Halloween is more than a holiday for the residents and students of Madison — it is an opportunity to spend the night on State Street listening to music and taking in all of the creative costumes that flock to the street.
More than 44,000 lined the streets of State Street this year, with the majority donning creative garb.
This year there were the customary Jasons, Ghostfaces and Freddy Kruegers milling about, but the night also saw tribute being paid to music icons and stars — Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga and Devo were just some of the familiar singers who made appearances.
Visitor from out of town Jon Koschoreck, UW senior Jake Parchem and a friend, who dressed up as rock, paper and scissors, said they received a lot of attention.
Parchem said they dressed up as the popular hand game because “it was a three-man costume that would allow us to be idiots while wearing it.”
All three unanimously agreed the best part of Freakfest is the variety of costumes.
Another student group that was creative was composed of Lindsey Hoover, Jessica Teslaa and two other friends, who dressed up as Tetris. Each person was a different Tetris shape that all fit together.
Hoover and Teslaa — both graduate students at UW — said the group decided to dress as Tetris because they all enjoy video and computer games.
Many Madison residents and visitors also join in the Halloween spirit and get dressed up. Jon and Jamie Lemerond, residents of Madison, were dressed up as Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets. The couple has been dressing up for Freakfest for 11 years.
Last year, the couple dressed as Kang and Kodos from “The Simpsons.” They said they wanted to go with a costume that would not generate quite as much attention this year.
“We had so many people take pictures with us last year, we were swamped the whole night,” Jamie Lemerond said.
The best part of Freakfest for the Lemeronds is the costumes, while the bands are also somewhat of a draw as well.
“The music is great, but we are here mainly for the costumes,” Jon Lemerond said.
While Halloween is a huge celebration in Madison, many residents and students opt to not partake in the events on State Street.
UW sophomore Jacob Kilbane said the reason he did not attend Freakfest this year was because it was so cold out.
“I had my own party at my house, which is on the west side of campus, so it was too far to walk in the cold. I also don’t like crowds, and walking around with drunk people in costumes isn’t appealing to me,” Kilbane said.
