If you thought all the fun of Halloween was lost in childhood, you are in for a wonderful surprise at Carleton. Each Halloween, many students, some faculty, and even Schiller come together in the Chapel for a midnight concert and costume contest. It truly brings the fun back into Halloween; however, to my recollection, it doesn’t bring the sweetness, so bring your own candy and your creativity as well.
At Halloween concert, you’ll quickly learn if you haven’t already that President Oden is one of the coolest people academia has ever produced. He too gets into the dark spirit of Halloween Night and comes in costume to commence the evening. The two times I’ve been to the concert, the Prez has showed up as Mister Rogers to share a scary story and Indiana Jones to beat Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, into the Temple of Doom. Both characters were played to a T by President Oden and he is a great leader by example. He is creative and really becomes his characters.
Creativity and effort are the key components of a successful Halloween costume. So, please don’t come as Jesus, it has been done far too many times. It has gotten so ridiculous that even a streaking “shark” (a.k.a. naked guy with Frisbee between buttocks) is more appealing to the eye than another Jesus representation.
Look for something new, or something completely out of this world. For example, one of the best costumes last year was a group ten students that represented the Solar System and each planet was tied to the Sun, and Saturn even carried a number of hula-hoops. Then there was a group of Mario Kart characters, Warren from Something about Mary, and the entire Napoleon Dynamite cast. There was even a Jihadist, sort of a funny and very scary costume, especially because he sat right in front of me. I’m pretty sure that at any other location, he would have been detained by Homeland Security.
Make sure that people know who you are by immersing yourself into your costume/character. If you have a good costume, you shouldn’t have to tell anyone who or what you are. If your character has an accent, learn it and use it.
So, put on your thinking cap and start preparing your costume for this year’s Halloween Concert and costume contest.
