My name is Dawn and I’ve been blogging these intros. I’m a freelance writer (with clips in  Utne, Wondertime, Salon and Bitch: A Feminist Response to Pop Culture) who has a one-woman marketing biz called Open Book Strategies. That’s how I met John. My colleague, Chris Shirer, brought me on board to help John understand the wonders of blogging. One day as we sat discussing tags, categories and other WordPress excitement John said, “Hey, you want to help us put together one hell of a Halloween party?” So I’ve been helping with our web 2.0 marketing including blogging the intros and twittering @HighballHallown. Tonight I’ll be helping staff the beer tents and lending a hand to the tear down. I’m thrilled to have had an inside view on what’s going to be the most exciting event of the year!

What’s your favorite kind of Halloween candy?

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, hands down. The kids know to just hand ‘em over.

Least favorite Halloween candy?

Raisins. Because I never bought into that “they’re nature’s candy” line.

What was your best ever Halloween costume?

The Raggedy Ann costume my mom made me when I was 9. It was impressive.

Which celebrity costume do you hope you DON’T see this year?

I can’t think of one, as long as it’s clever.

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

I’m excited to see the creativity of the crowds and of the designers. I can’t wait to see the live musicians because I hear they’re swell. And I’m looking forward to checking out the pics on flickr tomorrow!

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…