Mermaids May Materialize for Catalina's Halloween Parade

SURPRISING SIGHTS... on and around Catalina Island? You can never be sure just what you'll see. You might encounter bison, in some of the beautiful burg's back hills, or a flying fish "flapping" by moonlight, if you time it right. Strange kelp forests, those beneath-the-waves wonderlands that brim with sinuously swaying specimens, famously entrance people riding in glass-bottomed boats. And the Casino Building, the most prominent structure on the island, can look as if it was built on an Old Hollywood backlot, especially as the fog rolls in. Which goes to say this: Spying offbeat scenes around the enchanted isle happens quite often, but especially, it seems, when the final day of October arrives. For..

HALLOWEEN IN AVALON? It has oodles of atmosphere, and not solely because you're surrounded by structures that are a century old (including, or nearly, the Casino, which marks its centennial in less than a decade). Rather, the island's creative residents famously like to dress up and parade through town, meaning you'll see all sorts of quirky costumes, with many of them finding fanciful inspiration from the marvelous H2O that surrounds Catalina, the Pacific Ocean. So a mermaid or two, or a pirate? Such characters have been spotted, on land, at past parades. Adding to the quirk-a-tude of the day? That golf carts, those famous on-the-street rolls, are also included in the Halloween parade, and they're dressed for the haunting holiday.

THE FUNKY, COMMUNITY-COOL PARADE... is free to see, but, of course, you'll need to pay to book passage to Avalon, and back (if indeed you choose to return to the mainland). For more information regarding celebrating Halloween at sea, or rather enjoying a spooky celebration that is adjacent to the ocean and full of charm, turn your own golf cart in this direction now.