Avast! Dead Men Tell No Tales in Livermore

Ye come seekin' adventure and salty ol' pirates, eh? Sure ye come to the proper place. Avast Ye, the Winding Stream Drive neighborhood in Livermore has been thoroughly promoting Halloween excitement for families of the Tri-Valley for 18 years. John Staton decided to build a “Wolfs Head” on his home in 1999 and since then the annual Halloween displays have grown larger and more elaborate with each passing year. This year marks the final year of the “large displays” but there is hope that the neighborhood will continue the tradition of Halloween spooktakularness! Staton and his crew of scallywags have been working for the past two months on this year’s Halloween creation. Trick or treaters will behold the skeleton remains of an unfortunate band of pirates, guarding their loot and treasure with macabre delight and experience an epic battle between two skeleton-crewed pirate ships which spans two households, a moat and a special walkway between the two households with glimpses of an island sporting a terrifying skeletal mermaid. Guests to the house may agree with Will Turner, “This is either madness … or brilliance!”

Again this year the John Staton joined with next-door mates, Kevin and Lisa Gemberling have gone bigger than ever extending the lengths of two houses. Me knows that dead men tell no tales as the ships battle and lightening strikes. The skeleton ship’s captain shoots cannons and trick or treaters will “walk the plank” between the cannonball battle of the skeleton pirate ships. Watch out at ye might get wet! No fear have ye of evil curses, says you? Arrrgh... Properly warned ye be, says I.

Attendance at Winding Stream and surrounding neighborhood has grown over the years, prompting the street residents to get a permit from the City of Livermore to close the street to traffic for safety reasons. Although Staton started the trend, many of the houses on Winding Stream Drive decorate up big during the Halloween season with other themes and are prepared to empty multiple bags of candy to approximately 1,000 guests. Halloween night there has been a garage band and a food truck for the enjoyment of a steady stream of scurvy scallywags and wenches.

The neighborhood has become an annual community event for Livermore residents and friends across Alameda, Santa Clara and Contra Costa County. The main visionary is John Staton, a Mechanical Engineer who works in the Silicon Valley with the help of Jeremy Travis, Kevin and Lisa Gemberling, Dave Warner and too many other contributors to mention. Thanks to many neighbors who have supported the effort through the donation of time, gift cards to local hardware stores, food and candy to keep the event going year after year.

1312 Winding Stream Drive (Corner of Village and Winding Stream Drive)

Livermore, California