Seas of smiling faces and cheering crowds, towering pumpkin puppets and creepy costumes—the annual Halloween Parade takes centerstage. Several years ago, Jaidyn Eddington was part of the crowd, observing from the sidelines and cheering for performers as they traveled by. But now, she celebrates in the heart of the parade.

“I liked watching [the performers] during Halloween,” Eddington said. “I watched them at Downtown Summerlin, and they’d give me lots of candy. The costumes were really bright and shiny and it brought me a lot of joy. I had to be around 6 or 8.”

Once behind the guard rails of the parade, Eddington wished for a closer view. And after years of waiting, Eddington found a spot in the same Halloween parade that inspired her—as a tree puppet.

“I was really nervous because it was my first professional job,” Eddington said. “And with auditions, I’m used to those, but working on the streets and being near a bunch of different people is actually really scary. But it’s a lot of fun; I guess having my friends around me made it a lot easier.”

Eddington’s career began in 2021, led by her dream to infect others with the same joy she experienced as a child. But the arrival of 2021 signaled a number of cautionary measures as part of quarantine, in turn creating a stunted environment for practicing performances.

“We had to do a lot of practices including masks and that made it harder to breathe,” Eddington said. “Because we’re running around holding a bunch of puppets on our backs, they’re heavy, making it harder to breathe.”

Since those times, Eddington has performed in five parades as puppets, a flag bearer and lantern holder.

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Photo credit: Leslie Robertson

“My favorite parade has to be the Lunar New Year parade,” Eddington said. “The one that I did recently, two days ago, I was holding the lantern. It was my first time doing this parade so it brought me a lot of joy to learn about the culture as we prepared for the parade.”

In the weeks before a parade, Eddington would train with parade-related props to incorporate into her extensive choreography. Calling it a mental challenge as well, Eddington had to learn how to navigate puppets twice her size and memorize a wide variety of dances.

“When we were getting ready to practice, it was usually more calm,” said Eddington. “The director made sure we understood the choreography and everything, and he made sure that everything was ahead. It would usually take like two, three weeks, we didn’t have much time to get them put together.”

Eddington’s exposure to professional surroundings brought an essential part of her growth, allowing her to work at an efficient pace. Even so, Eddington has her own share of parade mishaps and mess-ups.

“I broke one of the puppets during a parade by accident,” Eddington said. “Because I was bending down and giving a kid a high five, and the kid stole the stick that I was holding and yanked the sticks off. It was completely unmanageable for the rest of the parade and I was only using one arm.”

Despite the sometimes troubling crowds and performances, Eddington found the experience of parades fulfilling. In the future, she plans to participate in one of Disney’s infamous parades.

“I enjoy seeing the happy faces it brings to the kids when I do it, and I enjoy seeing the faces that my family has,” Eddington said. “It’s something that makes me really proud and happy, and makes me feel like I deserve what I’m doing in life. When I’m older, I plan on trying for the Disney parade. I’ve been watching them since I was really little, and I fell more in love with them when I started doing parades.”