GREELEY, Colo. — There’s a lot negativity in our world nowadays. News stories are often filled with hate and pain. In Greeley this weekend, a festival is aiming to show a different view of the world.
"Despite all the bad stuff that goes on, and there’s a lot of bad stuff, there’s so much good stuff and so many good people doing good things that go unnoticed," said Ed Edmunds with Distortions Unlimited. "As a kid, I wanted to be a monster. I didn’t want to burn down cities or eat Cincinnati, I wanted to be a monster."
There are a lot of real-life monsters out there, no matter what your age.
Then there are the monsters that Ed Edmunds creates inside his massive Greeley warehouse, filled with extra limbs, eyeballs and aliens.
"As a kid, I wanted to be a monster. I didn’t want to burn down cities or eat Cincinnati, I wanted to be a monster," said Edmunds, who started Distortions Unlimited. "I seriously thought about plastic surgery. And I’m still serious, thought I don’t like the cost, about doing pointed ears. No offense to God, he did a great job, but pointed ears just look better to me."
Ed’s monsters are usually shipped across the country to haunted houses and movie sets. This weekend, they have a more important job. The streets of Greeley will soon be filled with monsters not even your wildest dreams could create.
But when you look past the horned giants and talking trees, you find the real reason Monster Day is special.
"Monsters aren’t always scary. We’re trying to bring family-friendly monsters out," said Nate Webb with Blazen Illuminations. "I think the bullying issues that we have, we see a lot of them in our culture right now."
Monster Day teaches kids to be nice to one another, benefiting organizations like "Don't be a Monster," an anti-bullying non-profit.
"I think a lot of people in the industry, a lot of haunters and so forth, were picked on because they were a little off," Edmunds said. "When you’re a kid, it can be scary to go to school."
The first time Greeley held monster day three years ago they expected 500 people to show up. Six thousand came. This year’s event starts Friday evening and goes through Saturday night.
Lessons this weekend will be taught by aliens and giants. The goal, to make sure no one turns into a bully.
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