Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The Ghost of Tubers Past roamed downtown Steamboat Springs Thursday night.

With an inner tube, cooler of beer, straw hat and "yahoo" party holler, Channing Reynolds haunted Lincoln Avenue, reminding people of summers past, despite the occasional snow flurries.

Reynolds' costume was a favorite for Scott Fox, owner of Winona's Restaurant and Bakery. A nine-year veteran of the Downtown Halloween Stroll, Fox handed out 2,400 pieces of candy and called Thursday night's crowd a good turnout.

"I thought it was going to be a bit colder, but it turned out to be a nice night and it brought a lot of people downtown," Fox said.

Another of Fox's favorite was the Jackson Five, also known as the David and Lisa Wilkinson family. With giant Afros on top, flared red pants on bottom and the Jackson Five tune "ABC" blaring from a boom box, the Wilkinson family was hard to miss on Lincoln Avenue.

"I think we might have been a hit downtown," Lisa said. "None of the kids knew who we were, but the parents did."

Lisa admitted her three children, Devin, Dylan and Riley, did not even know who the popular '70s group was until now. For 11 years, the family has dressed as a theme, pulling from the Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan and Batman.

"It has gotten to be a little bit of pressure," Lisa said.

An Afro wig her sister sent from Nebraska inspired this year's theme. From there, she made the red vest with dangling pompoms and red bellbottoms.

Sometimes Lisa said she questions spending three days making costumes for an hour and a half of trick-or-treating, but she said the pictures make for great Christmas cards a month later.

"I don't think our friends even know what our kids look like," Lisa said.

The Wilkinson family was taking a break from collecting candy as they sat at the Old Town Pub, where they received an ovation when they walked through the door. In the front of the restaurant sat a group from Horizons. The corner by the window has been their spot for three years in a row.

With the Horizons group was a pile of cards used for scoring trick-or-treaters as they walked by the window. The scores ranged from 10 to 3 to 1.5 to the lowest score of "Where's your costume." They gave high marks to the Jackson Five.

While the Jackson Five and Ghost of Tubers Past might have been some of the most original costumes, those on the streets Thursday night said Monster Inc. costumes were the most popular this year.

Waiting in line for a balloon from the Routt County Courthouse stood a pair of dice, Kristen Brehmer and Hannah Baggs. Brehmer said it took almost two hours to make the costume. But it was worth it for the candy what both girls said was their favorite part of the Halloween Stroll.

But for Amy Morgan, who was Pooh Bear in the family of Winnie the Pooh characters, the night means much more than candy. It is a chance to visit as she and her husband take her children, Rhys and Colwyn, trick or treating.

"It is such a community event. That is more of it than the candy for us," Amy said. "We get out and see all of our friends. It is one of the reasons to live in Steamboat. It says a lot about what a special place we live in."