Well, it’s back. As you can see, the “Emergency No Parking” signs have gone up along M Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood. Sometime shortly after noon today, if not already, flatbed trucks will park every other block, or so, along M Street as worker’s unload and set up the temporary fencing on the street.

For those of you not familiar, Halloween night is dubbed the “Nightmare on M Street.” My one and only experience with this annual nightmare came in the fall of 1998 as a freshman in college, when some friends and I had heard about the goings-on and decided to check it out. Coming from a suburban area, I was awestruck by the crowd and the atmosphere… The aforementioned temporary fencing gets placed either in the curb lane or next to the curb on either side of M Street, essentially packing the thousands of partiers onto the sidewalks like a bunch of drunk, raucus, Elvis and Sarah Palin sardines (bad joke, I know). The entire length of M Street in Georgetown will have it’s sidewalks barricaded, as well as portions of Wisconsin Avenue above and below M Street to keep the crowd under control at the main intersection of the neighborhood. For sure, there will be a great police and traffic control presence.

So, for those of you tolerant and brave enough to come out in Georgetown tonight, good for you, and good luck. Happy Halloween!