As you get older, Halloween shifts from a sacred holiday where strange people give you mountains of candy for knocking on their doors to yearly ritual where strange women try to inject sex appeal into the most harmless costume concept (sexy husky anyone?), drinking on moving school buses is condoned and/or encouraged, and people who’d normally take the moral high ground of “I never go to the club” are in fact in the club and having a what looks like the time of their life. Put differently: It’s your last chance to festively let loose until the office Christmas party, so make Halloween count at one of these unique, dedicated Calgary celebrations.
Bust Loose Halloween Howler (Oct. 29)
If you’ve already done a few Bust Loose club crawls in your life, you may be over it, as the associated reality-bending hangover can be quite crippling. If you haven’t gone (or you can exercise some measure of self-control), you owe it to yourself to get involved with the spectacle of seeing thousands of costumed people loading yellow buses (usually hosted by the perfect frat or sorority leader archetype) to party at a dozen different clubs, throughout the city, on a 12-hour party marathon.
Nintendo Hero Party, Vinyl Retro Dance Lounge (Oct. 28 and 29)
Something for the nerd or nerd at heart. This two-day party, featuring DJ DC, will remind you not only of the child-like magic of Halloween but also the exact placement of all the warp whistles in Super Mario Bros. 3. If you don’t understand that last reference, this party probably isn’t for you.
Halloween Howl, The Uptown (Oct. 29)
Green Fools theatre sells out this once-a-year adult-only spectacle every time they put it on because it’s likely the best bang for your buck as far as Halloween goes in Calgary. An original performance, live music, a costume contest and the chance of seeing something you’ve never seen before (bagpipers, angels and zombies in the same act) are just a few reasons to support this always-awesome event.
Psycho: The Movie and the Music, EPCOR Centre (Oct. 28 and 29)
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra continues its tradition of providing high-culture in fun forms with this innovative experience. The CPO is set to play Bernard Herrmann’s original spine-tingling score live as Hitchcock’s masterpiece flickers in synch on the big screen. An experience so immersive, you’ll feel like you’re the one in the shower getting stabbed, repeatedly. Bloody good fun.
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Image courtesy of Prettywar-STL.
