By: Marcia Abramson
I believe that it is New York's version of Rio de Janeiro's Mardi Gras.After the main parade ends, the frivolity just seems to just get started on Christopher Street with a "Promenade" of gay couples. The party mood lasts until the wee hours with everybody having a wonderful time.Florida's Key West has a 10-day Fantasy Fest during the last week of October. It was started during the slow season to attract tourists and it proved to be very successful.Crowds of 75,000 people participate in 10 days of outrageous celebrations with awesome costumes. The warm weather can also be conducive to a great deal of exposure. But the morality squad and the city fathers recognized that the city coffers were being filled by the Fest and the fun continues until the last day of October.Now, Old Montreal has three days, Oct. 29, 30 and 31 for a grand masquerade party with monsters and goblins invading the streets in and around the streets of the staid beautiful city. This happening will be centered on Place Jacques-Cartier and Bonsecours Market and is the first event of this magnitude to become an annual Fall Halloween Celebration. The organizers are planning to have an assortment of sinister characters in the dark enclaves throughout the area waiting to greet the brave festival-goers. This program is similar to the Old Quebec Festival I attended in costume recently. It was great fun.This is a wonderful way to spend a weekend in Montreal. Air Canada has some convenient flights, excellent public transportation and moderately priced hotels to make this a great adventure if you can leave on short notice. If not, there is always next year.In addition to the wonderful Grand Masquerade Party, shopping in Montreal is still great. The Canadian dollar is worth about $1.33 compared to the U.S. dollar and that is fantastic for shopaholics like me. The Grand Masquerade Party will begin with the Opening Night on Friday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. when the public can meet the Ange dechu (Fallen Angel) and enjoy many other planned activities. Everybody can participate in the Procession Funebre (Funeral Procession). This is the time to put on your disguise and join in the fun. Most activities will take place under the stars and by lantern-light, but some will take place indoors at the Antre (cavern) where celebrants can warm up with a hot drink or a cold beer. There is also a Hanged Man, the tragic Jack-O-Lantern for additional color and a visit to La Gare, where the station master - always on the lookout for guests - gathers groups together every 30 minutes for excursions into the dark, hidden streets and alleyways where they meet up with local ghosts, the Fantomes du Vieux Montreal (the ghosts of Old Montreal). These terrifying experiences are modified from time to time by a bit of light and soothing music. Of course, there are fortune-tellers galore, people emerging from tombs asking passers by for help. Your visit can be immortalized on the Internet, hopefully with your best blood-chilling smile. There is no charge for this and most of the programs are free or available at a modest charge.Old Montreal's Masquerade Party promises to be one of the most memorable Halloween celebrations on the American Continent in my judgment.You can contact your travel professional or call toll free at 1-866-908-9090.
Copyright by Marcia AbramsonE-mail: mascribe@aol.com
