Greeley’s Monster Day 2020 goes virutal. Here’s how it works.
Greeley’s 2019 Monster Day brought out many fun costumes. This year will look different, but the Monster Day spirit lives on virutally. Photo courtesy of Monster Day.
By Kelly Ragan
Is it possible for Monster Day to get any weirder? Folks in Greeley and beyond are about to find out. Now in its fourth year, Monster Day is going virtual.
In previous years, up to 10,000 people came to downtown to see masterfully crafted props, monster makeup and more. And that’s exactly why the celebration moved online this year.
Greeley’s 2019 Monster Day brought out many fun costumes. This year will look different, but the Monster Day spirit lives on virutally. Photo courtesy of Monster Day.
“At first, we were like well, that’s not the same, but honestly I’m excited about it,” said Ed Edmunds. “We changed our thinking. Instead of having just a localized event, we can broadcast to the world about Greeley and Monster Day.”
Ed and Marsha Edmunds, owners of Distortions Unlimited, are some of the driving forces behind Monster Day. They create props, masks and monstrous creations.
Moving Monster Day online this year was the right decision, Ed said in an interview with the NoCo Optimist, even if it’ll be weird.
“Monster Day itself is weird,” Ed said.
Usually, thousands of children, parents and grandparents alike would head downtown to enjoy music, face painting, costume contests, demonstrations and more. Some might even keep an eye out for the beloved Greeley Gremlin.
What can you expect this year?
This year, Monster Day will host a virtual costume contest. Event organizers will showcase entries on Facebook while a panel of judges pick their favorites.
Costumes, as always, will range from fun, to weird, to scary.
If you’re looking forward to Halloween, the showcase can offer a wide range of inspiration.
Greeley’s 2019 Monster Day brought out many fun costumes. This year will look different, but the Monster Day spirit lives on virutally. Photo courtesy of Monster Day.
For years, Ed said, vampires and zombies were mainstay monsters. But as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Walking Dead have lost their widespread cultural appeal, there’s room for new monsters to catch on.
“I long for the days when in the 50s and 60s, you said alien and it could have been anything,” Ed said. “It could have been some big-headed thing, some purple people eater, some tentacled thing. I’d like for it to be a free-for-all again, but I don’t think we’re there yet.”
With so many films delayed this year, Marsha said she anticipates Halloween will be different, too, with less media to draw from.
Beyond the costume contest, Ed said he’s working on a video – a sort of shock-u-mentary showcase, if you will -- that puts the spotlight on cool projects, demonstrations and major players, like some city of Greeley employees, that make Monster Day possible.
As of Wednesday, 374 people indicated they planned to attend the virtual event, while at least 2,000 marked they were interested in attending.
How to participate
If you want to tune into Greeley’s virtual Monster Day, check out the Virtual Monster Day Greeley 2020 Facebook event page 2-6 p.m. Saturday.