Though the weather indicates another time and place, the calendar reads correctly: Halloween is this weekend.
With Halloween falling on a Sunday this year, the entire weekend is shaping into a candy eating, drink chugging, costume wearing bonanza.
“It brings out the alter ego in people, letting go of reality for a night,” said Brian Anderson, president and co-owner of Last Call Entertainment.
Last Call is holding its Nightmare in the Caribbean party in Arlington on Friday, one of many events happening during the next three days.
“People genuinely love to dress up. No one wants to give up their youth,” he said.
Anderson has been part of the local booking and promotions community for a decade and has seen the popularity of Halloween grow.
“I would definitely say as far as people spending money, people put all their eggs in a basket for New Year’s,” Anderson said. “[Halloween] is probably second, followed by St. Patrick’s and Cinco de Mayo.”
There is no shortage of parties to celebrate Halloween in the metro area, highlighted by the Nightmare on M Street in D.C. and the Fright Night Monster Bash at the State Theatre in Falls Church, both Saturday.
If dressing up and heading to a party doesn’t inspire, then maybe getting scared silly gets the juices flowing. Regionally, plenty of frightful haunted trails and houses welcome victims, er, guests, many within 30 miles of downtown D.C.
One of the closest and newest is Markoff’s Haunted Harbor at National Harbor. This new attraction is from the creative minds that have brought Markoff’s Haunted Forest in Dickerson, Md., (near Poolesville) for the past 18 years.
“It’s definitely Markoff style,” Julie Clendenin said, comparing the Haunted Harbor and Forest. “Some of it is similar, but it’s a completely different setting.”
Clendenin is the outreach director for Calleva, a Poolesville-based nonprofit organization with a mission of giving youths opportunity to engage with the outdoors. The Haunted Forest and Haunted Harbor are fundraisers for Calleva.
As opposed to the wide-open spaces of the Haunted Forest, the Haunted Harbor utilizes a more closed-in urban setting to keep visitors off-balance.
“What the Markoffs do is construct a whole atmosphere,” Clendenin said. “They make an art out of scaring people.”
Whether attending a party or a haunted trail, wearing a costume to get into the spirit of Halloween is essential. While Anderson concedes to wearing what he’s found at a store, he appreciates the creative, homemade costumes he’s seen at his annual parties.
“I like someone who puts some effort into making it,” he said.
Anderson expects more of the usual this year — pop culture references and video game and movie characters.
Oh, and women dressed a little more provocatively than they would on any other day.
“That’s pretty par for the course,” Anderson said.
