This was a dark week for our community, and not the darkness that we revel in. We have lost two people that had ties to the Portsmouth Halloween Parade. Tom Coletta was a larger than life presence in the local music scene and known for both being the lead singer for the garage rock bands Ghandi’s Lunchbox and Jupiter 2 as well as a living encyclopedia of music knowledge that he has been dispensing for decades at the local music stores Rock Bottom Records and then Bull Moose. He was our Grand Marshall in 2008 and supported the PHP by performing at the annual “I Gotta Rock” show, sometimes even when his band wasn’t booked. Heather Lessard was the proprietor of Tulips in downtown Portsmouth, a shop that featured art by local artisans. She was a poet and was the host for a time of Beat Night, an ongoing monthly performance of poetry and jazz. She was a supporter of, and a Minion (volunteer) for the parade for many seasons. The two of them were true pillars of the community and the void left by their passing will be felt by many for a long time to come.




Photographers unknown, but here are the public Facebook posts they came from:
- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10153159677279918&set=bc.AbqHVgJ9N5RdH2sI8qkzsuIff9x0GI7zO94AkVIU0xgg0gRWpjiiMoudjb9r–FWxNufgreadwTOJPtKAj5MP8lQjtjVtuZY5WUIqsWTUZ_TEGBAwFRdnBbnUbMVPkngbTy7x3VYPC9PfsIv9hVqHjmxjohjFb1olSHRTW1kdKJvSw
- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10153159677994918&set=bc.AboeC3i8MYTvcBv4vJ91Xaiggc0dgG5Abf20zCocUguWnpPIyTm31bRs8z_He2f_u5teuNZ0yNYbYW1YwHlB_BssiKEkGwtVFroytwn4kl7LlVHvlxqcrI2zPTs622ivL6NCLhHp_HW6YA9Gbc5eH9gdGUUi59yZ6IWt1V3had8vMA
- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10151443452679918&set=bc.AbonUrXj5kiEc5F3s85P5MFymu5BaFFMoPu01YZxT6I2BukdnKUDkPVoDE7fUwmc_3XwRlcf_7GRb2eQYPgF3nJF9pog-jPS6smd73T8IAXc6iTEdLnzLrw-ftKV794YraB9uNvJt7Zq3wPA1SmImpYIxStCRY_zSdfODPWUaAGuiw
- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10151443457894918&set=bc.AbrZenL9JSv7BPapWQSFxFQ_LqjHcCRXwzRDtuY-i1425yiugo4HzZYq9CjoBsXsKCWc6c3puqyNRs-fuMdWfEDR9PScmURDcRiezKWBh1acO46qI3CNANCubV6cGqJrAuWaccxfIRdt_9RcJvCoHKULl4BfdtKLjyQm3Val4ab69A