A Ghūl’s All Hallows Eve Guide to Frights & Entertainment in Victoria & the Gulf Islands

22271_1331667404240_2567935_nThe Dead of October is here. As a paranormal and archaeology enthusiast, there’s plenty for me to do at this time of year. But trick o’ treaters and lovers of horror films can find plenty of chills, thrills and frights to choose from. When a certain craving hits, thankfully this time of year is not always about the private parties or candy. Instead, it’s about what can transpire when Hunter’s Moon arrives.

The list of activities is nicely varied and there’s plenty to choose from for the young and old to partake in. Yes, even some nerdish delights can be found in this update, but who wants to be stuck indoors? The excitement is all in what can be found outdoors or in the fringe! But for residents of the Gulf Islands, just how they want to get the inner ghoul on means deciding in what is more interesting to attend. Presented here is a guide for what’s coming up:

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Oct 5, at 2:30pm – 5:00pm
Meets at Centennial Square – Victoria

Put on your best corpse, and somber on down a route to encourage the best that the plague will do upon the masses! This zombie walk will feature a few local makeup talents to help make your costume all the more gross. More information can be found on their Facebook page as to what the route will be.

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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’14] Young Frankenstein the Musical, A Review

YoungFrankensteinDirected by Cam Culham
Music Direction by Donna Williams

Continues playing at Copeland Theatre
at St. Michaels University School
3400 Richmond Rd

Fri, Aug 29 • 7:00pm
Sat, Aug 30 • 2:00pm
Sat, Aug 30 • 7:00pm

J: Oh what a difference a year makes when it comes to a production performed by the students of St. Michael’s Musical Theatre Intensive Program as part of the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival. Compared to the clean version of Avenue Q from last year, the shackles were broken with Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein. All the sexual innuendo was left in, just the way fans of Mel Brooks like it.

E: And one particular number got shuffled out of the narrative to become a finale for the night. I would’ve liked to see Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Jasper Johnston) and the Monster (Ethan Ko) put on the Ritz and I fully understand to produce that number requires the students to either learn how to tap dance in a short amount of time or already have that skill. But in a seasonal program that is open to anyone that doesn’t ask for pre-requisite skills, that’s not possible.

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The Two Hungry Blokes Take On Avenue Q and the Victoria Fringe Festival

Avenue Q
August 29 – 31, 2013

Copeland Lecture Theatre
St. Michael’s University School
3400 Richmond Rd.
Saanich, BC
E: I find it hard to imagine that James Shaw is a Victoria Fringe Festival newbie. I’ve heard him talk about his days in theatre from his years long gone, but the intervening twenty years have not been kind. He’s been a busy beaver in the work scene and has forsaken the arts. Shame on him!

After a quick bite at McRae’s down the street, we were rushing to make it on time to this play. I was able to get him out of the house to get an education with a high school style rendition of Broadway’s Avenue Q. This coming-of-age parable is an interesting one. Because of this show’s Broadway success, it has been adapted by the creators so it can be performed by any theatre group in either North America or Europe.

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