We hope you had as much fun as we did at HighBall Halloween!! The turn out from the community was amazing, the costumes were dazzling, and YOU made the night so much fun!

The costume contest was also a success! Hundreds of people entered but only few made it past the judges selections, and only ONE was lucky enough to take home the prize as overall best costume.  Sean Sproul, “The Devil,” was the overall costume winner at HighBall. Sproul received gifts from our sponsors but also a $1,000 check from The CW.

We had a couple questions for Sean Sproul about his devil creation and the making of his costume.

1.  What was your inspiration behind the your costume?

This costume actually has a little bit of a history going back to Halloween of 1999.  My partner and I had seen “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and decided to go as satyrs or pans (half goat, half man).  We had purchased some ceramic horns with an elastic band to hold them to your head at the Renaissance Festival earlier that Summer, so those got us started.  We then picked up a Simplicity pattern for a Halloween costume which made the furry goat’s legs, but the feet weren’t quite dramatic enough.  We painted our upper bodies with glitter paint and exaggerated our facial features with makeup.  We entered the Halloween costume contest at the Eagle but left disappointed.  So, the costumes were put into storage, sigh.  Then in 2001 a friend of mine who is a hairdresser decided we should enter as a different team.  We decided to go as dark angel (Satan) and white angel (Michael).  We started with the face of Satan which wasn’t a full mask but exaggerated features made of latex to be adhered to the face with spirit gum.  This included horns, cheeks, nose, ears, and chin.  We were just going to fill in the remaining exposed skin with some sort of face paint.  Then I had my first revelation.  What about using liquid latex to pain over the skin instead?  I didn’t want to shave my head, so we got a skull cap to cover my hair.  I knew I would have to shave any remaining exposed body hair, but that was okay.  We hadn’t considered the lower body yet, and then it came to us.  Why not use the legs we had used two years prior as part of the satyr outfits?  They needed to look more sinister though, so I spray painted them with some black paint, but didn’t expect or want them to be solid black, just charred looking.  So, I shaved my upper body, used spirit gum to adhere the facial features and skull cap, then Glenn started painting away with the red liquid latex.  He put on several layers letting each dry before adding the next.  He used black liquid latex for accents.  Then I just slipped into the legs and put the hooves on when we got to the bar.  I added the chain harness, spiked collar, spiked wrist bands, and bicep bands as finishing touches.  My hands are covered with rubber devil hands and held on by the spiked wrist bands.

2.  How did you come up with the idea?

The evolution of this costume is in answer #1.  Back in 2001 it took second place at the Eagle, and first place at Tradewinds.  It didn’t garner any attention at Union Station, sigh.

3.  What materials did you use to make your pants and shoes?

The pants are made out of faux fur, dark brown for the most part, light brown for the inner portions.  I then painted them with black to give them a burnt, more sinister look.  In my opinion it’s the shoes that really make the costume.  It’s a pair of tennis shoes screwed into a plank of wood about 3 inches in diameter with a notch taken out of the front to make it appear to be a cloven hoof.  The plank is about 6 1/2 inches on the back and 5 1/2″ on the front so the shoe sits on the top at a one inch decline.  The shoes are attached with screws and washers through the balls of the soul.  The result causes you to walk on your tippy toes, sort of a reverse high heel.  It’s as if you’re wearing high heels, but there is not heel support.  The support is under the balls of your feet, so it’s like you’re walking on your tippy toes.  The shoes were then covered in the dark brown fur with velcro strips to hold the fur in place over the top of the shoe as any visual sign of tennis shoes would definitely take away from the visual effect.  I credit my background in roller and ice skating for my balance.  I credit training for and running two marathons per year for my endurance.

4.  Which shops were you able to find your costume accessories?

The liquid latex came from The Garden.  Everything else was either from JoAnn Fabrics or Halloween costume shop close by.  The harness, wrist bands, collar, and bicep bands came from The Garden as well.

5.  Were you surprised you won the entire contest?

Most definitely.  I honestly didn’t even know what the prize was and didn’t expect to win.  I just asked my partner and friend if it was time for the Devil to come out of the closet yet again.  I had unveiled him a few times at private parties, and he always seemed to impress, so I figured why not?  It’ll be fun.  When we got to the Highball Halloween crowd it started to sink in to my partner just how effective the costume was based on how folks were reacting to it.  There literally were some who backed away and were sincerely creeped out by it, and others who seemed impressed and wanted pictures of or with the Devil.  To me that’s the real fun of it since I’m usually a shy and withdrawn person especially in crowds, but a costume allows you to shed that and just enjoy the attention.

6. How did you find out about HighBall Halloween?

My co-worker and friend Lori told me about it.  I’m ashamed to say I didn’t even know it was a scheduled event.

