?Tis the season for poking fun at ancient non-Christian beliefs and swapping Celtic spirituality for candy. Yep, it?s Halloween, which means there?s a city?s worth of campy pursuits out there for you to indulge in. And while Victoria may not have the funk of 40,000 years, we?ve got plenty of grizzly ghouls from every tomb closing in to seal your doom . . . for a fortnight, at least.
Whether you?re looking to have some costumed fun or sit back and let someone else take the reins of your nightmare, Victoria is a great Halloween town. From true ghost stories and real-life witches to bike rides and zip lines, there?s a little bit of everything out there no matter what your age. Take a boo at this Samhain sampler to help you get in the spirit of the season.
You could easily describe this one as fun for the whole family . . . as long as your last name is Addams, or Munster. With four venues?a children?s Haunted House, the far more terrifying adult Carnevil Haunted House, plus the Crazy Train, Madame Isabella?s Seance and the Cornfield of Horror (at least that?s how it feels when you?re lost in the corn maze and come face to face with an insane-looking clown)?Galey Farm?s campy classic is a must-do for every Victoria family . . . at least once.
6 to 10pm nightly to October 31
Galey Farms
Ghosts of Victoria Festival
From Ghost Bus tours to the ghosts of the Martime Museum, tours of Ross Bay Cemetery, ghostly walks of downtown and even haunted Colwood, the annual Ghosts of Victoria Festival offers all sorts of ways to get your spook on. Best of all, these events are mostly about real hauntings, not the manufactured artificiality of most fright nights. Brought to you by John Adams, the king of haunted Victoria.
Daily to October 31
Various Locations
The Horror Within. Photo by Steven Orr
The Horror Within
The grandfather of horror, HP Lovecraft, gets resurrected this Halloween by the talented improv group Paper Street Theatre. What?s not to like about an improvised night of thrills and chills that?s billed as ?a miasmic show steeped in eldritch lore and dripping with tentacles too terrible to name.? Mmm, tentacles. Enjoy?or shudder?as three characters spin horror stories based on the audience?s suggestions.
Friday and Saturday, October 26 & 27 at the Intrepid Theatre Club
Spooktacular Haunted Zip Tour
Seriously? Yep, AdrenaLINE Zipline is taking you on nighttime zip tours of the Sooke hills, screaming you through over 100 acres of forest after dark. (Or, for the younger set, a less spooky daytime option will be available.) Best of all, they?re doing one for the full moon on Monday night. Bonus points for coming up with something new!
From 5:30pm Friday October 26 to Monday October 29
What?s scarier than local arts cuts? The annual AV Halloween cabaret, naturally! No idea what to expect from this one, but I?m betting it?s got something to do with bugs . . . and kooky dance routines . . . and comedy of questionable (but hilarious) taste. It?s also the debut of AV?s new Kanye Lounge?a special ticket price gets you in the door before the hoi-polloi plus drink service from the bar in the elite raised seating section behind the Event Centre?s guitar bar. Oooh, classy!
Friday & Saturday, October 26 & 27, plus Wednesday & Thursday, October 31 & November 1, and Saturday November 3
Victoria Event Centre
If your idea of a fun Halloween is checking out this annual array of carved plastic pumpkins, featuring all manner of, uh, scary themes?CBC broadcasters! Local mayors! Dead presidents and prime ministers! Canadian Idol contestants! The Royal Family! Oooh, it doesn?t get more terrifying than seeing John A. MacDonald as a jack-o-lantern.
5 to 9pm October 26 to 31
Along Oak Bay Avenue
Deadlines: Obits of Memorable British Columbians
And now for something completely different, local journalist Tom Hawthorn offers a seasonally timed signing for his new book, Deadlines: Obits of Memorable British Columbians (Harbour Publishing). No guarantee of ghosts, but there are bound to be a few skeletons in these closets.
1 to 2pm Saturday, October 27 at Munro?s Books
Spooks n? Spokes Ghost Ride
Nothing new about exorcising demons?but how often do you exercise your own demons? Join the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition on their annual easy 20-kilometre night ride and learn about the spirits who live in some of the finest homes and castles of Victoria. Costumes and decorated bikes are encouraged?but functioning front and rear lights are mandatory.
Meet at the fountain at Centennial Square at 6:30pm Saturday, October 27. Ride ends at the same place around 9pm.
Dance of the Dead
What?s Halloween without an excuse to dress up and shake it? Ah, but this shaker is themed to the Mexican custom of El D?a de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Get in on a long, deep dance journey to celebrate life, death and those who?ve come before with an all-night party featuring soundscapes by Dust, Joshua, AFK, Rowan, Desunos plus live art, dance performance, digital and fire art.
9pm to 5:30am Saturday, October 27
Sunset Room?
Witches, Fortunes and Treats
Nothing?s finer than the RBCM?s Old Town at Christmas, and now they?re putting an October spin on the idea with the latest instalment of their monthly family Wonder Sundays. Offering a ?cornucopia of spooky fun??and bonus points for cleverly combining two October holidays?the RBCM invites families to do some trick-or-treating in Old Town (for craft supplies, not candy), creating a take-home fortune teller, learning spell-casting, practicing broom skills (uh, isn?t that just housework?) and more. Costumes are welcome, of course.
1 to 3pm Sunday, October 28
Royal BC Museum
Movie Monster
Following in the footsteps of FringeKids, Intrepid Theatre presents this special Halloween cinematic event, where kids 10 and under can become the star of their own monster movie! Yep, they get to build their own spooky set, monster costume and then make an actual short scary movie they can watch in a projection room. (There?s also rumours of an adult version, which you can find out more about at http://www.indiegogo.com/moviemonster). And if you?re not keen on the whole trick-or-treating concept, this runs again on Halloween night!
3-8pm Tuesday & Wednesday, October 30 &31, at Da Vinci Centre
Since the Craigdarroch Castle Dracula show is already sold out, here?s a fangbanging alternative for you: a flashback double bill of Dracula and Frankenstein, two of the most enduring horror films of all time. Tod Browning?s Dracula?starring Bela Lugosi?set the tone for the entire vampire movie genre, as did James Whale?s Frankenstein (the making of which was beautifully captured in Ian McKellen?s 1998 Oscar-winner Gods and Monsters). If you?ve never seen these on the big screen, they deserve a second (or first) look.
7pm Wednesday October 31 at SilverCity
Ghosts of the Arts
Anyone looking to reflect the frightening reality of arts funding today can take part in this ?spirited vigil?. Just meet at Centennial Square, put on a white sheet and then float down Government Street on a silent walk to the Legislature. This is part of a Canada-wide performance event focusing public attention on the importance of the arts in the face of federal, provincial and municipal funding cuts?and the devastating results for artists, arts organizations, communities, our culture and society. Kids and teens are welcome too, since they?re the ones whose future in the arts is uncertain.
7-9pm Tuesday, October 30
Centennial Square to the Legislature
- John Threlfall
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