11/3/2007

in

The craziest Halloween I've ever seen.

Susie Kopecky

Isla Vista: famous for its Freebirds (best 24-hour Mexican food ever), wild parties and Del Playa. Isla Vista, the student-filled neighborhood adjacent to the University of California Santa Barbara campus, is one like no other. Ask any UCSB student what makes social life different from UCLA, "Cal" and such and you'll hear a number of reasons. Again, "Freebirds," "DP" and the feeling of something always going on may be amongst the answers. Also, some may say the famous bums of IV, such as Pirate (or "1-2-3 Pirate Bum" and just "Pirate Bum") or Animal-Eats-The-Vegetable-Eats-The-Mineral Bum, the bushy-bearded man who rides around on his bike handing out leaflets on why we must all be vegetarians. My friend Wesley once even received one of these fame notices all the way out in a Goleta gas station, but that is a different story entirely. No, this story is about Halloween, arguably the biggest celebration of the school year in Isla Vista.  
  
In addition to the UCSB students, fellow revelers come from far and wide to partake in the famed party weekend in Isla Vista to commemorate the popular holiday of Halloween. This year's festivity planning, however, started out with an important and somewhat divisive question: Since Halloween 2007 fell on a Wednesday, which weekend would be the true party weekend? Would it be the weekend before, as a fiesta-filled build-up to the big day or should it be celebrated the weekend after? Though many surely celebrate both, the weekend prior was chosen by many to usher in the big day. This reporter and friends were there in person to check out the action.  
  
As a UCSB student, Halloween has been a very important time for me. My freshman year it was estimated that up to 40,000 people were in Isla Vista on Halloween weekend, and I believe it. The crowds were so thick that getting trampled was a reality. In one quick moment, my flip flops were caught in the stampeding crowd, and for the duration of the walk home, I was shoeless! Isla Vista police, aided by forces from the surrounding communities, have a great deal to deal with, as many revelers are happy to ring in the holiday with the utmost crunkacity. It is not uncommon to walk around DP (Del Playa) and Sabado (the two most popular walks on Halloween weekend and most other weekends as well) during Halloween weekend and see officers on horseback, police trucks set up for the unfortunate arrested drunks and the occasional arrest itself. One special but rare treat is seeing Chancellor Yang walking about, surveying UCSB students' famed Halloween antics.  
  
This year, I arrived with a friend on Friday to partake in the wondrous shenanigans. The biggest issue upon arrival? Parking. Unless you live in IV and have an assigned spot, finding a place to park your vehicle is no easy task in the relatively small area of Isla Vista, as many people search for a few spots on this special weekend. In 2007, Friday night appeared to be the most popular night for walking about IV. One of the great things is how creative some students are -- the occasional Rufio (from "Hook") is a great treat. One man dressed as a one-night-stand, one young woman was dressed brilliantly as Vicky the robot from "Small Wonder" and some very convincing Captain Jack Sparrows and Indiana Jones' haunted the streets.  
  
For those 21 and over, downtown was also a possibility for the weekend. At last being eligible for this treat, my friends and I took the bus downtown where we were greeted with midsize crowds of slightly older revelers who were also quite into the Halloween spirit. The best costume downtown was a full-on Gingerbread Man. My Marilyn Monroe costume was so tempting to one man that he took the liberty of biting my sweater. Youch! Halloween in IV is crazy, wonderful and quite the party. Maybe I'll see you there next year.