This past weekend was full of Halloween celebrations, but we also managed to take in one great film from the St. John's International Women's Film Festival.
Mardi Gras 2013
We kicked off our Halloween weekend at Ellice's party on Friday, but made sure that we were up in time to see The Animal Project at noon on Saturday at the LSPU Hall.
The movie was engaging and insightful, and although the theatre was only half full, it seemed as if all the people who were there really enjoyed it. The film debuted at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and the writer/director, Ingrid Veninger, was in attendance for this showing. There was a discussion forum with her after the film, but we didn't stick around for it because after a 90+ minute film, we were eager to grab a bite to eat. Although, we're sure it would have been interesting to hear from her.
Then after our curling game on Saturday night (where we scored two points!), we completed the second part of our Something Saturday by attending Mardi Gras on George Street. For anyone who doesn't know, George Street is two blocks of bars/pubs in downtown St. John's, and apparently has the most bars/pubs per square foot of any street in North America. It's also pedestrian-only so a few times a year, Mardi Gras being one of them, they block off the street and people pay an entry fee to get on the street (instead of a fee to go into some of the bars). When the street is closed off, you can buy drinks from any bar and drink them wherever you want - meaning either in the bar, on the street, or even in another bar.
We went to Mardi Gras with Cam and Lauren (also the other half of our curling team), and the night started off with a Michael Jackson tribute on the outdoor stage, while people were qualifying for the costume competition. Then, once the finalists were determined, they took the stage.
Then after our curling game on Saturday night (where we scored two points!), we completed the second part of our Something Saturday by attending Mardi Gras on George Street. For anyone who doesn't know, George Street is two blocks of bars/pubs in downtown St. John's, and apparently has the most bars/pubs per square foot of any street in North America. It's also pedestrian-only so a few times a year, Mardi Gras being one of them, they block off the street and people pay an entry fee to get on the street (instead of a fee to go into some of the bars). When the street is closed off, you can buy drinks from any bar and drink them wherever you want - meaning either in the bar, on the street, or even in another bar.
We went to Mardi Gras with Cam and Lauren (also the other half of our curling team), and the night started off with a Michael Jackson tribute on the outdoor stage, while people were qualifying for the costume competition. Then, once the finalists were determined, they took the stage.
People take the costume thing seriously, and to say that the costumes were amazing or impressive would be an understatement. The $10,000 total prize money for the Top 5 is an attractive draw in itself.
All of the costumes in the Top 5 were homemade, and some took months to create. The gargoyles had moving wings, and the other people who made it to the Top 3 were all on stilts. The people dressed as Space Marines from Warhammer 40k ended up taking the Grand Prize, and their costumes looked pro.
All of the costumes in the Top 5 were homemade, and some took months to create. The gargoyles had moving wings, and the other people who made it to the Top 3 were all on stilts. The people dressed as Space Marines from Warhammer 40k ended up taking the Grand Prize, and their costumes looked pro.
Although our costumes were nowhere near as involved and intense as the people in the competition, we were still really happy with how they turned out:
Lucky, the dalmatian, and Cruella De Vil
After the competition, we went into a bar to warm up for a bit before deciding to take advantage of the open street; we decided to go to a bunch of bars that at least one of us hadn't been to before. It started off just taking a picture in the bars, but then turned into us taking a 4-person selfie in every place we entered. Somehow, having a mission made the night just that little bit more awesome.
Then on Sunday night, we had our annual indoor cousins trick-or-treating event, where the "kids" dress up and trick-or-treat around the house, after our weekly family dinner. At first, it seemed like the event may be a flop because people were reluctant to dress up, but in the end it all came together and was ridiculously fun. Not to mention that it was technically Luke's first time trick-or-treating... ever.
Here are some more pictures from the weekend!
