TRAVELER
A CHILLY winter’s eve, festive sweets, crackling fires, and … children’s screams? At the 10th annual (and last) Krampus Rampage and Bazaar (visitbloomington.com/events), Bloomington will host an evening winter parade unlike any other, one that delivers a Christmas comeuppance to naughty children and adults alike. On Saturday, December 4, a legion of Krampus will stalk the college town’s streets for the final time.
According to Austrian, German, and Northern Italian legends, Krampus—cloven in foot, horned, and hairy—is a fiendish attendant of St. Nicholas who doles out the wages of a year’s worth of misdeeds with pranks, pokes, kicks, swats, or bad dreams. Bloomington’s event smooths out some of the harshest edges, letting guests choose between wearing a “naughty” or “nice” sticker. If you choose “naughty,” consider yourself in the…