Best Halloween Haunts

In the next couple of week we are going to explore some of the best places to celebrate Halloween around the world.

New York
Started by Greenwich Village mask maker and puppeteer Ralph Lee in 1973, the Parade began as a walk from house to house in his neighborhood for his children and their friends. After the second year of this local promenade, Theater for the New City stepped in and produced the event on a larger scale as part of their City in the Streets program. That year the Parade went through many more streets in Greenwich Village and attracted larger participation because of the involvement of the Theater. After the third year, the Parade formed itself into a not-for-profit organization, discontinued its association with Theater for the New City and produced the Parade on its own.

This year marks the 39th Annual New York Village Halloween Parade which is the largest celebration of its kind in the world and has been picked by Festivals International as "The Best Event in the World" for October 31. It originally started as a neighbourhood walk and now draws more than 60,000 costumed participants and an estimated 2 million spectators.


Mexico

From pre Columbian times, El Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead has been celebrated in Mexico, and other Latin countries. This is a very special ritual, since it is the day in which the living remember their departed relatives.  Sometimes, when people of other cultures hear for the first time about the celebration of the Day of the Dead, they mistakenly think it must be: gruesome, terrifying, scary, ugly and sad. Nothing further from the truth, Day of the Dead is a beautiful ritual in which Mexicans happily and lovingly remember their loved relatives that have died.  Much like when we go to a graveyard to leave some lovely flowers on a tomb of a relative.

 On November 1st and 2nd Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead, and there are two very special places where this ritual is specially impressive: Mixquic, a small town in Mexico City, and in Janitzio, a charming little island in the state of Michoacan.

Toronto, Canada
Halloweek is as the name suggests, a whole week of wicked fun and games at this annual event held on and around Church Street. There is a Village Fair, a Jack O’Lantern competition, a devilicious culinary tour and a pub crawl amongst the ghoulish activities.

Halloweek runs from October 24 to October 31st on Church Street in the heart of Toronto’s Queer Village. This week-long Halloween celebration is full of tricks, treats and more eye candy than you can gobble in one glance.

On Halloween night, Wednesday, October 31st, don't miss the street-closing block party from 7pm to 11pm. Grab a costume or your camera and drop into Canada's largest outdoor Halloween event!

Looking for that uniquely different vacation destination. Call Rawhide Travel and Tours today (602) 843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com. We can help!

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