02527: Halloween Traditions

Not a Halloween photo, but a still a good bar pic with friends
We all develop our respective rituals and practices over time, especially when it comes to how certain holidays are celebrated. You gather at certain places. You do thee same things you did the year prior. You eat specific meals. All that sort of stuff. You know the drill.

For as long as I've been living away from the folks, Halloween has always been a holiday celebrated at a club. The last Saturday of October is typically reserved for this purpose with a few variations for certain years and I've always made the trek to an LGBT-friendly bar of choice.

When I was with Brian we'd go to Bed and we'd meet up with friends and have a good time. Bed tried to be very music focused, although they did dabble with drag shows on certain Saturday nights. But they were a never big part of why'd we go out on Halloween. We'd just be with friends, drink, dance and that was it. Still good times but definitely different times.

With Tobie we go to O Bar and that "black party" experience has shifted over  the years from the old sort off drinking and dancing to bigger and bigger performances by the O Divas to be enjoyed with good friends. It as become an odd balance of us geeking out over the drag queens and being among fellow queer people and those who support the community. We haven't necessarily worn costumes over the years but we have made sure to have matching outfits..

This year we found ourselves putting effort into executing some sort of a costume since bar friends had excitedly talked about putting some effort into dressing up this year as O Bar positioned this year's Liberation Party as a costume event as well. Tobie did an amazing job with our Sims Plumbobs as a simple yet effective costume, but we were not prepared for how much other friends would dress up, this including the owners of the bar!

It was so unexpected and delightful and it added an extra layer of fun to this year's O Bar Halloween celebration and it's one that I hope we all continue to push in the years to come. Tobie and I want to make up for things next time around but I have no idea what sort of costume we'll manage for the next Liberation Party.

And I know, it doesn't sound groundbreaking that people worse costumes for a Halloween party, but you have to understand context here. It wasn't exactly forbidden but it was just not something our circle of friends would regularly do and to see it all happen again was a nice throwback to black parties of the years before. And to do so with friends that we hold dear made a big difference.

So celebrate this Halloween in a way that feels right to you. Be with the friends you want to be with. Enjoy the things that you often enjoy together. Cherish such moments. Celebrate what you love.

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