In just a few weeks’ time, the gates will creak open at the sixth Halloween Masked Ball, which this year takes its inspiration from New York’s infamous pleasure beach and boardwalk. This outlandish event in deepest darkest Cornwall has grown to become Europe’s largest Halloween dance music extravaganza.
The theme of this Halloween’s walk on the wild side is freaks, geeks and human marvels; a reference not only to the tormented and twisted sideshows on offer, but also to the revellers themselves who dress to excess, party like there’s no tomorrow, and help make the sensory-overloading event the highlight of the hedonist’s calendar it has become.
Saturday 29 October sees the Ball return to its Halloween home in Helston, at Los Flambardos – a working theme park, with enough rides, thrills and spills to give Coney Island a run for its money.
For the un-blooded, the Halloween Masked Ball is a rollercoaster ride through a dizzying kaleidoscope of more than a dozen creatively-curated venues, each with its own demented theme and devilishly decadent decor, all set to a scorching musical score.
Hosted by club legends Bugged Out, where party perennials Hot Chip will provide the soundtrack to the live shows, so surreal you’ll be having flashbacks and night-terrors for years.
Jinal’s Technodrome, another new addition will rack up the thrills as well as the beats per minute with its mind-warping audio-visual violence – just remember to scream if you want to go slower.
Like Coney Island itself, the ball is a totally immersive experience with surprises behind every door and every mask. There are live theatre shows, interactive venues, state-of-the-art lights, lasers and special effects – as well as more than 50 DJs and acts, including LTJ Bukem, Camo & Krooked, DJ Yoda, Ewan Pearson, Karma Kid and Felix Dickinson.
Venues to be discovered and digested include the Grand Ballroom, The Asylum taken over by Loose People lunatics, Fangz (the ‘80s disco), Durty Disco’s Warriors Stage, 45 Live’s Big Wheels of Steel and Future Garden’s Disco Diner.
The Halloween Masked Ball takes place on Saturday 29 October, Flambards Theme Park, Clodgey Lane, Helston, TR13 0QA.
Further details including accommodation, coaches and tickets can be found at www.maskedball.net
