume parade along the Beacon Hill Stay Healthy Street. 🎃
Masks are required — the ones that block germs! 
👏 FREE!
But wait, there’s more!
The South End Public Market will host an outdoor “Moon Market” with local art and gifts, featuring local artists and artisans. 🛍️
And you never know what else you’re going to see at T’Challaween! Clever candy-delivery devices 
Can’t attend in person? Watch the live stream on our Facebook page. 🎥
✨ Sign up to volunteer at T’Challaween! ✨
👉 RSVP & Share T’Challaween with friends and family on Facebook.
PARADE ROUTE MAP:
(Click image for larger view or download a PDF to print.)
❗IMPORTANT COVID & SAFETY INFO:
Event staff will assist paraders and vehicles as needed with road safety, but all paraders should be mindful of their own safety at all times. ⚠️ ✅
To mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, paraders are asked to mask up and maintain social distancing throughout the event. Costume masks (thin cloth, elastic, nylon, plastic, rubber, etc.) are ineffective at preventing viral spread — please wear a mask that seals properly over/under costumes!
MORE EVENT DETAILS
T’Challaween features a one-mile, socially distant costume parade along the Beacon Hill Greenway/Stay Healthy Street. Paraders travel north to south on 18th Ave S. from S. College St to the Spokane St entrance to Jefferson Park and can join anywhere along the route. Paraders can also shop the South End Public Market‘s Moon Market at Jefferson Park and shop for local art and gifts.
📸 You’ll find plenty of photo opportunities throughout the parade, but Emerald photographers will also document the event.
UPDATE ON TRAFFIC SAFETY: The parade takes place on the Beacon Hill Stay Healthy Street. As in previous years, the parade route will not be closed to local traffic, but Stay Healthy Streets are local access only. Residents may need to access their streets/driveways during the parade. Our street ambassadors will be standing by to help guide paraders and assist vehicles that must enter the parade route, but please stay safe! 🚧
T’Challaween naturally provides social distance! But we encourage all paraders and spectators to maintain — a minimum of — 6 feet of distance between other attendees. Please attend T’Challaween with your family/household and — AT ALL TIMES — masks must be worn to mitigate the spread of disease.
Our safety guidelines will help keep us all — paraders, spectators, event staff, and nearby residents — safe. Those not adhering to the guidelines will be asked to leave.
Please help us make this a fun — and SAFE — day for all! 
Also This Weekend — Boo Bash at the Beach! Sun., Oct. 30!
Event is from 2–5 p.m. on the plaza between Rainier Beach Community Center (8825 Rainier Avenue South) and South Shore PK-8 School. And if you still need more Halloween action after that, find the Kid’s Crawl Beatwalk and Haunted Hounds Costume contest in Columbia City, Sunday, 4–7 p.m.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS & COMMUNITY PARTNERS:
T’Challaween is made possible with support from Safeway, ACLU-WA, Alaska Airlines, The Station coffee shop, Victrola Coffee Roasters, Beacon Arts, the South End Public Market, the Jefferson Advisory Council, and the AT&T Store Seattle Rainier.
The Story of T’Challaween
T’Challaween is not just a Halloween costume parade,
it’s a tribute to our heroes. But what does that mean? And what — or who — is a hero anyway?
T’Challaween is a tribute to those who inspire us. Those who have set an example for how to be. Who have paved the way for us.
Halloween is the perfect event to pay tribute to those among us, real and imagined, who make us want to be the best versions of ourselves and push through fear and insecurity to grow as human beings. T’Challaween is an opportunity to not only pay tribute to those who came before us but to those who are currently among us, and those who will come after.
On Halloween, we can be anything we want. We can try on being the “hero” for a day. We can find out what it’s like to be something different, maybe something that feels great (and inspires change in us).
T’Challaween is an opportunity for South Seattleites to come together safely to celebrate what makes our community great — the people!
More than ever, we need each other.
We are — all of us — heroic at one time or another, if not in our own eyes, in the eyes of others. And we are all role models, to each other and to the next generation.
Heroes don’t always wear capes, but they do help those in need by drawing on their unique skills. Heroes are not always masked, but heroes wear masks to protect others. Frontline, essential, workers have been among the great heroes of the pandemic!
There are many definitions of “hero.” And none of them are right or wrong. They are all beautiful and important. Just as every person who makes up our community is.
T’Challaween is a reminder that in times of great challenge and community strife — we are not alone, and there are heroes among us (sometimes they are us).
We are in this together, and collectively? We have super powers!
What’s your super power???
The spirit of T’Challaween is woven into the words of Marvel’s Black Panther, the one and only, T’Challa:
“We will work to be an example of how we, as brothers and sisters on this earth, should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.”
R.I.P Chadwick Boseman.
T’Challaween is very fondly dedicated to the man, the actor, the role model — the hero — and the gift that is the legacy he leaves behind.
📸 Featured Image: Susan Fried.