Audience participation with the Flaming Lips is a given; the band has included -- indeed, relied on -- fans for everything from parking garage car horn symphonies to onstage alien dance parties. The spectacle-loving, sci-fi group is now calling out for 1,000 fans to join them in their hometown of Oklahoma City for a Halloween parade on October 26.

Dubbed 'The March of the Thousand Flaming Skeletons,' according to an October 9 bulletin the band posted to their MySpace friends, the exhibition will be "a symbolic procession glorifying the beauty of death and the boundless flame of love and life."

The bulletin begins: "Please help us."
Cost to join the march? $25. Having Wayne Coyne act as your personal Grim Reaper? Priceless. (And, if memories aren't enough, participants get to keep the costume, a torch and a commemorative t-shirt.) Those willing and able should send an email to: deathmarchreservation@hellfireltd.com

Don't forget this is tomorrow night!!!

I'll be a little skeleton myself walking with the lips and holding my torch high.
I'll try to get some pics of the before and after but I don't know how much time I will have between the press and the march.

I too will march with the flips in my fabulous boney suit. I am soooooo excited!

This is what should be on TV. It will probably be more fun to watch than the centennial parade. ;)

The parade tonight was AMAZING. It lasted a good hour. The floats were great and very creative. There were a ton of people out, and the flaming lips part of the parade was jaw dropping. In front of their float, they had 1000 people dressed in skeletons carrying tiki torches. Wayne from the flaming lips was walking in this gigantic ball.

The 1000 flaming skeletons was quite a site. Personally, I thought that Wayne in the bubble was not the best choice for a parade, but that is just my opinion. I would rather have seen the Lips walking as a group or on a flat-bed. Ghouls On Parade was the most fun public event in OKC in years . . . perhaps right up there with the first downtown 4th of July fireworks show from around 1995. Kudos to Bill Bleakley and his staff at the Oklahoma Gazette for stepping up and making this event happen. The floats and consorts were very creative and lots of fun. Some of my favorites were deadCENTER, The HiLo Club and the skateboarders half-pipe on a truck . . . as they went by 611 Creative, a guy did a trick and wound up in the street . . . on his board . . . acompanied by lots of applause. The individuals in costume that filled in the gaps between and around the floars were a knock-out too. deadCENTER had a great party at 611 Creative; IAO had something going on and it appeared that there were a couple of other businesses that had their doors open too. There are lots of spaces along broadway that could throw parties in conjunction with the parade next year.

Planning has already started for the 2008 edition. Join in as a participant or volunteer.

The parade was AWESOME!!!!!! It was incredible downtown last night.

The parade was a blast!! We had so much fun. I was very impressed with the entire event. We got there around 3 that afternoon and was very warmly greeted by Wayne Coyne and the rest of the Lips. They were already hard at work planning their route and how they were going to line us up. We were there for a long time before the event began, but we had a ton of news crew and entertainment to keep us going. Wayne was very involved and excited the entire time. It's always nice to see how much those guys love their fans back and get involved with their community. Seeing him give us a demonstration with the fire marshall was fun too. lol. I met several people who drove from Colorado, Kansas, Texas, and other places to participate in this parade with us! Very cool fans.
Next, I was impressed with the crowd as we marched. There were so many people that showed up to watch the parade and many of you dressed up. It was great to see the support and the town lit up at night.
The even co-ordinators did an excellent job of directing and keeping everything running smoothly.
I think this turned out to be a wonderful event for Oklahoma City. I only hope it keeps getting better every year. I'll try to figure out pics later.

kmf,

We marched too and I agree with everything you said! It was one of the best times I've ever had! All of the flaming skeletons were so happy and there was such a feeling of love in the air! Wayne was amazing the way he gave us our instructions. I talked to him after the event and told him he was like a really cool mother the way he explained things and took care of the skeleton crew. Everyone along the route was so into the whole experience. I think the cops had as much fun as the crowd.

We can all thank the Gazette staff and Bill Bleakley for organizing an amazing event. The organization of the parade was first class and perfectly done. I spoke to Bill last night and they have already said they are doing it again next year.

We also all need to thank Burns Hargis whose idea this was and who persuaded the Bleakleys to take on the event.

I am so proud to have been a part of the whole experience! It was a great night for Downtown and the OKC creative community!

I am also glad to have an awesome flaming skeleton suit and way-cool pink shirt!

Kim (the skeleton with roses)

Video of the parade from Koco.

An OKC First: Ghouls Gone Wild - Video - KOCO Oklahoma City (http://www.koco.com/video/14440577/index.html?rss=okl&psp=video)



OKCCrime

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Oklahoma City Crime - Crime Maps, Reports and Statistics (http://okccrime.com)

I can't believe I didn't go.. I miss everything! ugh.

This could end up blowing up... Especially if the lips come out every year.

I smell a tradition in the making.

I loved the parade too. The marching skeletons were just perfect. I almost feel sorry for you guys who marched because you could not see the full effect of all of the torches marching en masse. Way too cool! Not sure how to top that next year. I don't know how many skeletons there were but to coordinate that must have taken quite an effort. Did you all do your own makeup? If so, I am impressed. I thought Wayne Coyne walking in the bubble was great! And the music. I almost didn't go because I had to go by myself since my husband was out of town and the kids had other plans but everybody is going next year for sure.

