Festival plans massive upgrade for second go-round
Highball Halloween took over the Short North Arts District with a vengeance last year. Thousands of people packed High Street for the inaugural event that ultimately changed the game as far as local Halloween entertainment is concerned.
Focused on fashion and masquerade, last year’s Highball Halloween featured a costume contest, couture fashion show and a few food vendors, plus an appearance by Mayor Michael Coleman.
Nina West—who currently holds the national title for Entertainer of the Year—will be hosting the event again, but it looks like that’s the only thing that has carried over from last year. The festival has received a substantial upgrade, according to John Angelo, head of the Short North Business Association, the group responsible for the event.
For one, the festival site has been expanded and moved north. This year’s Highball will still be on High Street, but between Third and Fifth avenues, which is a 50 percent increase in the size, Angelo said.
He also said every aspect of the festival will be bigger. Bigger stage, more food vendors and better entertainment. There will also be an added $2 cover to help cover the cost of the upgrade.
In order to hash out the details, Metromix chatted with Angelo about the massive makeover.
I know this is the second year of the festival, but for those who missed last year, what is Highball Halloween and how did it come to be?
It’s a carnival/Mardi Gras fantasy fest. The Short North Business Association wanted to create an event that celebrated fashion and we noticed that fall had always been a spot in our calendar that needed filling in. The idea was that we wanted to come up with something that celebrated the creativity of masquerade. It just so happens that the event is on Halloween.
To tell you what Highball is, is to tell you want it is not. It’s not about the dark side of Halloween. It’s not a gore fest. And it’s not a drunken street party.
How does fashion play a part in the festival?
The focus is on the runway. There are three costume contests and a couture fashion show featuring local designers. Last year’s fashion show was judged by Terri Stevens and Kelli Martin from Project Runway. This year we’re bringing Terri back and hoping to also include Althea Harper, who’s currently on the show.
This year there will be 12 local designers featured and about 60 models walking the runway. We’ll be giving out around $5,000 in cash and prizes over the course of the night.
What will be different about the festival this year?
This year is going to be much bigger and better. The theme overall this year is Cirque. We’re taking old school circus and fusing it with that carnivale feel.
We’re going to build an 80-foot runway right in the middle of High Street. It will have full trussing with all the stage lighting, large projection screen, live camera crews [taping] contestants as they come down the runway, and two remote LCD screens so the show can bee seen throughout the festival.
There’s going to be a whole new layer of technology. There’ll be video projections on nearby buildings, zone sound so the minute you step into the festival area there’ll be that night club feel, DJ Sonya and DJ Moxy will be on hand to man our street club scene, and small venues along the street will be individually spot-lit featuring circus performers. It’s going to be hot.
How is this different from other Halloween parties/events in Columbus?
I think the focal of the festival, which is fashion, is what makes it different from any other Halloween gathering. It’s about celebrating the artistry of masquerade. We didn’t want to just through a party just to have a party—we wanted some substance. And we’ve created something that could really have an impact on emerging designers.
Last year’s festival celebrated artistry in a playful way for all age groups. It was gay, it was straight, it was for downtown folks, it was for those from the suburbs. There was a wonderful mosaic of people who came to be apart of it, and that’s what we’re hoping to recreate this year.
Highball Halloween will take place from 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Oct. 31, on High Street between Third and Fifth avenues. Admission is $2. For more information, visit the newly rennovated Highball Halloween Web site.
~from Metromix.com
