A Canadian Thanksgiving, Halloween style

As you may have noticed, I've taken the last two days off from the daily Countdown to Halloween. Today, the second Monday in October, Canada's celebration of Thanksgiving, a festival which marks the end of harvest. In preparing for the finals of Miss dEdmonton on Tuesday evening, we've harvested a lot too. In this Thanksgiving post I'd like to thank everyone that has helped us, whether through physical, financial, supportive, psychological or spiritual means.

I have to thank the members of the Board of Directors - the self proclaimed Council of E-Ville - for all the work they have put in over the last year. From the birth of an idea through "what do we do next" meetings over pizza, there is a lot of work into getting a not-for-profit society running. A few of us are the public faces, but all of us have been putting in countless hours on our own pieces of the puzzle, and I thank you each - and our significant others, for without their support we'd be a far weaker team. Thanks to Ruth, Derek and Heather, Dad and the spirit of my Mother for being supportive.

The people that I have met either virtually, on the phone, or in person that have showed support for our plans, thank you too. This includes not only the people that have attended a meeting or an event, sponsored us, given us ideas, contacts or tips, but the Halloween community in general for their support and suggestions.

There are many members of the social media in Edmonton that have help us as well - especially in mentorship. Thanks to Mack, Debra, Britney and Shawna for all your help, tweets, retweets and ideas (plus the hundreds of others who have done the same).

We want to thank the sponsors for all they support they've offered - there will be more thanking with specific links to you shortly. Hey, I need something write about on other days too! :)

The other societies, organizations and groups that have helped us is also a large list everyone will be covered this month too. There are also those that have contacted us looking for information on any of these other groups, or even just looking for a picture or a group of zombies to appear somewhere.

There are actually too many to thank individually - every person that has heard the name and has enjoyed the idea of dEdmonton, whether you are from this city or not - is deserving of thanks. Please keep telling others about it! I'm thankful that we mention it and someone has already heard of it.

And thank you, my dear readers. Enjoy your holiday - I'm just thankful I have another day to prepare...
EAVB_OYZJCQFGFM

These paths might not lead to Grandma's House

I've been faithfully participating in the Countdown to Halloween by writing a blog post every day and I realized that it's a little hypocritical of me - here I am co-chair of dEdmonton, a festival that is promoting the whole month of Halloween, and I'm counting down to a day... Oh well, at least I'm not trying to move Halloween - yes, that's what I said. Read what Ghoul Friday says about it and let the world know your opinion.

So far my blog posts have mostly been about people I know, but this will change. There are still a bunch that I have to thank and talk about (no Boo, I DID NOT forget about you) but today I want to tell you about a local event that starts tonight - the Haunted Hike.

In 13 hours from right now they open for their first hike of the 2009 season, and it promises to be scaaary. Located just East of Sherwood Park Alberta they have a one-of-a-kind trail walk that is designed as a family event - and kids must be accompanied by their adults at all times. You walk though a woodland trail surrounded by the eeks and creeps abundant in this natural environment. Yes, that's right, an outdoor haunt, in Alberta, in October. Dress appropriately. And admission is a monetary donation to the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation, so help contribute to the thousands of dollars they raise every year while getting scared.

Keep an eye on the dEdmonton Halloween Giving section if you like the "scaring for charity" idea, there are more events happening this year than every before.

If you do like outdoor events, check out the Farm of Fear. After October 17th, the Edmonton Corn Maze transforms. For 8 nights the neighboring farmyard, an old barn and parts of the corn field become Edmonton's most original and scariest Halloween Event.

You never know what will be around the next corner on either of these paths, but it's probably safe to say it's not Grandma's House...

The Undead and Miss dEdmonton

Just a quick post today as I have been busy helping others get ready for the Miss dEdmonton finals next Tuesday. Have you seen all the videos yet? Watch them and vote on your favourites so that the judges know who the vox populi like:
Brandy JO
Erin
Joey
Roxy
Sarah
Souxie
Vampire Dark Rose

We'd also like to thank another sponsor who has been helping us, Paul Preston from The MediaList Ltd. He's graciously donated some of their services to help the world's press, specifically Canadian press, know about both Miss dEdmonton and the whole dEdmonton festival.

