Timi Conley, Master of Ceremonies, is the mastermind behind Wild Rumpus Parade. Ever since the parade’s beginnings in 2009, Conley has seen the parade-goers costumes. “There’s always a surprise to me. Part of it for me is, I have to look back and see what pictures people took,” Conley said. “That’s how I get to see most of the costumes because I’m running around so crazy. Maybe one year I can be a spectator and just look at the costumes and see what people did.” Photo by Broadcast staff.
By JURNEE LOUDER – Digital News Editor
Every year, Wild Rumpus, a Halloween parade, hits the streets of downtown Athens.
Wild Rumpus, an annual Halloween parade, was established in 2009 by Athenian artist Timi Conley. Since its start, thousands of people have gathered in Downtown Athens dressed in their best Halloween outfits.
Master of Ceremonies Conley is the main organizer behind the Wild Rumpus parade. After Halloween ends, Conley starts an intensive planning process for the next year.
“I basically do everything getting ready for the Wild Rumpus. I come up with the theme of the year, I do the artwork, and then you know from there on, I talk to the city and I get the permits, and I buy insurance and I organize the entertainment,” Conley said. “(Also), I figure out where the parade’s route is gonna be, and I update the website and I tell everybody and make the posters.”
When Conley first started Wild Rumpus, he put the event on Facebook to publicize the parade, along with a short blurb in the Athens Banner Herald.
“I didn’t think anybody was gonna show up, and it was raining that night, and it was cold, and I almost didn’t even go,” Conley said. “I said, ‘Well, one way or another, I have to go because if it’s just eight people in the parade, I said I was gonna do it’. And then I went, and it was like three hundred people in the rain.”
Since 2009, Conley has learned a lot about planning a big public event like Wild Rumpus, especially when it comes to meeting city requirements.
“It’s a lot of communication. I keep going for months. I have also learned how to bring a whole bunch of agencies together. Like the city has their requirements, and so I submit a permit and they look at what my plan is,” Conley said. “Then, they’ll submit the permit to Athens Clarke Police Department. They just want to make sure everything is laid out and safe.”
From then on, Conley has to work on getting sound people for music, the press to help publicize the parade and sponsors. Clarke Central High School junior Mara Bastow has attended Wild Rumpus and to see her teachers from Canopy Studio, a sponsor for the event.
“Canopy is one of the sponsors for it, and I’m a big helper in that. They’re like my second family, so to see them perform and see all of my teachers up there is really cool,” Bastow said.
The Wild Rumpus has a new theme usually based on the signs of the zodiac every year. This year’s theme is based on the sign. Those attending can also look forward to a few new surprises.
“This year, I decided that I would organize entertainment to be along the parade route, so I have four bands, maybe five, that will be setting up along the parade route and be playing as people go by,” Conley said. “ There’s a different light show, different routing and a different party location at the end so it’s going to be neat.”
Bastow is expecting to go to the parade this year. She believes that it would be a great experience for students thinking of attending.
“The atmosphere is amazing because of the people. When you see everyone, it makes you really think of Athens as like this big place where you can have fun and be outside and have you whole family there. (The Wild Rumpus Parade is) really nice,” Bastow said.
