By M. Stephanie Murray
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 30, 1997

Eat, Drink and be Scary

Arizona Daily Wildcat

There was a time when Halloween was for kids. The old door-to-door routine was normal, expected even. But no more.

Nowadays, though, all the kids in their Princess Jasmine and Hercules suits are thronging the mall, demanding candy of the poor minimum-wage retail drones stuck inside their stores.

This, of course, means the streets are safe for big kids and treats with a high alcohol content. So round up your posse, dress up like the Spice Girls and check out these Halloween revelry opportunities.

Club Congress has the closest thing we have to a Halloween tradition in this town. This year the party's so big the club can't even hold it all. So we have the Nightmare on Congress Street, Neewalloh Street Dance and Costume Contest to Benefit the Historic Rialto Theatre.

Dating from the 1920s, the Neewalloh Street Dances were, once upon a time, wacky Mardi-Gras-type downtown festivities. This year's resurrection of the tradition looks to provide "a Halloween-themed extravaganza," and, if all goes well with city inspectors, the Historic Rialto Theatre will be open for the party.

Photo courtesy of Amanda Frazee. Arizona Daily Wildcat Forbidden Pigs

Congress Street will be blocked off from Herbert to Fifth avenues for the festivities and bands will be playing in the street and in the club. Featured acts include Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs, The Kings of Pleasure, The Oblivions, Al Perry, The Phantom Limbs, Chris Burroughs, James Dead, Creosote and oh-so-many more.

And if bands galore are not enough for you greedy little trick-or-treaters, there's also the horror that is "Rage in the Cage" wrestling and a costume contest for Most Mutilated Man, Most Wounded Woman and Most Original costume.

The festivities are 21-and-over and tickets are $8 in advance at Hotel Congress or Zia Records, $10 at the door. Doors open on Friday, Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. For more information call 622-8848.

Resurrection of traditions past seems to be a theme of this year's Halloween activities. Old Tucson, 201 S. Kinney Road, brings back an old favorite with Nightfall VI. Visitors to the spook-ified tourist attraction can witness the special effects and stunts of "The Doomed," the pyrotechnics of "The Condemned" and the general ickiness of "The Bloodletting: A Demonstration." These and other shows and exhibits happen all over Old Tucson throughout the night.

Always a family affair, Nightfall VI includes various activities for smaller children and squeamish grown-ups, including storytelling by Gerard Tsonakawa, the haunted mine ride, a petting zoo and Halloween-themed carnival games.

Nightfall's been going on since Oct. 10 and it's scheduled to wrap up on Nov. 2, so this is very nearly your last chance. It is strongly recommended that you get there early to secure your spot for the various shows; the gates open for Nightfall at 5 p.m. and the park is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Nightfall tickets are $9.95 and are available at the front gates. And since no experience is really real anymore unless you have the T-shirt to prove it, Nightfall and Halloween novelty and souvenir items are available in all the Old Tucson gift shops.

Photo courtesy of www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/3446/ Arizona Daily Wildcat Reel Big Fish

Back here in town, Reel Big Fish plans to make a big splash in their Halloween show at Centennial Hall. Billed as a "Skalloween" show, the Fish hope to "Sell Out." (Get it? Ha!) Also appearing are Tucson ska perennials Dave's Big Deluxe and the always-swingin' Hipster Daddy-O and the Hand Grenades.

This show, presented by UAB, Rising Star Entertainment, UApresents and the UA School of Music and Dance, should be a good way to keep the dorm kids off the street. Tickets are only $5 with student ID and are available from Centennial Hall Box Office or any Dillard's ticket outlet. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Nothing lighting your jack-o'-lantern yet? of course there's more:

Every damn bar in town is having drink specials and costume contests. You might try KFMA's live broadcast from The Cage (5851 E. Speedway Blvd.), with $1,000 in prize money. Call 885-3030 for more information.

Tucson's entry into the chirp-pop wars, Shoebomb, plays the Third Stone (500 N. Fourth Ave., 628-8844).

The Outback (296 N. Stone Ave., 622-4700) one-ups the costume contest, promising $300 for the sexiest and an "Outback Lifetime VIP card" for the scariest costume.

The enormous cavern o' fun that is the New West/Gotham/Screwy Louie's (4385 W. Ina Road, 744-7744) has $3,000 to toss away in its costume contest, but the real fun comes from the volatile mix of country kickers, alterna-hipsters and drunken sports fans.

Halloween 97: The Sequel crashes the Tucson Greyhound Park. Get those starving dogs outta the way, here comes "The Largest Party in Arizona History!" Advertised as "2 floors, 4 rooms, 3 disc jockeys and a Special Musical Guest Appearance," this über-party is open to those 18 and older (must be 21 to partake of the spooky drink specials) and shuttles are provided to and from the Greyhound Park. Tickets are $10 in advance at the Arizona Bookstore. Call 566-9080 for shuttle locations and more information.

Then there are the get-high-on-life options:

The Flandrau Science Center, here on campus, is presenting the "Light Fright" laser light show Friday and Saturday at 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Admission is $4.50 for students with ID. You can also stick around for the Metallica and Pink Floyd shows - scar-ee! Call 621-7827 for more information.

Bookman's (1930 E. Grant Road, 325-5767) hosts "A First Edition of Murder," a murder mystery event with food and prizes, including a trip for two to San Diego. Show up at 6:30 p.m. and expect victims to start dropping soon after.

The tasty combination of literature and pop culture is the order of the night at Antigone's Books (411 N. Fourth Ave., 792-3715). The Halloween Xena Bash celebrates everyone's favorite warrior princess with discounts on everything in the store, food and free stuff. Costumes are optional, but this would be a great time for you to try out that rubber breastplate you've been saving for a special occasion.

From murder mysteries and old ghost towns to devilish drinks and sexually ambiguous Greek anachronisms, Halloween in Tucson is nothing if not varied. Whatever your Halloween preferences, you're sure to find something going in town to float your broom.