Paddlers celebrate Halloween in Sea Monsters parade

October 29, 2023 at 6:10 p.m.

Mickey Middendorf, left, and Dean Kanenaga carry Middendorf's kayak out to the water Saturday, Oct. 28 at the Community Boating Center. "I had to match my kayak," Middendorf said before the Halloween Sea Monsters parade. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

Mickey Middendorf, 58, put her costume on near the back of her Jeep Wrangler at the Community Boating Center. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

Shane Sobotka, center, who led the parade, talks to another Sea Monster attendee. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

From the nose of the board, Bellingham Bay Community Boating Center's Community Programs Manager Christine McCormik, left, and volunteer Mitchel Hinson help event guests put the "human barge" — an extra large stand-up paddle board — into the water. The human-powered vessel is about 15 feet by 6 feet. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

Stand-up paddlers navigate the boat ramp area with four on board the "human barge." **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

Attendees gather around for a group photo. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

Passer-bys look on from the Taylor Dock boardwalk as the parade paddles by. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

Joe, right, and Leslie Svoboda wave to the kayakers below as they walk Taylor Dock. Although the sun was out, temperatures throughout the day were around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

A sea serpent garden decoration adorns Shane Sobotka's kayak. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

The Decks and their dog, Olive, watch as the parade passes by the interurban trail near Boulevard Park. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

Attendees pull their vessels out of the water after the parade. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

Travis Brown, the cat, and Alicia Gabreilson, the witch, check in with the Community Boating Center's recreation intern, Christa Robertson, for the center's third annual Halloween Sea Monsters parade. **(Andrew Ford/Cascadia Daily News)**

The Community Boating Center hosted its third annual Halloween Sea Monsters parade on Saturday, Oct. 28 — the final Saturday the center was open for the season. Folks came in costume to paddle kayaks, paddle boards and even a “human barge,” an especially large stand-up paddle board.

Christine McCormick, the boating center's community programs manager, said the event was started as a part of SUP (stand-up paddleboard) Witches, a national Halloween-themed paddling parade.

Though the water and sun were inviting, the wind quickly picked up once the paraders were on the water. Only the ones with the most endurance made it all the way to Boulevard Park from the boat launch in Fairhaven.