This week I've been mentioning artists - yes, I want to win their prizes in Grimvisions Ghastly Halloween Giveaway 2009, so you'd better enter soon - and today I'm going to tell you about a different kind of artist - an audio artist.

Morbius Kromwell has been doing sound effects for a long time, and has more music than you can shake a wand at. Check out his Gravecast.com website, subscribe to his podcast, follow him on Twitter and enjoy his aural pleasures. It's better you listen to him than me tell you about him anyway.

Going to The Shadow Farm

Artists who love the spooky, the creepy and the eerie abound around this time of year, and I'd like to hilight another today - the proprietor of The Shadow Farm
Dave The Dead describes himself:

I have been an avid Halloween yard haunter for many years. As my hobby has grown, I have developed a taste for eccentric characters and deep backstories. I have learned a ton since I first decided to build my own scary stuff, and have attempted to take my building to a new artistic level with each new piece.

As you go through his site you see that he makes not only small pieces, but large, yard sized haunt pieces as well, and he pays special attention to each and everyone one of them.
In addition to his creatures, some of which are on sale at this Etsy store, he also generously guest blogs and has created a creature especially for GrimVision's Ghastly Halloween Giveaway 2009. Read all the contest rules and then enter the contest so that you too may be enlightened by his creature's darkness.

Not all Unicorns are light and fluffy

I marvel at artists that can bring their deepest, darkest imagination to life - especially sculptors. This year I've been marveling at the work that King Unicorn brings into this, and probably some other worlds.

Whether it's creating models that other artists can finish, turning a Barbie into a zombie (can't wait to see this one!) or making the prop that I want to win, the Tomb of Ill Wonder, for someone else's contest, he summons his work from his soul and puts it into his creations.

You should follow him on Twitter as well - he's a nice guy and a active member of the art and Halloween communities online - especially FridayNightArtDorks. There is someone with the same name on Facebook, but beware, it' not a real King Unicorn!

After you finish fawning over his work, get yourself over to Grimvisions Ghastly Halloween Giveaway 2009 and enter. Now. You only have a few days let to get up to 13 entries!

Ghost Hunting and Sightings in Alberta

Ghosts just aren't named Casper or appear as kids dressed up in white sheets while Trick or Treating. Not everyone believes they are real, but some things are just too tough to explain without them.

Whether you believe or not, this pair of normals - Ben and Rona - are The Paranormal Explorers and reside right here in our fine city of Edmonton. As paranormal investigators they have seen both the easily explained and the unexplained too.

In their series of presentations, you can learn about paranormal investigation equipment and findings, how various phenomena be detected, recorded and even communicated with. Enjoy Ben and Rona's discoveries about haunted places in Strathcona County and other Alberta areas.
Strathcona County Library, 300, 2020 Sherwood Drive Sherwood Park, Alberta. Free passes at the Information Desk.
07:00PM to 08:30PM, 2009-10-05

Spruce Grove Public Library, Melcor Cultural Centre, 35 - 5th Avenue Spruce Grove, Alberta
780.962.4423
06:00PM to 08:00PM, 2009-10-15

Just remember to check out their other presentations plus other paranormal events like Ghost Tours on the dEdmonton.com calendar.

The daily philosophical question

Sometimes you wake in the morning, stumble in your zombified state to the kitchen like Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead (itself an homage to an earlier movie) and you are faced with that eternal question: I'm feeling dead right now, do I want Brains or Coffee?

Our friend Ghoul Friday has tried to answer this question in her book entitled Brains Vs. Coffee: The Daily Debate of the Urban Undead. Have a look at the book's website, BrainsvsCoffee.com and enter the contest that she has there.

I already have a copy of the book (signed, thank you GF!) and so will Miss dEdmonton! How does it end? I can't give it away, but let's say I'm both thirsty AND hungry for the sequel!

Also show her artwork some love. Have a visit to her website at GhoulFriday.com, have a look at her How-to section and her Art Ghoullery (pay attention to the tiny underbiters, mid-sized Peek-a-Boo Plants and the larger Montauks) as well as follow her on Twitter - you won't be disappointed.

