Halloween season has come and gone, but this one brought something the Shoshan family will not forget any time soon.
This year, less than a week before his 10th birthday, Maverik “Mavi” Shoshan dressed up as a pirate—and not just any sort of pirate; he led the Juan Cabrillo Elementary School Halloween Parade in a ship of his own, courtesy of the nonprofit Magic Wheelchair and another Malibu family.
“Magic Wheelchair is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building epic wheelchair costumes for kids in wheelchairs,” Matt Winston, a MW board member, said, adding: “It’s really about breaking down the barriers between typical children and children who might have challenges. This wheelchair project has a way of bringing communities together, fostering understanding and love for kids who are maybe struggling with something.”
Shoshan lives with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy affects a person’s movement and posture; Shoshan has paralysis in his limbs, and “a visual and hearing impairment,” according to his mother, Ingrid.
After receiving information from MW, his physical therapist, Jaclyn Sloboda, was able to connect with local resident Lance Anderson.
Anderson, a retired Oscar-nominated makeup artist, “really wanted to find one [child] in Malibu” to help out, he told The Malibu Times.
After speaking to Maverik’s mother, Ingrid, he said, “She sent me a photo of him and he was in a pirate’s costume and I thought, ‘Wow, There’s a clue right there.’”
He met them in person, measured Maverik’s wheelchair and went straight to the hardware store. The project was funded through a variety of donations from community members and Magic Wheelchair supporters.
“Halfway through the build process, I was stressed I wouldn’t make it [in time]. Then my son David came to my aid, along with his wife Heather and their staff at AFX Studio, and made the ship’s faux wood skin and sail,” Anderson wrote in a blog post for MW. “My daughter Joni and her partner Matt Cohen came through with electronic elements of music and light. My granddaughter Bella even pitched in, painting the waves.”
Twenty days later, the ship was ready to set sail.
The wooden ship itself, coming in around eight feet tall, is a marvel, with flaming cannons, a mast flying the infamous Jolly Roger, anchor, captain’s wheel and a skull with laser-red eyes outfitted to the bow. The ship is attached to “waves” so that Maverik is constantly at sea when in costume.
Anderson even took some creative liberties with the ship by installing lights and a sound system in the ship. Although slightly age-inappropriate-—as one Juan Cabrillo staff member jokingly pointed out—it played “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me),” to the delight of parade attendees.
Although they had been in communication with Anderson, Halloween was the first time the Shoshans laid eyes on the final product.
For Maverik’s parents, Ingrid and David, the unveiling was an overwhelming moment.
“The entire process was seamless, enjoyable and incredible rewarding … experiencing the first look at the reveal WITH Maverik! It was emotional and enjoyable beyond comprehension,” Ingrid said in an email.
To any bystander, the friendship between Anderson and the Shoshans would not seem so new. By the end of the Halloween parade, Anderson offered to bring the entire ship down to Malibu Colony, where Ingrid and David planned to take Maverik and their other son, Macloud, trick-or-treating. With an invitation from the two, Anderson joined the family for the activity.
“Our family is SO incredibly thankful for making our deliciously gentle and loving son the ‘star’ of Halloween this year!!! It’s a memory that we will forever be grateful for and cherish,” Ingrid shared.
