Happy Halloween!
Global News Morning Calgary team wanted to get festive this Halloween.
News anchors Dallas Flexhaug and Blake Lough, chief meteorologist Tiffany Lizée, traffic anchor Leslie Horton, and reporter Michael King took some time away from their daily grind to try on different hats: Halloween hats, that is.
They teamed with Calgary’s The Costume Shoppe who assembled some fun ideas from its arsenal of 2,500 costumes.
Owner Ryan Schoel, rental specialist Holly Benallack, and associate Madisson Collins let the team zip in like the Tasmanian Devil of the Looney Tunes cartoons to get outfitted in a number of different costumes.
Anchor Blake Lough (aka Ron Burgundy, aka the tall minion, aka the mad hatter and more) says one of the best parts about working on a morning show is getting to take on some lighter projects.
“It’s not every day to get to dress up and act silly.”
The hosts settled on six different team themes: Minions, Anchorman, Barbie, Circus, The Addams Family, and Alice in Wonderland.
“I’m normally not the biggest fan of Halloween or dressing up, but The Costume Shoppe made sure we had a ton of fun and getting together in the studio with everyone on the team really brought the costumes to life,” said reporter Michael King (aka Ken, aka circus lion, aka Uncle Fester and more).
Working with Global Calgary graphic artist Kevin Carvey, who made up some creative background images, the team put on their best (or most mediocre) acting skills.
“The whole thing was a blast, but my favourite was seeing how everyone would get into character with each costume change!” said meteorologist Tiffany Lizée (aka Alice, aka Brick, aka Enid and more).
Traffic specialist Leslie Horton (aka Queen of Hearts, aka Ken, aka magician and more) got her dance moves going and channeled her inner queen!
Anchor Dallas Flexhaug (aka Barbie, aka Cheshire Cat, aka Wednesday and more) says Halloween is supposed to be fun and light-hearted and this sure was.
“My favourite part of this whole process was spending time with the Global News Morning team in such a fun way. From trying on racks full of costumes for hours, to getting back into the studio to work with our stellar directors, Bronwyn Henry and Lee Dillman, and entire studio and control room staff. it was a blast!”
Global Calgary editor Leo Kim brought the looks to life in the edit booth, creating the final videos. A lot ended up on the cutting room floor… and it’s probably a good thing some of that footage won’t ever see the light of day.
As for Halloween this year, The Costume Shoppe says costs are up and sales are soft. Owner Ryan Schoel says the U.S. dollar is driving up costs, which has led to higher costume prices for consumers.
Schoel says sales have been a bit slower this year, given the affordability crisis and people wanting to save money where they can.
As for top costumes this year? Schoel says there is no one clear winner.
But, Schoel says he’s also seeing a resurgence in witch costumes this year and Ghostface, from the popular Scream movie franchise, remains a popular choice.
Happy Halloween!