ALTON - Eight or nine of the 14 years they have entered a parade float into the Alton Halloween Parade, the friends and family of Dr. Bruce Vest have claimed first prize.
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Last year, however, their Bone Voyage float took third. Vest said winning is not the main part of the float, saying the entire building process and parade is mostly done for fun. This year, though, Vest is pulling out all the stops and bringing in some big guns to create his "Game of Bones" parade float.
"I have a son, Sam [Vest], who is a film producer out in L.A. he said he's coming back for the 100th anniversary year of the parade and helping out," Bruce Vest said. "I have another son who does engineer work. He helps out at Burning Man and is going to do some tube and effects lighting for the float."
"Bone Voyage," and "Game of Bones" each share a certain theme of bones. Bruce Vest is a well-known orthopedic surgeon in the Riverbend. His floats often reflect his work. Besides being bone-themed, Bruce Vest and his family have also done an alien autopsy-themed float, which Bruce Vest said was still a branch from the core of the usual theme.
"We try to get scary, but not too scary," he said. "One year, after the parade, the priest at St. Mary's was talking about our float and the body parts we were throwing from it. My wife and I were at Sunday mass laughing in our seats because the priest was talking about our float."
For the 100th anniversary, the team of Dr. Bruce Vest is sure to astound he said. Above all else, he said the weeks and labor hours put into each of his floats have been great experiences for everyone involved with making them and riding on them.
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