On Oc. 25, at 9 p.m., the Thriller Parade commenced. People of all ages dressed up in vacant stares with fake blood just to dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Brad Evans, the editor of the “11th Hour,” started the event eight years ago with his wife. Evans stated he got the idea when “we saw a video on YouTube of a small group of people in New York City dancing to Thriller in the middle of a street. We wanted to see if we could bring that to Macon.” Eight years ago, that idea became a reality when a small group of people stopped traffic with no notice to the police to perform “Thriller.” Today, the fears of being looked at funny are embraced as complements.
While they were practicing, a woman at the front of the group was instructing them step by step to learn what to do. This woman’s name was Pilar Wilder. She is the owner of the Hayiya Dance Company in town. She started the business for traditional African American dance 14 years ago. She became involved with the Thriller Parade because she taught the same dance to middle schoolers at Miller Middle School. This dance today is not only for the young for fun, but also motivational for those who are older. Wilder’s favorite part of this year was “There was this 60-year-old couple that came out this year. Usually we only get young kids performing, but it was so much fun to see the smiles on their faces.” The kids were practicing their scary poses and the adults participating were not only college kids but college teachers and parents too. This year there were 150 performers Cherry Street, and over one thousand viewers.
This event is proof one can never be too old to act young, and one can never be too young to have fun.
Don’t want to dress up? There was a large crowd of people dancing with the zombies, taking pictures and just having fun. The block party went on for a few hours, but towards the end of the night, it dispersed a little. Parents even brought their toddlers to dance on the outskirts of the crowd. Macon Police Department was also stationed throughout the event, downtown Macon has the safest precinct in Macon, and this would be further proof of that.There were also a lot of police officers there for the sole purpose of making sure people were safe. The dance started around 9, and even after the event ended, the nightlife still went on.
Downtown Macon at night is almost a completely different place compared to the place we see during the day. The versatile culture in Macon is good for relaxing, showing your best brain-hungry face in a picture, or having a good time with friends.
