Halloween in Hyde Park, 2024

This year, we dusted off the Operation game for Halloween. I’ve been making some variation of this costume for, oh… over two decades now. That’s a little crazy to say out loud.

I did my first version a long while ago, when I was a grad student at OSU. I think the first documented version I have of the costume is from 2004, which was a wearable/portable version.

I think I kept that costume around for a year, and ended up winning a Halloween contest in 2005.

The design is a pretty straight-forward one (though I’m thinking we need to incorporate a light for the nose soon). Mostly just wires, a doorbell, and a battery. Some electrical outlets from Home Depot, and a whole lot of velcro.

Operation, dusted off and ready for action.

The salad tongs are connected to a battery, and a doorbell… as are all the electrical outlets. If the tongs touch any metal, it completes the circuit and the doorbell buzzes.

Inside each outlet, there’s a bit of velcro. And on the back of every piece of candy (we’re all in here, for Halloween)… there’s also a piece of velcro.

Participants have to use the tongs to retrieve the candy they want, all the while trying o avoid touching any metal.

Had a wildcard this year, and ordered up some Haw Flakes. I remember these from my childhood, and thought it would be a fun addition.

Among the many visitors, this kid stood out. I’m actually not sure what the reference is here, but I was absolutely taken by his commitment to wearing this thing. He really had to work hard to get up the stairs!

It felt great to see a large group of kids gathered on our porch. More than once, we had a decent line of kids waiting to play.

I’m a big fan of Halloween being something interactive. Getting free candy is great in and of itself, but it’s so much better when you have to work a little for it.

Best costume of the night: the kid who dressed up as the ISS (International Space Station). And whose brother was dressed as the space shuttle (and there was a tether that connected them).

Video of the game in action.

As the night progressed, I started to tell people that there was a “shock” if they touched the metal. For the older kids, I played this up to try to give a little scare. In the video, I mentioned the shock to a younger kid, and someone who had just gotten some candy played along. This was a great moment.

Most of the night was a constant stream of kids. As things slowed, I got the chance to hop across the street to hang out witt some of our neighbors. This is the view from the sidewalk, looking at Mark/Anna’s place… where they had fabric over the windows, and projected images showing creepy ghouls banging on the windows.

As we were hanging out, a small group of teenagers yelled when they saw this. And nearly all of them were freaking out, taking out their phones to record the whole thing.

Ken and Marcus, standing by a replica of Jason hanging out in the yard. I didn’t get a chance to see things in action, but my guess is that they were able to scare a few kids by standing still… and then suddenly moving unexpectedly.

A few folks wandered over to our porch after the night closed down, to have a bit of whisky after all the activity. Got a chance to hang out a bit, and shared a bit of a recent Society bottle to boot.

Learned that Ken/Marcus were also big fans of Bunnahabhain, which means there are at least six of us nearby that all really like this small little distillery on Islay. Small world.

Tonight was great, albeit a blur. Liz wasn’t feeling too well, and was under the weather most of the night. But worked a ton behind the scenes, to keep the candy flowing (and taped a ton of velcro to a ton of candy).

I felt like a carnival barker the whole time, talking the game up. But overall, we had a really good showing. There were two times where someone compared our block to Harper Avenue, which was probably the best compliment I could imagine. We’ve got a ways to go, before we can match them… but I love that someone mentioned us in the same breath.

Related:
Halloween Eve Prep
Some Operation Surgery
The Candy Grabber: Halloween in Hyde Park, 2023
Halloween in Hyde Park, 2022: Plinko Board
Operation Halloween Candy Dispenser
Scotland, Day 5: Bunnahabhain Distillery, Lagavulin Distillery, Dinner at Islay House
Oh, Chute: Halloween, 2020
Costume Party @ Subterranean
Goodbye, Columbus
Operation: The Costume