Ah, All Hallow’s Eve. What was once the preserve of American college students and small children in cheap nylon witch’s hats going door to door in the neighbourhood and begging for sweets, has now well and truly become an event on the Australian party calendar.
It’s fairly easy to see why. For one thing, everybody in the history of forever has enjoyed an excuse to dress up in outlandish costumes, smear fake blood all over their face or wear a much too short skin without being branded a, um, strumpet.
For another, any venue worth its salt will be seeking to put on an absolutely ripping Halloween party night. They will all vie with one another, like Olympic athletes or male pigeons in search of a mate (for procreation reasons, not a drinking buddy) to be lauded as having the best night, the loosest boat party or the most haunted-house… themed dance floor.
How many fake, polystyrene head stones, leering papier-mâché skulls or plush bats hanging from the ceiling is too much? Indeed, considering this is an event which only comes once in a year, like Christmas Eve or – in my case anyway – a malarial relapse, is too much really just the right amount? The more the better we say. With that in mind, we here at TNT have put our (severed) heads together and had a real think about some of our favourite Halloween parties around Oz. We’re all about sharing and, much like a lifetime subscription to the Folio society or a solid case of Chlamydia, we’re a gift that keeps on giving!
We do it for you guys, because we care. So without much further ado, find your sharpest pumpkin carving knife, your rubber prop axe and your various shades of fake blood make up, because Halloween is nearly upon us – just in time for the release of a new season of The Walking Dead, which is handy, if you think about it.
OZPARTY HALLOWEEN BOAT CRUISE
TELL ME MORE: This is the spookiest, most hauntedest (is that a word?), zombie-rific Halloween themed boat cruise/party of them all! These guys know how to throw a mean shinding and when Halloween rolls around they go all out.
All manner of gore-spatered, partially decomposed and undead revellers from half the countries on Earth will be descending on Sydney Harbour to drink beers, cocktails (or blood) and dance the night away to a huge lineup of DJs on boat with 360º views of the glittering lights.
If you thought the boat cruise itself just wasn’t quite enough Halloween reveling, don’t despair because there is a massive party after too. This will be held at one of Kings Cross’ sweatiest, dankest and, above all, loudest nightclubs in HOME. Here, yet more DJs will be making sure the only thing about the night that is dead is the one guy who forgot to get a good costume and just poked a few eye-holes in a dorm sheet and came as ‘ghost’.
WHEN: The party boat will be departing from King Street Wharf, Darling Harbour on November 1 at 7pm sharp (much like many of the implements of det=ath and torture people will be carryingwith them) so, even if you’re dressed up as a zombie you might want to save your brain dead in-character shuffling until after you’re on board.
THE DETAILS: Tix cost $25, including entry to the afterparty. Contact OzParty at promotions@ozpartyevents.com to gt your hands on one.
SCUBAR
TELL ME MORE: Regular Sydney readers/drinkers will already be familiar with Scubar and their primo backpacker scene. Maybe you’ll have even indulged in a little crab racing. When they’re not pitting crustaceans head to head, they’re serving up the cheapest drinks and bringing together all nations of the world. If the weekly events are an indication of caliber, then their Halloween party is guaranteed to be a scream. We can’t promise there’ll be ghost crab racing though, you’ll just have to hope.
Garb up in your finest and scariest and take aim at the prices for best dressed. Just by showing up you’ll be in a chance to win an amazing three-day surf camp trip as well. There are alcotastic $5 drinks on offer and plenty of other specials all night. Expect the DJ to be serving up as many Halloween/horror related songs that they possibly can. We count only five, so there’s a distinct possibility that they may move on to more danceable tunes. Scubar is already an ideal venue for mingling with your fellow foreigners, so if you want to see how good your travel buddies look as zombies, vampires or smoke alarms, then this Halloween you’ll surely find out.
THE DETAILS: Thursday 31 October, corner of George St and Rawson Place, Sydney
KINGS CROSS HOTEL
TELL ME MORE: So, maybe you’re leaving your adobe this Halloween all kitted out in a white sheet and eye-holes expecting to be turning up to a purely horizontal Halloween experience all on one level. Well shut the door, friend! Lift that sheet, expose those ankles and make a walk-run towards Kings Cross Hotel where they have a five-level haunted house experience waiting for you. Each floor has been kitted out with a different haunted house theme, so don’t be surprised if you wake up next morning with monster calves from running up and down those stairs all night. If your costume permit, you can try your hand at howling at the moon on their rooftop garden bar, or just share a drink with that special witch or wizard you just met and admire the view. There are prizes on offer for best dressed, so if you try a little harder than just sheeting yourself you might actually win yourself something. Think beyond ghosts or the usual clichés and you’ll be a winner for certain. Kings Cross Hotel is set to be the biggest Halloween party in town, and if you turn up in costume, maybe it’ll be the scariest too.
THE DETAILS: Thursday 31 October, 248 Williams Street, Kings Cross, Sydney.
SUBSONIC HALLOWEEN HAROUR CRUISE
TELL ME MORE: If a Halloween boat cruise isn’t already your perfect cup of ea, then a Halloween rave boat cruise is a milky mug of sugary Lipton goodness. Or maybe you just don’t like tea. The infamous subsonic Halloween boat cruise is back for another year of mayhem on the harbour and packing into an afternoon enough DJs to sink a ship. Wait, that’s a terrible analogy… The boat cruise is being headlined by Dirty Doering, fresh from the Berlin underground scene and ready to serve up a mind-explosion on a plate. Amongst the other acts you’ll find a hefty helping off Sydney ad Melbourne faces like Uone, Sash’s Mett Weir, Jay Smalls and more. It’s known to sell out faster than hot cakes, so get in quick and whip out your “zombie raver” or “acid craver” outfit and prepare for a whopping eight hours on the water. For your moolah, that’s more time than any other cruise company offers. With a crew of undead any passing yacht enthusiasts are liable to think you’re all sailing to the underworld on the river of the dead. Watch out, Cerberus! Expect an afternoon of beats freaks, and more fluoro fetishes than you can shake a glow-stick at.
THE DETAILS: 1.30pm-10pm, Saturday, 26 October. Check out Subsonic Music’s Facebook page.
