Home »
Making a memorable Halloween is easy in Cranbrook
By Brenda Ann Babinski
What was your most memorable Halloween costume?
The first Halloween I remember was when I was six-years-old. This doesn’t include borrowed memories, like the ones you get from looking at old family albums, or hearing old family stories. This is the first memory that I authentically pull from my memory banks of a specific Halloween. And even more specifically, the first memorable Halloween costume.
Mine was the year I dressed up as Cinderella. I had the sparkly skirt, a real live diamond tiara (that my Mom made out of tinfoil and cut up cardboard) and shiny blue ballet slippers. And since I lived in Southern California at the time, I could wear the costume without even a sweater or pair of tights to keep warm. That’s right. As foreign as this may seem to my fellow Canadians, in Southern California we just wore the costume. No jacket over top. No clunky snow boots. No mittens. No toque.
Can you even imagine? It was just like a movie. (That is a good, fun, family movie. Not the Jamie Lee Curtis kind of Halloween movie). I skipped and danced happily from house to house, enjoying the balmy evening air and the feel of green grass beneath my scantily clad feet.
Fast forward one year. It is the night of Halloween. My family has relocated… To Prince George. Yeah. I know.
That year I had one wish for Halloween. I wanted to be I Dream Of Jeannie. I imagined myself draped in the gauze and silk, bare midriff, hair all fancy in an elaborate up do. And lots of make up. Maybe even false eye lashes. I imagined myself crossing my arms and nodding my head, just like I Dream of Jeannie, at every house I came to. I even considered converting my bedroom to look like the inside of her bottle, just to stay true to the theme. I had it all figured out.
So imagine my chagrin when my ever practical mother determined that there was no way in H E double hockey sticks that I was going trick or treating wearing next to nothing, outside, at night, in Prince Freezing George. (I am pretty sure the word she used was “freezing.”)
Instead, my innovative and super creative mother had saved the Styrofoam packing unit from the amber glass lamps she had bought when we moved in. (Yes this was the ‘70s). This unit was perfectly round, hollow and once she cut a hole for my face and stuck in two pipe cleaners for antenna, it transformed me into a Martian. Plus, she excitedly explained, I could just wear it with my snowsuit and boots!
Shocked! Horrified! I railed against the new costume. I whined. I cried. I cajoled even, but to no avail. A grudging compromise was finally reached. I would wear the rotten Martian outfit, but with I Dream of Jeannie make-up. My poor, harried mother agreed, slapped on the blue eye-shadow, rosy blush and pink lipstick, stuck the Martian hat on my head, then hustled me out the door.
The tricking and treating went well for the first little while. But then it began to rain. Soon the rain turned to sleet. Tiny stinging pellets of ice began to hammer down on my Styrofoam head, echoing like ricocheting bullets into the face hole, smashing against my skin and making I Dream of Jeannie run in an oozing mess down my cheeks. The Styrofoam worked just like it does when formed into a nice fat beer cooler, and my ears, cheeks and forehead were soon developing some sort of permafrost. I broke away from the gang I was touring with and began to run toward home, one arm up to shield me from the onslaught of ice bullets. My pillowcase dragged behind me, getting soaked in the muddy ice and a hole was soon formed. By the time I reached home, frozen and in shock, I had about a half dozen soggy pieces of candy and three very bruised Macintosh apples left in the tattered sack.
Happy Freezing Halloween. I bet this stuff never happened to I Dream of Jeannie.
I asked around Cranbrook to find out about other most memorable Halloween costumes.
Here is what you said:
Kya Dubois: Went as an ‘Acid Trip’ once. Wore rainbow leggings with a unicorn and robot t-rex battling on them, leather jacket, bright blue corset, biker boots, fairy wings, a name tag saying “hello my name is: your mind on drugs” and a steam punk toy gun. Of course lots of glittery colorful make up and eyelashes. Probably one of my best costumes to date.
Erin Dalton: There was the year I went as Marilyn Monroe, and people kept asking if I was Dolly Parton.
Trevor Lundy: I once went as a bowling lane. I bought a brown suit and drew lines on it to look like wood. I then got one of those Fisher Price bowling sets and attached one pin on each shoe, on each shin, on each thigh and then one on my belt (Did I mention I was college aged at the time). It was impossible to walk around the packed bar like this, however
Lindsey Froland: One year, mom made me a banana costume. It was adorable, but my head kept slipping past the face-hole, and that wouldn’t be good for trick-or-treating at all! Her solution? The end of a nylon stocking sewn around the top half of the face-hole, making it sit snugly on my face all night!
Thom McCaughey: I remember making my daughter a tin man outfit using light cardboard with silver vinyl on it. It turned out fantastic with one minor problem, I had to lift her up EVERY front step while trick or treating. I neglected to build it so her legs could bend. Made for a very long night.
Paula Smith: Last year I dressed up as a minion and handed out bananas to trick or treaters. Just to see what their reaction would be! I made the costume myself ; some old overalls and yellow sweater. Made a yellow beanie hat, and the goggles out of pipe fittings, elastic and silver paint. Lots of fun!
Caitlin McCaughey: I was once a bobble head. My dad made it using a really big balloon and using paper mache he styled the face to look like a classic 1950s girl. He attached the head to my bike helmet using strips of cloth. It was amazing.
Norm Desjardins: A bearded nun.
Marta Zeegers: Grade 6, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum with my best friend. We even choreographed a dance to go along with it.
Melissa Baranowski: I once wore a costume of an angel, and won the prize for person dressed LEAST like their costume personality. Nice, eh?
Once you are all dressed up there are plenty of fun and exciting Halloween events happening in and around Cranbrook.
Here are just a few:
The Haunted House tour at Transylvheeldon – 607 – 34th Avenue South – fun for kids of all ages and open Halloween evening from 5:30 until about 9 p.m. Sponsored by Jason Wheeldon and Sandor Rentals.
October 30 – From 7 – 9 p.m. is An Evening with Spirit, presented by Cranbrook’s own Donna Hartt, ‘the Mountain Medium’. Tickets can be purchased in advance HERE.
Fort Steele Heritage Town is presenting the annual Halloween Spooktacular Friday, October 30 from 4 – 9:30 p.m. Information is available at their website.
Cranbrook’s Downtown Business Association invites parents to bring their costumed cuties for some midday trick or treating on Saturday, Oct. 31. Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. participating businesses will handing out candy. Look for the ‘Treats Here’ poster.
Click HERE to learn about more events in the region.
What was your most memorable costume? Feel free to share in the comments below.
Cranbrook why go anywhere else?
Lead photo: A composite of images from the 2014 Cranbrook Firefighters’ Halloween Bash at Columbo Hall. This year’s event was held last Saturday, Oct. 24. Ian Cobb/e-KNOW images