Grimvisions Ghastly Halloween Giveaway 2009

One of the things about the internet is you get to see talent that you might not meet due to geographic differences. Over this monthly Countdown to Halloween I'll let you know about some of them that I've, well, not physically met, but chat with on blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

This one I have to tell you about quickly - there is only a week left for you to enter his contest, so I'd better hurry. :-)

Check out Grimvisions.com and his Ghastly Halloween Giveaway 2009. Why? Not only is he an incredible artist with unique talents that he's honed over sculpting many props, he helps to promote the talents of other artists selflessly. He has guest writers (who I'll also blog about this month) and also takes you into the inner workings of his shop to show you how things work in his world.

Then there are the details of his props themselves, and the creative process that goes into them. Just check out Mr. Lo Pan for example. Prepare to spend a lot of time on his site.

Oh, and don't forget, he has props for sale at the Grimvisions Etsy store.

Be sure an enter the contest as well - the more that enter, the better the prizes are for everyone!

Like minded and their origins

What do you do when a local costume shop goes under? You find other talented people with interests that range from puppeteering, dance, costumes, lighting, acting, and more that want to start their own business, and you purchase the stock from the costume shop.

Meet The Theatre Garage.

After talking with Tessa and meeting only a few of the staff I realized that this was a magical place - especially if you are into Halloween. They have costume lines and masks that I haven't found anywhere else in Edmonton, a good stock of Kryolan makeups (with more on the way!), lots of wigs, shoes, and a HUGE costume rental department. It's not often that you see boxes labeled "Stormtrooper and Football equip" next to another one that says "Red Samauri", is it?

Right now there are several old rental costumes that are for sale. Sure, some of them need a little TLC - missing a bauble, sequin or stitch - but there is an excellent costume that I know will make a perfect Zombie Elvis for this year's Zombie Prom!

Location:
#102 10575-115 street
Edmonton, AB, T5H 3K4
Phone:
780.498.6208
Mon - Wed:
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Thurs - Fri:
10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sat:
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sun:
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Pecha Kucha Night
Even though it is frequently pronounced wrong (should be three sylables "pe-chak-cha" instead of the commonly used "pe-cha-ku-cha") there is no doubt that this unique presentation format is something that Edmontonians have a handle on, and it's back in town tonight.

Pecha Kucha Night 5 will have dEdmonton's own Christian Nelson presenting some of his 3D architectural renderings - his day job - along with 11 other presenters. The presentation format allows you 20 slides, but only 20 seconds to talk about each one. This format was designed to keep people's interest from waning during a long boring presentation - I wish the corporate world would adopt it, bucause I've been in some sleepers...

How does this tie in to Halloween? Christian did a presentation for PK2 about taking back the slanderous name of "deadmonton" - something that people outside of town, and bored people within it, like to call the place that they percieve that is boring with nothing ever going on. Join that with someone who started HalloweenEdmonton.com and another who runs a horror film festival, a paranormal investigator, and another community minded employee and what do you get? The beginnings of dEdmonton, Canada's Halloween Festival. I feel that we have much in common with the Theatre Garage team - different disciplines coming together to make the most of a unique situation, and making the "boring" city a little better place. How much better? Have you seen the dEdmonton Events Calendar yet?

October is here, let the month begin!

October is finally here, and with it all the weirdness that normally shows up around this time of year.

One thing that many people realize is that a lot of work goes into people's costumes, props and events - but some people don't realize HOW much work goes into them. Through this month I'm going to not only tell you about some of the events that I know about, but bring some light to the talented people that make this the best part of the year. These will include authors, actors, bloggers, volunteers, voices and of course, prop builders!

And I'm not in this alone! The wonderful team over at Countdown to Halloween has a list of people who are blogging about Halloween this year - some of them every single day! These people work hard, probably harder than me, so visit the blog and show them a little love, will ya?

In addition, I'll be mentioning the little project that I've spent the last few months working on - dEdmonton, Canada's Halloween Festival. If you want to know what is happening with Halloween in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, this is THE place to go. Our not-for-profit organization was formed early this year to promote all the events that are happening in the region. I will try to showcase some of the incredible events, the companies who sponsor them, the charities that are helped by them, and the people who bring them to you, the fans of Halloween..

So let the month begin...