Sunday, October 27, 2013

Halloween on Davie Street

I love Davie Street at Halloween. It's always carnival.  Not just a night but a season.  Everyone seems to get in the spirit and dress up. Costumes galore.
Certainly every man who ever wanted to wear a dress was doing Benny Hill's Lads in Frocks. Eddie Izzard would have been lost in the crowd.
The Smurfs were sensational. A lot of beautiful girls had maintained their genetic advantage by wearing form revealing skeleton leotards.  I wondered if Leonard Cohen hadn't met such young women when he wrote his classic, "As I lay dead in my love soaked bed......".
I simply donned a blond wig, glasses and hat and with some lipstick became my favourite old fat church lady self, with a funky purse, mind you.  It was 10 pm when I drove to Davie for coffee. Other years I've come for late night dinner getting a window seat in one of the many many excellent restaurants.  A dozen parties were advertised but with Gilbert not invited I wasn't much for late night activities.  11 pm as it was is  my normal bed time these years.  Still it's a tradition. Other years I've taken in the Rocky Horror Picture Show bringing along a roll of toilet paper at very least.  Tonight though, I was proud of myself for making the  drive across town.  It never ceases to amaze me how many late night people live in Vancouver. It's become like New York in that way.  
I regretted not bringing my other camera when I saw photographers out enjoying the medley of creative genius.  One young woman's face was unforgettable with the most amazing zombie painting over her chin and lips leaving her beautiful laughing eyes unscathed.  A couple of women, there were a lot of older people to my surprise out in costume like me, were dressed in Napoleon soldier costumes. Very period.  I love the 'period' dress. Some with hoop skirts Great bodices.  Lots of ghosts.  Its a wonder what you can do with a sheet.  Some very impressive pointy hatted witches carrying wicked brooms. There was every  variety of animal and one amazing Sasquatch.  A 'flasher' with the the biggest store-bought  dildo ever sold, flashed me and everyone else on the street.   Several fairytale figures. Lil Bo Peep.  Not so many disney characters.  But cartoon figures and an authentic Spiderman for sure.  A group of Chinese people lead by an emperor, a dozen in all, a wide variety of costumes did a parade up one side of the street and down the other.  A bear was incongruously in their midst.  What was prettiest was a group of young women who'd all dressed together as red and green bubble wearing somethings.  They looked a bit like very perky cheerleaders except for these bright coloured bubbles all over their torsos.
Line ups everywhere. After having a coffee and walking about the hood I returned to my little dog and had a late night movie with pastry from East Vancouver Bakery.  Someone was shooting off fireworks. It's Vancouver so someone is always lighting up the sky.
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