The sixth annual Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s Outrageous Halloween Party was held on a beautiful fall evening, Oct. 30, at The Olmsted with most original and utilitarian decorations – the invasive weeds themselves that were the subject of the party!
Thirty years ago, Seneca and Cherokee parks were hit by the 1974 tornado, which blew down mature trees and destroyed the shade canopy that had protected desirable mature trees and wildflowers. Invasive weeds took over when the forest floor was exposed to sunlight.
The theme of the party “Where the Wild Things Are” comes from a book by Maurice Sendak, complete with his monster plants.
The “Pullup”-zer Prize goes to party chairs Kelley Bright, and Denise DiLoreta who drafted Kate Chandler and Carolyn Smither and 10 other volunteers to put on gloves and hie themselves to Cherokee Park, which had been pre-scouted for invasive weeds. They spent six hours pulling up porcelain berry, (purple), bittersweet (orange), winter creeper (green and twisty) and English ivy (green and shiny). Joggers in the parks stopped to thank them for helping to save our parks.
They took great garbage bags of the weeds to The Olmsted and twined them around tent poles forming the awning up the stairs, festooning the railings and ceiling. Ficus trees along the steps were lit with tiny lights so that guests were in a spooky cave as they climbed up the steps. Fabulous idea!
Centerpieces of fresh flowers had wild ivy greenery from Cherokee Park. One couple, John Clay Stites and his wife, Dr. Charlotte Stites, came as garlic mustard weeds, clad in greenery with little green beanies decorated with the white flowers of the garlic mustard. Inside, large wooden Sendak monsters were adorned with more vines. Brandy snifters on the tables held live fish or palm trees reminiscent of Sendak’s illustrations.
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