I made it home just in time to change back into my
costume, prepare a quick snack, and get ready for the arrival of
trick-or-treaters. I had several boxes
of chocolates and candies to hand out. Rather
than spend a small fortune at the Northern Store, I ordered my Halloween treats
from Well.ca. I hoped they were enough. I had heard from veteran teachers that one
household could get as many as four hundred visitors and the southern teachers
are the first to be 'targeted'. By 5pm,
the sun had disappeared and it was night.
I stood by the door, candy in hand, and waited.
Knocking
on doors before entering a house is viewed as a southern custom. Doors mostly remain unlocked in northern communities and people just walk in. If you don't want visitors, just lock your
door. The Inuit only knock on qallunaaq
(non-Inuit) doors . . . most of the time.
The first few trick-or-treaters knocked on my door and said the magic
words - ("Trick or Treat!"). I
gave generous portions of candy and repeated the routine several more times
before deciding to keep my door unlocked.
The only downside was that I had to man the door at all times, otherwise
someone could just walk in and take all the candy.
Yes, that's a laptop on the back. |
Even
though Arctic Bay is a small town, the cold weather made it impractical for
trick-or-treaters to walk from one end of town to the other. Everyone got rides on a skidoo, ATV, or
vehicle; after all, they only had two hours to collect their candy before the
community Halloween contest. As the
night continued, I realized that I had fallen victim to being too generous with
the candy. After the first hour, I had
to ration so that I wouldn't run out. I
even got my private candy stash ready should the worst happen. Thankfully, that did not happen. In fact, there was still candy left in the
bowl.
Banging pots to scare people. |
Several
southern teachers and I got a ride down to the community hall by one of the
RCMP officers. "This is my first
time riding in the back of an RCMP truck!" I humourously remarked. "And it won't be the last," someone
added. Rows of chairs had been set up on
the sides, forming a large square with an open centre. We took our seats near the front stage. The hall began to fill up steadily with
spectators. By the time the spooky festivities
started, it looked like the entire town was in attendance.
As
mentioned before, my students were talking non-stop about the costume contest,
and seriously wanted me to attend. They
said it was the event of
Halloween. I reassured them all that I
would attend because this was my first Halloween in Arctic Bay. Indeed, the community costume contest is the
highlight of the night and for good reasons. Contestants compete for cash prizes and are
judged on creativity, originality, scariness, and downright bizarre. From what I remember, there were three
categories: mothers who dressed up their infants, kids, and adults. The contestants in each category would parade
in the centre of the hall, letting everyone take pictures and short films. The judges on stage would observe and record
their decisions on paper.
The
bizarre costumes were worn by the adult contestants and they were beyond anything
I have ever seen before. It was
difficult for me to comprehend their designs.
Were they representing something/someone or just wearing whatever to
shock the audience? I'm glad I took
pictures because I still find it hard to explain what they were wearing. The one thing that was common among the
costumes was that the faces were covered.
I was told one of the main features of the contest is not knowing who is
wearing what costume until the very end.
All I knew at the start of the contest was that Paulette, the high
school art teacher, was wearing a black raven costume.
After
the parade of costumes, the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place winners of each category
were announced by the MC. As part of their
acceptance, the winners were required to reveal their 'true identities' to the
audience. Many children and adults
flooded into the centre of the hall to get a close up view and/or picture of
the winners. Each reveal was greeted by
a thunderous applause. The contestant
who won the adult category was a student from Inuujaq School. He dressed himself up as an old man in a
suitcase. During the parade, he had to
be pulled by someone. After the costume
contest, the southern teachers and I were driven back to our respective homes by
the RCMP.
My
first Halloween in Arctic Bay was fun and full of surprises. The community costume contest is something
that just needs to be seen to be believed.
If I ever decide to participate, I'm either going to have to buy a really
expensive costume or invest the time and effort in making my own.
End
of Halloween Mini-Series
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