By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
An Osoyoos Halloween festival is returning with a lot in store for attendees this year with the fourth annual All Hallows Festival running on the weekend of October 25 and 26.
The event, hosted by the Wide Arts National Association, takes place in Gyro Park, and is a festival of Halloween that blends both the traditional origin of the holiday with modern festivities and elements.
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The All Hallows Festival is billed as an event that “celebrates the South Okanagan’s diverse bounty of local artists in a progressive, family-friendly Halloween harvest-style event”. The festival significantly promotes the family-friendly aspect, with something for everyone in store.
Several activities are included in the festival’s program, featuring everything from live music and dance performances, and acrobatics performances, to food trucks and, for adults, beer and wine service. On the Sunday of the festival, a vendor market will also be set up, for curators to market their crafts.
The setup of the event schedule is such that the Saturday and the Sunday each have their own vibe, as Wina Poliquin, an organizer of the event, explains.
“We usually start up with (the) ambient aerial performance, then there’s some electronic musicians that are going to be on (Saturday),” Poliquin says. “And then the Sunday, from 11 p.m. till 6 p.m., it turns into, like, a freaky carnival.”
The Saturday will also see fire performers take the stage for a 7:30 to 8 p.m. time slot, while the Sunday performances feature dancing troupes from several different areas. The most popular performance each year has been the Witches’ Dance, which begins with a “Witches on the Water” paddleboard segment before shifting onto the festival grounds.
In just the first three editions, the All Hallows Festival has already gained some popularity and is well-attended.
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“(Sunday afternoon) is when we have the most people on the ground, probably almost a thousand people together at the same time,” Poliquin notes. “The event usually brings about 2,700 people over the two days.”
For each running of the All Hallows Festival, Firehall Brewery has come out with a festive product to contribute to the beer and wine service, and Poliquin says that will again be a feature at this year’s edition.
“They always do a specially-crafted Witches’ Brew for the festival,” she said, also pointing out that Firehall Brewery sponsors the festival’s beer gardens.
Presenting partners of this year’s All Hallows Festival, in addition to Wide Arts National Association, include the Watermark Beach Resort, and the BC Arts Council.