7.  What did you enjoy most about HighBall?

The interactions with the crowd and other contestants.  In my opinion the group I was in, Cirque Fantasy, was the best of all.  There were so many great costumes that I wouldn’t have wanted to be the one choosing.  I tried to interact with other contestants on stage and was cheering on the #18 group of black/white zombies.  I thought they looked great as did many others.

8.  Will you dress up for HighBall again next year?

My partner was initially saying not for a few years, but I think I might be able to convince him to give it another go.  He was so shocked that we won.  It was a great evening for us, one we won’t forget.

9. What costume tips would you recommended to other HighBall attendees?

I think the homemade inventions are the best, so try to be as creative as you can.  Some of the masks were awesome, but it was apparent that they were store bought.  Also, have fun with it, enjoy the moment.  If you’re approaching it as a task/job it will show.  Don’t take yourself so seriously.  As for my costume it was challenging to walk in, but I think that added to the effect.  Perhaps I could come up with an improvement in that regard.

Walker Evans is one of our city’s biggest fans so it’s no surprise to find him front and center on our HighBall planning committee. Besides serving on the North Market Development Authority Board of Trustees, the Create Columbus Commission, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and the Columbus Metropolitan Club, Walker is the founder of Columbus Underground, the virtual community of the movers and shakers in Columbus. Walker is wearing several HighBall hats: Marketing Committee, Online Promotions and Volunteer Recruitment.

What’s your favorite kind of Halloween candy?

Anything sweet.

Least favorite Halloween candy?

Those unidentifiable chewy things wrapped in orange or black wax paper.

What was your best ever Halloween costume?

I loved going as Mario when I was a kid.

Are there any celebrity costumes you don’t want to see?

Sexy Sarah Palin Outfit

What part of the HighBall are you most excited about and why?

I’m looking forward to the party-in-the-street ambiance that you can’t find at any other Columbus Festival

HighBall keeps taking more strides toward becoming Columbus’ newest signature event. And though it never ceases to amaze me how much effort it takes to create a high-quality event, it also never ceases to amaze me how fun it can be when all the pieces begin to interconnect.

HighBall earned its stripes with the city this week when the department of transportation signed off on closing High Street from Buttles to Hubbard for the night. Though we had crossed our fingers for 6:00PM, we’re quite happy with the 6:30PM close time we were granted. This is a big deal. Closing High Street on a regular work day right after rush hour isn’t something that happens all that often. In fact, High Street event closings of the last five years have really been limited to holiday timings, such as Doo Dah’s 25th anniversary on the 4th of July. Everyone from the city to COTA to the Convention Center have now weighed in on HighBall. The question: “What is the balance of community experience versus the temporary traffic flow inconvenience?” The answer: “Extremely positive!”

Earlier this week, Charly Bauer and I shared the HighBall story with our friends at Experience Columbus. Paul Astleford, Pete McGinty, Xenia Palus, Beth Ervin, Kari Kaughman and the rest of the team (nearly 40 in all) were thrilled about the potential the event represents. In fact, we reconvened a few days later and discussed a regional push that involves sharing the story with upwards of 2,000 writers! Stay tuned on that front. Maybe we can get the entire state talking about it.

The key is the vision for the event and the role it plays in Columbus’ offerings. The development committee has been working extremely hard to make sure HighBall IS an artistic, experiential, wow-factor event… and that it IS NOT a mindless beerfest. This is a question looming for many folks watching the evolution of HighBall. This weekend I ran in to Haley Boehning at the Gallery Hop. She wasn’t shy about expressing her concern that an OU Halloween-bash-clone was in the works. I can understand her trepidations, but I have faith in the creative class of Columbus. If we start this event by taking the artistry dimension to the max, we’ll set the tone for years to come. The eye-candy we create this year will set the bar for the event next year. It’s our competitive spirit. The costumes will become even more elaborate. The staging more magical. The event more experiential.

If we inspire, challenge and reward… it will happen.

Now, I’m not saying that every person who comes to HighBall has to create a 9′ tall, flowing fabric, Priscilla Queen of the Dessert, screaming drag queen ensemble. A few would be cool! Expectation: maybe 10% of the attendees will really take it over the top and invest the energy to make a real statement. The other 90%? They will be there to see what the 10% do! And that’s just fine. That’s all it takes to make the difference.

So here’s to HighBall: the launch, the experience, the evolution. Let’s make it our experience. Columbus’ experience. And let’s make the region buzz with envy that we can pull it off!

Next up… convincing the mayor he would look great in a Venetian Carnivale mask.

