Despite uncertainty over which weekend will see the bulk of the festivities, student groups said they are ready for Madison’s legendary Halloween extravaganza.
“It’s a little strange not knowing when Halloween will actually be, but we’ll be there,” said director of SAFE Services Jane Goemans.
The programs SAFEride and SAFEwalk provide students who call them with an escort home.
“I think we usually get more calls for Halloween itself,” Goemans said, referring to the SAFEwalk and SAFEride programs.
The Wisconsin Union Directorate is also anticipating a fun-filled Halloween, although the details are not set in stone. “We had a big masquerade ball last year,” WUD vice president Aaron Hammes said.
He said there will be a “big, overarching event at the union” for Halloween, but explained the activity depends on how much money is available after first-quarter finances are settled.
Hammes also mentioned the Starlight Cinema’s special presentation of Experiments in Terror, free at the Frederic March Play Circle, which will take place at the Memorial Union on Halloween itself.
Additionally, the Union Theater will play host to a concert by G. Love & Special Sauce on Nov. 2, the “second” weekend of Halloween. The group is known for its eclectic influences, which include reggae, jazz and folk.
Promoting Awareness-Victim Empowerment plans to kick off the Halloween revelry Friday, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
“We’re having a drag show at Union South,” PAVE chair Stephanie Byrnes said. “Then, from 9:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m., we are working with a coalition of campus multicultural groups to put on a dance.”
Students in Chadbourne Residential College are anticipating a visit from about 40 young children from south Madison’s Allied-Dunn’s Marsh Center, a neighborhood organization for underprivileged youth, on the Sunday before Halloween. In the works are a haunted house in the basement of Barnard Hall, a carnival and trick-or-treating in Chadbourne Hall.
“Kids actually told us they thought the guys’ floors were pretty scary,” recalled Matt Smuksta, CRC’s community-service mission-group co-chair, referring to last year’s successful trick-or-treat event.
Students who consider the SERF’s late night activities on Thursdays a treat may not be able to enjoy the regular service Halloween night itself.
“We’ve been having some problems with staffing for that night,” said Pam Peacock of the Recreational Sports Department. “Whether the SERF will be open late or not “hasn’t really been decided yet.”
Most people might think gore on Halloween scene only includes traditional fake blood. But interested students can donate real blood during the Halloween Blood Drive in room 154 of the Red Gym. From noon until 5 p.m. on Oct. 31, students can stop by to donate blood regardless of whether or not they are dressed as vampires.
For another Halloween alternative, students have a chance to see the Fall Student Dance Concert at Lathrop Hall from Oct. 31 until Nov. 2, with performances running each night at 8 p.m.
Students will no doubt have ample opportunities for fun regardless of their preferences — there’s something for everyone this Halloween in Madison.
