I realize I never talked about this, so now’s the time, I guess. It gave me a lot to think about, so I wanted to share this experience.
Last year, I made an over-seven-foot dementor for a Hogwarts themed harvest fest. It was a mega hit, and I loved doing it. (And if you want to know more, I made a post about it last year here).
This year, the person in charge of the harvest fest asked if I could bring the dementor costume back since she was going to be doing the Hogwarts theme bigger and better. I said, of course, and I set out to fixing it back up, since it’s been in storage for a year.
The day came, and I was a little ill-prepared (I forgot some padding to lessen the pain of wearing it). But it’s all good. The reactions make it worth it. Let’s get to it! Walk around, scare some kids, impress the farmers.
Unfortunately, I didn’t stay in costume for long.
I was in costume for maybe 45 minutes or an hour before I quit out of frustration.
Something I knew would happen during the fest would be kids playing along, pointing wands at me, running from me, expecto patronum-ing me. I’m super down to play along with them, too. But, this year, kids and preteens were poking me with their wands (I don’t appreciate being stabbed with a wooden stick), yanking on my cloak (which is almost entirely supported by my neck, and I don’t want to die today), and pushing me (my vision is limited, and if I fall I’m not getting back up). The worst was when a young man, 12 or 13 maybe, decided to punch me in the stomach!
Punch. Me. In. The. Stomach.
Why were the kids so violent this year? Anyway, after multiple instances of abuse, I called it quits and took my costume off for the day. My friend, Kiki, who was there with me that day, was so angry and wanted me to point the kid out so she can drop kick him for me.
I wasn’t terribly hurt. A little sore but not injured. But that shouldn’t matter. It is NOT okay to touch or hit a character at an attraction, which is what I was. I’m a person underneath all that fabric, and I can get hurt, physically and emotionally. I was upset and sore, and I don’t know if I’ll be busting out the dementor again.
Just wanted to share the experience with those who maybe have kids. Please teach your children not to touch or mess with a character at any kind of attraction, whether it be Disneyland or your local harvest fest.
And I didn’t even get any pictures this year…
Hugs
Alexandra
Alexandra TG 