A4 • Friday, November 5, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com SignalViewpoints SMASHING PUMPKINS Pumpkin splash, pet parade and Trunk or Treat draw crowds SEEN FROM SEASIDE R.J. MARX By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Jeff TerHar Goodies in the back of a car. R.J. Marx Fun at the pet parade. Jeff TerHar Costumed heroes make their move. R.J. Marx Ready for the pet parade. Jeff TerHar The family that tricks or treats together ... Jeff TerHar Getting ready for the big drop. Jeff TerHar Dressed to sting at the pet parade. R.J. Marx Fun at the pet parade. Jeff TerHar This trick-or-treater is ready for fun. Ten ... nine ... eight ... seven ... The audience audibly joined the count- down, louder with each second. Every one of the hundreds lining in a semi-circle 10 deep on the beach. Hundreds more watching from the Prom all had cameras ready. Three... two... one! The crane released its massive pincers. The pumpkin dropped in seemingly slow motion, its massive hulk approaching the water. When the splash hit there was a col- lective breath from the crowd. With the ris- ing cascade of water grew a sense of sat- isfaction before a palpable relief as the cascade died down. The pumpkin drop was only one of a series of events hosted by Seaside Down- town Development Association last week- end, with a pet parade, trick-or-treating and a witches’ paddle on the Necanicum River. Dawn Fujiwara-Pavlik, a past director and board member, launched this year’s pet parade from her Broadway eatery, Slushies and Dogs. “The weather is amazing,” she said. “Every SDDA meeting, every chamber meeting, every Rotary meeting over the last week and a half I’ve been asking everybody to do that ‘Please don’t rain on Saturday dance,’ and it worked. I am so grateful the weather is perfect and for the turnout.” The day started with the 10 a.m. pet parade, pets bedecked in caps, hoods, big ears, glitter, jackets and even dark glasses. Among the dozens of dogs, two goats unselfconsciously trotted along in formation. Trunk or Treat and a Halloween carnival provided candy, treats and pumpkin-carving for the kids, little and grown-up alike. The fi rst Seaside pumpkin drop took place in 2009, to be revived again in 2019 and 2020. This was its fi rst year at the Turnaround, and the fi rst to use a pool of water populated with foam ducks and beavers, representing the state’s university mascots. As a fund- raiser, the Seaside Downtown Development Association provided a cash prize to best guess how far the ducks or beavers splashed from the pool. Notables gathered on Seaside’s Prom as the drama rose. DJ Boomer Barbosa height- ened the excitement. Small children jock- eyed for the best view. All eyes went to the pumpkin overhead. A duck fl ew the furthest at 121 feet. “That duck fl ew right over the crowd,” Fuji- wara-Pavlik said. “The second place beaver fl ew 27 feet.” Jeff TerHar Halloween fun on Broadway. R.J. Marx Jeff TerHar The whole group at the Prom. Dawn Fujiwara-Pavlik and Samantha Urbach of the Seaside Downtown Development Association at the pet parade. PUBLIC MEETINGS Seaside School District, 6 p.m., seaside.k12. or.us/meetings. 6 p.m., 989 Broadway. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17 Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., cityofseaside.us. TUESDAY, NOV. 16 Seaside City Tree Board, 4 p.m., 989 Broadway. TUESDAY, NOV. 23 WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10 Seaside CERT Team, 5 p.m., Bob Chisholm Com- munity Center. Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., 989 Broadway. Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, 5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center. Seaside City Council, workshop on business licenses, 5:30 p.m., 989 Broadway. Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., work session, 989 Broadway. THURSDAY, NOV. 18 Contact local agencies for latest meeting information and attendance guidelines. MONDAY, NOV. 8 Seaside City Council, workshop on homelessness, 6 p.m.; regular meeting, 7 p.m., cityofseaside.us. THURSDAY, NOV. 11 Seaside Civic and Convention Center Commis- sion, 5 p.m., 415 First Ave. CIRCULATION MANAGER Shannon Arlint ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Sarah Silver- Tecza PUBLISHER EDITOR Kari Borgen R.J. Marx PRODUCTION MANAGER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John D. Bruijn Skyler Archibald Joshua Heineman Katherine Lacaze Esther Moberg SYSTEMS MANAGER Carl Earl CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Jeff TerHar Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, MONDAY, NOV. 22 Seaside Airport Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway. Seaside Signal Letter policy Subscriptions The Seaside Signal is published every other week by EO Media Group, 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138. 503-738-5561 seasidesignal.com Copyright © 2021 Seaside Signal. Nothing can be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners. The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the author and include a phone number for verifi cation. We also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738-9285, or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com Annually: $51.00, monthly autopay is $4.25 e-Edition only: $4 a month POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at Seaside, OR, 97138 and at additional mailing offi ces. Copyright © 2021 by the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper may be reproduced without written permission. All rights reserved.