It all started when Matthew Lovegrove, manager of the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives, contributed an article to a local paper about the “haunted dolls” of the museum’s collection. “People started calling to see if we were going to have a Halloween event, and it just went from there!”
For five years, the museum has hosted the popular All Hallow’s Eve event. “There’s something about a museum that lends itself to Halloween,” Lovegrove said. “Spooky ambience, mysterious artifacts…”
This year, we will find out if there is something inherently spooky about the library and the Arts Building, too, as the annual event grows into a block-wide celebration of things that go bump in the night.
Halloween Block Party, which is sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Credit Union, takes place on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Gibsons Public Library, the Arts Building, Sunshine Coast Museum and Gibsons Tapworks, as well as a number of outdoor locations in Lower Gibsons.
The Museum offers up “spooky theatre” and a pirate dance-battle by Driftwood Players, who will be performing marine-themed Halloween theatre throughout the night at all venues. Gruesome Graham and Noah Ord perform live music outside the museum, while the Arts Building hosts a costume contest for kids, adults and dogs, cupcake decorating and an interactive shadow-show by Sandy Buck. No stone is left unenchanted, and participants are invited to wander past the Phantom Lagoon installation with phantasmagorical video projections in Holland Park, or enjoy a pirate treasure hunt.
Gibsons Public Library hosts interactive multimedia experience of “spooky sounds, funky grooves, performances and visuals” by Coast Streaming, as described by its founders, Steve Weave and Mieke Jay, while further theatrical surprises lurk in the stacks.
Halloween Block Party is geared to all ages, and adults are not left out of this creative programming. Kimba Lorber is on site for free psychic readings/divination; participants can sign up for a 15-minute reading in advance by calling the library at 604-886-2130 or at the event. And to cap off the festivities, Gibsons Tapworks hosts a Halloween costume party with a DJ Cronneloctopus.
An event map and schedule are available (by donation) at the beginning of the night. Activities at the Library, Museum and Arts Building take place from 5 to 8 p.m. The costume party at Gibsons Tapworks runs 8 p.m. to late.
Admission by donation, rain or shine. Treats by SuperValu.
For more information, call 604-886-8232 or join the event, Halloween Block Party! Lower Gibsons, on Facebook
– Submitted by Andrea Routley, Gibsons Library