I'm hoping somebody got pics of all of us from above. There were plenty of people on roofs, in parking garages, and on top of the bridges watching us. I would love a great air shot. We should have organized a group picture on Flaming Lips Alley or something. That would have been fantastic!
And yes...we all did our own makeup! There were some really good faces. Lots of makeup floating around and people were helping other people put it on in the parking lot.
Here are some of my pics -

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/100_1260.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/100_1256.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/l_763dd6c89ae8811b480df52686005b02.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/l_d026b1ef4946f7beca9c0e715ddb0565.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/l_35076e02775e5fce94cd739f42d00bc0.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/l_3d1dda1f9f72e576cd83041653b1a37b.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/100_1259.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/l_f7394c6b48365acfd063150f69c15db5.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/l_c7045bb1d516036b11811ff064354a93.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/l_a6e0466478faaf86aab62707f03fc413.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/oukari/2007%20flips%20parade/l_175ef548e9d7486b41923928bf30382e.jpg

I loved the parade too. The marching skeletons were just perfect. I almost feel sorry for you guys who marched because you could not see the full effect of all of the torches marching en masse. Way too cool! Not sure how to top that next year. I don't know how many skeletons there were but to coordinate that must have taken quite an effort. Did you all do your own makeup? If so, I am impressed. I thought Wayne Coyne walking in the bubble was great! And the music. I almost didn't go because I had to go by myself since my husband was out of town and the kids had other plans but everybody is going next year for sure.

It definitely was a good turnout and a surreal event for OKC. To answer your question, I heard from several of the "flaming skeletons" that it actually ended up being on ly 400 skeletons instead of the 1000 that were planned. The fire marshall had a problem with having that many skeletons, etc. as well as several other things that were planned as well. Unfortunately due to insurance liabilities no one was able to throw candy either. More good PR for OKC.

Yeah it was a lot of fun, one of the better parades I've been to actually. Lots of people downtown, not just for that but also the Blazers game and all of the Halloween parties at the Bricktown nightspots. Once an NBA team is here this scene will play out every week during basketball season, and I imagine some of those empty spots along the canal will begin to fill up along with those two empty lots, the one by the ballpark and the one by Zio's.

Looked like 1000 to me.

That's just what I was told ksearls, but I'd say from the street it looked more like a few hundred, so I'd probably agree with the fire marshall. Either way it looked cool and I'm sure Wayne will make it even cooler next year.

BG, the empty lots next to Zio's are owned and have plans in the works:

http://www.okctalk.com/bricktown-wired/7494-canal-side-renovation-plan-includes-parking-restaurant-office.html?highlight=zio%27s

It's a Flaming Skeleton inside joke.

Says so right in the title all over the national news ... "March of 1000 Flaming Skeletons."

Must have been 1000 then. Seemed like it to me. and to Wayne. :Smiley199

It definitely was a good turnout and a surreal event for OKC. To answer your question, I heard from several of the "flaming skeletons" that it actually ended up being on ly 400 skeletons instead of the 1000 that were planned. The fire marshall had a problem with having that many skeletons, etc. as well as several other things that were planned as well. Unfortunately due to insurance liabilities no one was able to throw candy either. More good PR for OKC.

Somebody should have told him that skeletons a) take up less space than fleshlings and b) are fire resistant anyway.

Videos are starting to pop up. As well as national press coverage. Here's one video that covers a majority of the parade.

YouTube - Inaugural Ghouls Gone Wild Halloween Parade in Oklahoma City (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVsFoGVAQ8A)

kmf, can you please post some links of some of the national press coverage we're getting.

Here's the most recent one metro:

Flaming Lips host first annual 'March Of 1,000 Flaming Skeletons' Halloween parade - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/launch/20071028/en_launch/51135856)

Debra with Spin.com will be writing an extensive review, wating for the one from AP press, and NME from Europe also.

BG, the empty lots next to Zio's are owned and have plans in the works:

http://www.okctalk.com/bricktown-wired/7494-canal-side-renovation-plan-includes-parking-restaurant-office.html?highlight=zio%27s

That thread is over a year old. Are there any updates on it?

Actually there were some posts made just a few months ago on page 3 of that thread. Last I heard, they were still working with architects and engineers, etc. Maybe Steve Lackmeyer can give us an update.

Oklahoma City hosts successful Ghouls Gone Wild parade

By Stefanie Brickman - 10/29/2007
OKCBusiness

With the Flaming Lips lead singer and grand marshal Wayne Coyne rolling down the parade route, Oklahoma Gazette presented the first Ghouls Gone Wild parade Oct. 27.

With city officials estimating the crowd at 10,000, more than 50 entries traversed the parade route which stretched from Automobile Alley to Bricktown.


“This parade is a strong preamble to Oklahoma’s Year of Creativity, 2008. It’s a real tribute to how one small , independent organization can impact a community and the perception of that community on a grand scale,” said Jeffri-Lynn Dyer, Oklahoma Gazette’s associate publisher. “Only 20 people organized and arranged this event, with the help of 200 of the most hard-working volunteers ever assembled.”


Organizers intended for the parade to be a celebration of artistry and diversity.


Parade entries competed in five categories and winners will be announced at Oklahoma Gazette’s offices on Halloween at noon.

In addition to the entries, 1,000 Flaming Lips fans participated by wearing identical skeleton costumes and carrying lit torches to illuminate Coyne’s entrance.

http://okcbusiness.com/images/photos/Wayne-in-Bubble-88mh.jpg
Ghouls Gone Wild parade Grand Marshal Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips. Photo/Mark Hancock

where is that from metro?

Here's another link for national press -
The Flaming Lips host 'wild' Halloween parade | News | NME.COM (http://www.nme.com/news/the-flaming-lips/32143)