I was scanning through the BBC News headlines the other day and I saw one that really caught my eye: Does this town really HATE Halloween? It was about Bathurst, New Brunswick, because there is a town bylaw that bans anyone over 14 from trick- or-treating.
Now, I have some sym- pathy for Bathurst, consid- ering how Bowen Islanders feel when the eyes of the big-city, and sometimes national media get turned to us for somewhat divisive issues that can be some- what embarrassing. That said, I am so glad that I live in a small town that takes the opportunity to celebrate this tradition communally and creatively.
I am admittedly not a die-hard Halloween person myself – I first got turned-off the holiday when the costumes turned from goofy to revealing. I am also not keen on the candy part as the stuff tends to be laden with forest-killing palm-oil, and everglades-killing refined sugar.
But, here on Bowen I can warm up to Halloween.
What a great excuse for people of all ages to get crazy together? To dress up, to blare loud music, to celebrate darkness and delve into our fears... It is a primal thing, I think.
If I had a Bowen Halloween ask it would be this: crank up the volume, make more art and more events to explore the season of darkness as it descends upon us...
