This is Halloween

Trunk or Treat on Main Street

Halloween at Gavan’s

Connor lalande
quyon Oct. 28, 2023
In a spirited observance of ghoulish fun, Quyon’s Gavan’s Hotel held a devilishly amusing Halloween party this past Saturday evening.
As the full moon illuminated the nighttime sky, revelers of all things spooky and macabre descended on the acclaimed venue for a night of boisterous indulgence and Halloween themed fun.
Costumes – both witty and petrifying – adorned partygoers as they mingled, compared the quality of each other’s outfits and kept themselves sufficiently hydrated.
With DJ Dave Scully spinning dancefloor hits, Gavan’s friendly and energetic staff dished out drinks, served food and held a costume contest, the winners of which walked away with a series of prizes.
Earlier in the day kids were invited to take part in Gavan’s inaugural pumpkin carving contest.
The final jack o’ lanterns were displayed on stage, adding to the night’s festive atmosphere.
Gavan’s bartender Christina Hall said she was glad to see people out enjoying themselves. “We are trying to revamp Gavan’s and bring back the energy that it once had,” Hall said, explaining that prior to its purchase by Jim Cain in November of last year, zeal for the historic bar in the local community had begun to wane.
“The new owners are fantastic. They want to bring this place back to its heyday and I think they are doing an incredible job at it,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s a reflection on me, I think it’s a reflection of the staff,” said Gavan’s owner Jim Cain about the event’s success and the renewed enthusiasm around the venue.
“I’m here to support them in whatever they need, but they are the ones making everything happen.” Cain also announced the venue was planning a one-year anniversary event in celebration of Cain’s ownership on Nov. 25.
“The reason we’re having this event is because of the team. It was their idea. They wanted to celebrate the one year and I certainly thought it was a great idea and fully supported it,” Cain said.
“The staff are the reason why we are doing so well and there is a renewed excitement around Gavan’s. I just can’t thank them enough.”

Princesses, ghouls gather for spooky afternoon in Otter Lake

CAMilla faragalli
otter lake Oct. 28, 2023
Tiny princesses, miniature ghouls and a very petite werewolf were among the many creatures that filled the RA centre in Otter Lake on Saturday for The Native Alliance’s Halloween party for children.
The event came complete with free hotdogs, a dance competition, and of course, loot-bags filled with plenty of treats.
“The RA always holds really nice things for the kids,” said Angela Zacharias, who brought her daughter. “We always come down when we can.”
Freezies-galore dyed tiny mouths bright colours as dozens of children played and danced around the hall over the course of the afternoon.
A jester DJ spun spooky tracks from the stage, while parents and family members chatted over coffee.
Marie Beaudoin, president of the Native Alliance since February, said the event was meant to help bring people together, kids especially.
“The kids are always our number one priority,” she said.
“The best part of the day is hanging out with my friends,” said Lexy Chartrand, who attended the event with her family. Through “blood”-stained lips, the young would-be vampire smiled and added, “And my dad!”

Bryson does Halloween right, raises funds and food for Bouffe

Glen Hartle
Bryson October 27, 2023
The Association Récréative de Bryson (Bryson Recreation Association) hosted an array of wee ones on Friday for the annual Halloween Party. The energy was high and so was the joy.
On hand was a plethora of everything that makes Halloween come alive. The hall was generously decorated with everything from spider webs to suspended ghoulish-globes. There was music spinning a wide array of tunes for all ages including classics like Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the theme song for the Addams Family. There were nibbles, refreshments, games and hosts, all designed to convert reality into fiction, if for just a little while.
Most of all, there was a great variety of children in costumes ranging from princesses to pirates and even a flamengo dancer.
All in all, some 88 youngsters joined the fun and some even brought an oldster or two along for company. After all, it’s not easy being a two-year-old-police-boy on your own.
Association president Julie Ryan beamed at the turnout, “Most members of the association have children, and we love doing all sorts of kids’ activities. From ball soccer to summer camp, we like to keep the kids active and we love the annual Halloween Party.”
Ryan was in charge of the games – including “Pass the Pumpkin” which heralded in a whole new level of energy amongst the party-goers. Helping Ryan as emcee and DJ was association vice-president Meghan Griffin. Association secretary Shyloh Pasqua took care of the canteen while volunteers Alexandra Ryan Vaillancourt and Amanda Baird took care of the door and donations. At evening’s end, Melissa Stewart and Chantal Gravelle jumped in to help clean up. This was truly a team effort.
There were prizes awarded for Most Original costume and for Best Overall. These were further divided by age groups: 0-3, 4-7 and 8+.
For the 0-3 grouping, soon-to-be-one-year-old Annabelle Gravelle and her big brother, Ben, absolutely stole the show in their mousetrap and exterminator getup taking the Most Creative props. Violet Kelly took home Best Overall as a butterfly.
For the 4-7 grouping, Noah Pasqua took Most Creative as Red Among Us and Kennedy Griffin stunned as a Flamenco Dancer, complete with moves to match. She took Best Overall.
Rounding things out, in the 8+ grouping, Nadia Durocher took the creative crown for her version of Pennywise, the IT clown; scary never looked so good. And Best Overall in the grouping went to Jayden Chevalier as a ginormous dinosaur, who, it should be noted, provided substantial inspiration for all of the would-be Jurassic Park fans in attendance.
Each prize winner received a grab bag of goodies with games, books, play-doh and more.
As for the games – what enthusiasm. Emcee Griffin had her work cut out for her in keeping things on track as the madding crowd (with nod to author Thomas Hardy) circled. Granted, they were asked to circle in order to gear up for the first game, Pass the Pumpkin, but this did nothing to take away from the teeming sea of costumed specificity highlighting the moment. It was positively delightful and, if deciblage can be used as reference, the excitement already on display went completely off the charts. Like, way off.
Game winners won glow stick packages that will likely come in handy on Halloween night. All kids left with a grab bag donated by the association.
As if that wasn’t enough goodness for one evening, attendees were invited to bring food and cash donations for Bouffe Pontiac. Bouffe Pontiac, headquartered in Campbells Bay, aims to provide access to healthy food for those in need. Director General Kim Laroche intones, “We have an increase in demand with more and more working families at minimum wage in need.” She shares that November is usually almost as busy as the Christmas period for them and that any and all contributions are greatly appreciated.
For their part, the Halloween Party with the Bryson Recreation Association contributed several bags of non-perishable goods along with an envelope of good will.
This dress rehearsal for Halloween had it all and if that was the rehearsal, the show must have been off the rails.