There was a fair in a popular plaza in our town on the same day this year, and it was part of the ber-months serenade. September is quite fast; last week I was just making lesson plans for my students, and today is just five days until we reach te end of the calendar. Always, the ber-months are the doorway to the season of our soul, the path for beloved Christmas, and the hallway for the ribbon-wrapping of New Year. We get to experience the spirit of the last four months of the year by stumbling upon lovely and Christmasy fairs or events, and I believe these things make the season more lively.
I always love Christmas and the season of giving. I always make it a practice to do good things I didn’t do in the first eight months to restore a sense of humanity. Sometimes, I would leave home to find events for the season of giving and do a history of Christmas memorabilia. It is actually too early to recollect and reflect on Christmas, but I am so excited to celebrate it this year again.
My friends and I had a spontaneous getaway from our lesson plans, and these people are my friends since elementary. We were not close before during those years, but life pushed us towards each other to connect the knots we already have since birth. We always do beaches and nature hiking, but this time, we relived our childhood years by visiting a park fabricated with Disney themes and movies. And yes, you heard it right—Disney, as in our beloved source of childhood movies.
We arrived at the park right before dark, so I was able to witness it when the only light came from the sun. We didn’t travel together; rather, we just gathered right at the park to make sure we wouldn’t waste time waiting for others to arrive, only to know they were not prepared yet. I saw lots of visitors and commended the organizers because many people flocked to the place for the Disney theme. It is just not obvious in the photos because the time around was too early to visit it. It is quite a huge park also, so roaming around is heavy work but a perfect one, and some might form crowds in specific areas.
This display was by far the most liked and visited compared to the previous years’, and I concluded that just by looking at the number of people in it and the design made as if it was the last time they would do it. My friends were honestly captivated by the park—left and right, front and back, everything is surreal and child-like.
We first visited a Toy Story-themed booth because it was the first one that captured our attention. The design perfectly represented Toy Story; the efforts are obvious as well as the craftsmanship. I guess this one won during the announcement of winners. The displays are in competition, actually—that’s why they are so good. I mean… it needs to be a contest in order to see such efforts, LOL.
Toy Story speaks so much about my childhood. It was the first movie to teach me how fleeting relationships can be through Andy and the toys’ portrayal of it. This movie is a multi-movie saga, and if you weren’t able to watch it despite its popularity, then give it a go. It is still available on the internet now. I remember how I loved princesses during this time, and it influenced me to be adventurous when I grew up. The Toy Story booth is just a photobooth, but perfectly and commendably, that was by far the best to mimic a Disney movie theme.
Next stop was Frozen, but an ice castle was not present. An ice block cannot persevere in this country where weather patterns change abnormally but heat is constant. This booth is actually good also because it has a two-layered room where you can climb upstairs and get a photo opportunity. I think the only thing that best represents this booth is its two-layered floors like Elsa’s ice castle in Frozen 1.
We were walking around, and I was confused why my friends were laughing behind me, only to find out there was a Moana booth where you can stick your face in the hole and make yourself Moana or Maui. The faces make it funny because they are not the same proportion as the displayed ones, and Maui is a big guy while we are just little girls, so sticking our faces to him is just ridiculous. I would say this one is the best because of the humor we found in the standees, making us look like characters in the Moana movie but in a cheap style.
I took a photo of Cars but didn’t stay there for a long time because I was not a fan of it when I was a kid. My brothers watched it in those younger years, and I would scream in front of the TV to make them change the movie. But there were five of them, and sometimes they would wrap me in a blanket like a burrito to get rid of a noisy little girl in hate of the Cars movie. This one is good only if they displayed more Cars characters on it to make it look like a race.
There were many displays in the park, such as the Coco room full of enchanted things and The Little Mermaid. They were one of the most flocked booths, so it took us a hard time before we finally entered the place.
This one is like a globe but a transparent one. I don’t know what it is called, but I entered it to take a photo. I was laughing because my friends were saying something while I was inside, but I could not hear them, nor could they hear me.
The park was full of childhood memories, and I am grateful to experience this time of the year. The last months of a year are poignant and nostalgic ones, so experiencing my childhood years through this one brought justice to the season and my adult self.
My inner child is pleased by this experience, and I am happy to bring her with me to the places I couldn’t visit when I was a child. Also, because my friends now are my childhood friends, our visit to a park that sparks our childhood became more meaningful than expected. Who would’ve thought the kids I didn’t usually hang around with in my 9th year are the ones I would be friends with in later years and until now. A childhood movies-themed fair and childhood friends are the best duo one must ask for. I’m blessed to have it not just once but forever.
I hope you enjoyed my blog, and I also healed the child in you. Adults can never be late in re-experiencing childhood experiences, and it doesn’t make us less adult. It is important to have some form of play as it allows us to anchor ourselves to the past that we had extravagantly. Toy Story and other Disney movies—things I loved and will love as long as I exist. Contained in my memories are them in my years as a kid who once believed in lessons and magic.