Ciao, for now.

ja

So HighBall is launched and now we set about making the vision reality. As a longtime event producer, I firmly believe every event should have key features that make it truly experiential. These features combine to become the signature, and differentiate it from all other events. They keep people buzzing for weeks or months after the event fades. For HighBall, there are many features, but the overarching (Short North pun intended) signature has to be its artistic creativity. HighBall will be an immersion in absolute fabulousness. It will be a celebration of Columbus’ creative class. It’s not the stereotypical witches, goblins and ghouls. It’s wow-factor, alter-egos, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and trick-or-treat “eye candy.” It’s simply fabulous.

Sometimes fabulousness isn’t easy. In fact, it can be downright arduous. But I so admire the people who decide to invest the effort because they live for the fabulous moments. They invest their art and soul into a project because they want to create an experience for themselves and for all those around them. That artistic drive is at the heart of HighBall. And it is what will make HighBall different than anything out there.

Today, here’s the story behind the couture costume fashion showdown… this is a competition for professional fashion designers and design students. Each contestant will present 3-4 items from his/her collection and add a HighBall couture costume to the set. Then they will hit a 40 foot runway staged in the middle of High Street. Thumping music, struttin’ models, a wild audience, and 4 decision-making judges. The incomparable Nina West, drag queen extraordinaire and 2008 National Entertainer of the Year, will be our celebrity emcee for this fierce fashion showdown. Someone will be crowned HighBall couture costume designer of the year and receive a $1,000 prize package… and, of course, ultimate bragging rights. More so, perhaps, all the designers will have an awesome platform to share their creativity, both in their signature collections and in their couture costumes, with an audience of influential and inspired fashion fanatics… Columbus’ creative class.

Our first two enthusiastic partners are Kelli Martin (a recent participant on Project Runway and founder of AntiLabel), and Esther Chung. Both have design businesses in Columbus, and both have a passion for the expressiveness of Halloween. If you are interested in being a spotlighted designer in the heart of the couture costume fashion showdown, drop me an email at johnangelo@shortnorth.org or give me a call at 614.299.8050 x13… and help spread the word.

Next time, details on the costume contest (for the general public) and on the dogtober halloween procession.

Ciao for now.

It’s a little early in the morning, oh ’bout 2:30AM, and I’m sorting thru the images for tonight’s HighBall Halloween event launch. It was a great day with all the pieces coming together in grand style. I have to say this is one of the most creative, talented and just downright fun teams I’ve had the privilege to work with. This is not going to be your basic slasher, frightmare Halloween. HighBall is going to absolutely pulse with creativity, self-experession and energy. Plan to be talking about this one for months.

Today (hmmm… technically yesterday now), we had our final committee meeting before the launch. The ideas were flying. It was as if hundreds of seeds had been planted over the last month and now all of a sudden they had really taken root and all these definitive concepts were ready to be harvested. The whole story will come out tonight, but here are a few details that are just downright fun…

Mark Moorehead and his team at Moorehead Design nailed the image for the event with a slammin’ logo and absolutely hot array of images. When you see the pics, you’ll get the idea.

We’ve decided to close High Street from Buttles to Hubbard. Thanks to Paul Liu’s amazing zeal for experiential happenings, we’re tapping into Haiku’s parking lot at the north end to stage live bands throughout the evening. At the south end of the strip, we’ll be offering up a fun-as-hell dance scene with a couple of Columbus’ hottest DJ’s… starting with DJ Moxy.

The costume scene is getting a real kickstart. We’ve already signed on two rockin’ fashion designers to begin creating original works of art for a runway scene. Welcome aboard Kelli and Esther. Our goal is to have a dozen Columbus designers really show their stuff.

More details tonight, including the Dogtober Howloween Procession, announcements about the costume contest and new of a certain national Entertainer of the Year lending a hand. See ya at Skully’s. 5:30P.

Now that Art al Fresco has made a successful debut, the Short North is turning its focus to the next big thing… HighBall Halloween: A Masquerade Party on High Street. On Wednesday, Sept. 10 we’ll unveil the full details during the event launch at Skully’s Music Diner, but right now the development committee is debating some of the key aspects. Charly Bauer (Jeni’s Ice Creams) wants to see “fabulous” costumes at every turn and an outrageous diva-emcee like Nina West. Dawn Friedman agrees that the “wow factor” should be off the chart if it’s going to be worthy of Short North status, but thinks there has to be a twist to the event. Ryan Morgan thinks inviting Columbus’ couture fashion designers to create original costumes for a Project Runway-style fashion showdown would get juices flowing. Walker Evans wants to see high-profile prizes for the best, most creative, and most outrageous costumes. The next meeting, tomorrow afternoon, will iron out the details.

There are also many logistics questions to answer by Wednesday. What part of High Street will we close for the masquerade? Should we have bands or DJs? Dancing or parades? Beer or wine!? Who gets to be the Joker!?

More to come…