For the third year in a row, contestants from across Fox Chase Cancer Center joined with colleagues at Temple University Hospital – Jeanes Campus to celebrate Halloween with a parade and costume contest. The contest accompanied the Pumpkin Decorating Contest (also in its third year), which was going on nearby in the space outside of the Leidy Auditorium.
As a wise cow once said, “It is a lot of fun, and I think the patients really get a kick out of it.” That wise cow was Louis Auslander, a guest services ambassador dressed as a Chick-fil-A “Eat Mor Chikin” cow, complete with a cardboard sign around his neck. His remark echoed the spirit of his bedecked and bedazzled colleagues, whose costumes ran the gamut of superheroes, movie characters, and current pop cultural phenomena.
Fully embodying the “cottagecore vibe,” a bearded Maria Klinger-Gonzalez and a rosy-cheeked Christine Kappler appeared in a wholly original take on the classic garden gnome couple with matching mushroom print shirts. As Kappler explained, “Gnomes love mushrooms because they are fun guys!”
Unprompted, the pair enacted a little rehearsed dance to a tune on Kappler’s phone as fellow contestants examined the pumpkins nearby while waiting for the parade to start.
Things were getting spirited.
The contest involved three categories—full costumes, neck-up attire for those who could not necessarily wear a full costume during the workday, and remote entries from staff at network locations. In total, 18 contestants gathered in Fox Chase’s Center Building lobby, where they conducted the now-traditional parade across the way to the TUH-Jeanes Campus cafeteria (Dozens of other faculty and staff members dressed up in network locations that same day).
Following a quick loop around the cafeteria before the delighted and bewildered lunch crowd, the contestants posed in front of the Center Building for a group shot before lining up at the entrance of the Fox Chase cafeteria.
Fox Chase COO Joel Helmke, MSHP, FACHE, clad in a full-body shark costume, announced each contestant as they made their way down the long cafeteria ramp to the judges’ table for examination. Contestants were judged on the basis of originality, effort, and overall presentation.
“The investment in creative wealth clearly revealed in their regalia makes it difficult for us to differentiate qualitatively amid all the costumed distractions,” said Helmke as the ramp walk began. Helmke offered color commentary for each contestant and more than once had to move quickly to avoid a spinning cat’s paws or the chaotic twist of an Australian breakdancer. Because, as ZZ Top once declared, every twirl is crazy with a shark-dressed man.
The winners of the full costume portion of the contest received Amazon gift cards for $100, $50, and $25 for first, second, and third place, respectively:
1st Place: Chris Ramos and Marie Fraioli – Beetlejuice and Shrunken Bob
2nd Place: Nicole McCusker – Raygun the Olympic Breakdancer
3rd Place: Maria Klinger-Gonzalez and Christine Kappler – Garden Gnomes
Two winners were announced in the neck-up costume category, receiving a $100 Amazon gift card for first place and a $50 card for second:
1st Place: Lori Stoneck – No-name Superhero
2nd Place: Isabela Roman – Cat
Faculty and staff stayed well connected in fun and creative ways. Contestants from network locations submitted photos of their festive fashions. Winners also received Amazon gift cards for $100, $50, and $25 for first, second, and third place, respectively:
1st Place: Julissa Ramos – Sally (Fox Chase – Huntingdon Pike)
2nd Place: Karen Chavez – Scarecrow (Fox Chase – Voorhees)
3rd Place: Laura Hull – Hippie (Fox Chase – Huntingdon Pike)