Several years ago I started a website devoted to all of the Halloween happenings in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Oddly enough it was called HalloweenEdmonton.com - yep, a catchy name.
I started posting events around Edmonton that I knew about. I'd been volunteering for Fort Edmonton Park's Spooktacular for several years and I was amazed that others did not know about this annual event. Many didn't know about the Scarecrow Festival either. I guess if you don't have kids, events for kids are not on your mind.
HalloweenEdmonton.com was supposed to change all of that, and it started to. I found out about and helped promote events such as the Edmonton Queen Riverboat Halloween cruises, theatrical events, retailers. I was established but did not get a lot of traffic to my site itself, but it was a start.
Then came some interesting coincidences. Through a series of them I was connected with Christian Nelson, Derek Clayton and Kenn Bur, and with another member we've become the Board of Directors of dEdmonton: Canada's Halloween Festival.
In November 2008 we called a meeting of all the people that we all knew to see if they would be interested in having a Halloween festival in the city. The attendance surpassed our expectations, and the enthusiasm of the group that was present lead us to believe that this was possible.
Fast forward to this year, on a bullet-train. Moving at the speed of a scream, the 2009 Halloween season is upon us. The stores have their pieces in stock, now seasonal retailers are opening, including some brand new ones to the city.
The dEdmonton crowd has had a few more meetings, been in 5 parades including the Capital Ex parade in Edmonton, but also represented in communities around the city including Lamont, Vegreville, Spruce Grove and Westlock.
And what do we have planned for Halloween in Edmonton this year? First, we have been and will continue to be THE place to learn about Halloween events, via our dEdmonton Events Calendar. If you know of something that is missing from it, please let us know via the dEdmonton Event Submission form.
We have also started the submission process for the Miss dEdmonton contest where we are looking for someone who wants to represent the festival over the next year, someone who wants to be part of the Halloween and Horror community in Edmonton, can appear in parades, at movie premieres, in bars and also at children's events. Oh, and she should be able to scream! If you, or someone you know, would qualify, read the rules on the site and then upload your videos to YouTube.com.
We've started dotting the city with posters advertising the site and especially the Miss dEdmonton competition. If you see any, take your picture next to them and add them to our gallery on our Facebook Page.
In addition, we are running a couple of events this year, more details are coming so keep an eye on the site!
Wishing you all an excellent Halloween season,
Peanutgnome
dEdmonton website
Facebook Page
You should follow dEdmonton on Twitter here
1 comment:
Nice to finally get the whole story from start to...well, the new beginning ;) I remember hearing rumours of the event, then commenting on a blog post about it. And now, months later, it seems your momentum and enthusiasm has grown. I look forward to all your stories of future terrifying triumphs.
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