With Halloween fast approaching I suppose I should've posted this sooner.
I know that Halloween is primarily celebrated in North America, and similar-yet-different to the Mexican Day of the Dead, and sorta translated/echoed in various forms in different countries via media and global cultural exchange. So this is a post for the Vancouverites that are close enough to experience the following;
The Dunbar Haunted House - It started as a house in the Dunbar neighbourhood, an enthusiastic homeowner did his house up impressively and was quite a spectacle. It grew from there and only the name reflects it's history - this year it's in a warehouse in Marpole. They have a great collection of gruesome latex masks and mannequins grouped in themed displays - and between 7-midnight use real actors in costume to pop out at visitors, so I crept through carefully taking it all in, and predicting which is the 'real' one. The theme was Terror Through History, my personal creepy highlights were the Inquisition, the Plague, and the environmental/medical mutant nightmare of the suggested future. The lineup (it's popular, so get there early) is broken into groups of 3-4 to give you a friend or two to experience it with, but not enough to feel rushed like driven cattle. The only hiccup is when a group moves too slow or too fast and the surprise is ruined before the actors return to their hiding spots. Fantastic show, worth the $10 entry that goes to charity. Please note this is the last year for it, so see it while you can!
Trick Or Eat - A great excuse for adults to get dressed up in costume and go door-to-door like a little kid again! You know you're an adult when you have all the money and freedom to eat as much candy as you want at anytime, and yet you just crave an honest salad or piece of fruit. You know you don't _need_ the candy, you need real food, so that's what we're collecting is donations for the Food Bank. I participated last year with a group that was well connected and organized and I had a fun time, things ran smoothly and we hung out at the organizer's house afterward. This year is a bit trickier as I don't have that same group and thus had difficulty getting connected to strangers, since they assume everyone is linked via facebook. As Halloween is not yet upon us to know how this will turn out, I will do my part and hope for the best. I'd recommend this is a great idea if you can organize a group
of friends you know well who have your contact information easily.
Parade of Lost Souls - Held at Britannia Community Center is where the hipsters and funky artists get together for art installations and performances. I attended only as an afterthought after other daytime plans, so perhaps I missed most of it with the parade at 7pm, but at 9pm they were still making music on found percussion surfaces (tin cans, washtubs, cow bells, anything you can hit with a stick). There were fire dancers, and the highlight for me was a Thriller dance on every few minutes - the Michael Jackson lead was spot-on. Come in costume, it's a family event, community pride.
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