Halloween on Church Street, aka Attack of the Mutant Ninja Killer Drag Tomato Camwhores from Outer Space

Those who know me well know that Halloween is essentially my big event of the year. I'm not the kind that carves pumpkins, decks the halls with cobwebs or sets up graves in the front yard though. Halloween is instead much like my Christmas and New Years, rolled into one.

There's something about the energy level that gathers around the eve of October 31st... a certain electricity around sundown. It's got anticipation and mischief and is the perfect annual chance to break our everyday reality into tiny little pieces on which to tapdance. Even normies get this and act on it.

Case in point.

Other holidays just don't do it for me. Christmas? Time to do the family thing, hope the hard-thought gifts are adequate, and try to stay awake. New Years Eve? Who cares. Nothing happening but masses of people getting drunk, counting backward from ten and shouting woo. Boring. Just an excuse.

All the consumer holidays are fake holidays. But Halloween, well now... that's when costumers party.

NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION. Except the good friends who joined me in this group. L to R: Cardinal Biggles (Net), Cardinal Ximenez (Paul), Cardinal Fang (Kevin G), Cardinal Fang Too (me). Costumes made by myself and Net.

For the past thirteen years, my Halloween tradition has been a simple one: make something, put it on, and hit the giant public masquerade on Church Street with friends-- taking photos of and with other costumed locals and generally having an insanely good time.

Street scene in the wee hours. Still crowded! November 1st 2009, 1:32AM.Tens of thousands of people come out every year to show off and do exactly this. Basically, it's a one night descent into public camwhoredom. And a metric butt-ton of fun.

Church Street Halloween 2009, not long before things got outta hand.

Wanting to show images to the world of the crazy things that went on at this annual event was the single biggest reason that I started putting photos online. From there (dealing with and adapting to the frustrations of night and crowd photography) I got further and further into the photo stuff... although I had done plenty of it before, I didn't get enthusiastic about costume and cosplay photography (or serious about improving and expanding my skills) before Toronto Halloween circa 2006. So Halloween for me is also a marker and waypoint of sorts. (Four years; over a million images. If you compare the first and last few images in my flickr photostream, you'll get an idea of how far I've come.)

Now that you've been warned, here's a few of my favorite shots from recent years...

Dancing Shiva. My favorite costume this year for ingenuity, creativity and execution.

Spott the Loonie as Living Dead Doll Pumpkin.

EXTERMINATE!

Hello Spaceboy

Halloween 2010: Pikachu, is that you? Pikachu? Noooo!!

These two were hilarious. "I'm the prettiest!" "No, I'm the prettiest!" "No, I am!" "Well my tits don't do this!" *crushes nearest false boob*

Marilyn Manson is a regular. Three years running I think.

 Epic. Muppet. Band. *childhood flashes before me* ANIMAAAAL!

The Priscilla Queen of the Desert stage show hits Toronto and Church Street explodes with Priscilloids.

Halloween 2008: Jean-Guy as Nurse Joker. Sorry for the grain - old loQ camera.

Halloween 2010: Cardinal Ximenez in a reflective moment.

Toronto's annual block party takes place every October 31st, regardless of what day of the week Hallow's eve might happen to fall on. Church Street is typically closed for pedestrian traffic only from 6 or 7 PM through until 2 or 3 the next morning. During that time an average 10 to 20 thousand people stroll through, showing off their costumes or taking photos of/with the revellers. It's arguably the biggest public masquerade in Canada-- and wide open and friendly to everyone.

It's also worth mentioning that while the event starts off family friendly, with plenty of kidlets in costume in the early part of the night, around midnight it tends to become a more adult affair. (We usually pack it in around one thirty when the proportion of drunks goes up. As the Stay Puft man below will attest, it's hard to move around with drunk girls grabbing your marshmallow wang.)

This is why anyone who wears large unwieldy cosplays at conventions works with a handler... No, not that kind of handler... never mind.

Oh dear.

I think this was Halloween 2006, but my memory has been erased.

The Great Pumpkin is satisfied for another year.