Calgary costume crew in high gear creating ‘crazy things’ for Halloween event

The costume department at Calgary’s Heritage Park was abuzz with activity when an elegantly costumed figure stepped forward with a greeting.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, ghouls and goblins, and the undead,” Rick Patassini said. “Welcome to Ghouls’ Night Out!”

Patassini is playing a ringmaster at the historical village’s annual Halloween spooktacular.

Among the other characters getting the finishing touches on their costumes was a man dressed in a pink tutu and tights, topped by a camouflage jacket and a military-style beret.

“Reporting for duty, this is G.I. Fairy Joe,” Trevor Matheson said. “Half soldier, half ballerina!”

Matheson developed the character for an indoor show he’s created.

Called A Toy’s Story – A New Adventure with Sherriff Woody, the show will be performed three times each evening at Ghouls’ Night Out.

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The busiest person in the room was the manager of the costume department, Meg Furler, who also designs Heritage Park’s costumes year-round.

Furler enjoyed the chance to showcase some of the costumes her team has put together.

“This is one of our brides of Frankenstein,” Furler said. “This is our man-eating plant.”

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Patassini is one of almost 300 volunteers who put in long hours preparing for and performing at Ghouls’ Night Out.

“This is awesome,” Patassini said. “Like a fantasy almost for me. I love Halloween!”

He said it provides a nice break from his regular working routine at a warehouse.

And creating all the different Halloween costumes is a nice change for Furler, who spends most of the year working on more conventional historical outfits.

“All of these crazy things that we normally wouldn’t get to do,” Furler said. “So it’s a really fun opportunity for us to be really creative.”

Ghouls’ Night Out features a full slate of activities and performances, which Heritage Park says are perfect for children aged three to nine.

The event runs each evening from Thursday, Oct. 24 to Sunday, Oct. 27, with more information available online.

Matheson said the performer who’ll be wearing the G.I. Fairy Joe costume is in for a treat this Halloween.

“It’s actually quite comfortable — form-fitting.”