Just a few words about last Saturday’s Sign-O-Ween. What a smashing evening we had! It was great to see so many people there. Some had come as they are, and some had taken the opportunity to come as they ‘aren’t’. The occult was well represented with vampires, zombies, ghouls and witches aplenty. Presiding over the festivities we had a seductive Devil in a Red Dress, a majestic Egyptian Queen and a graceful Geisha. It was lovely to see everyone chatting and having fun. My favourite part of the night was seeing someone approach a friend without recognising them only to discover who it actually was. The disbelief and laughter on their faces was priceless. I had a couple of those moments myself and thoroughly enjoyed them.

A number of people had prepared songs to perform and others just got up and winged it which was great fun. To give you some examples, our first performer performed beautifully a song about being brave enough to experience all life has to offer. Later we had the ‘Homeyz’ did East 17’s House of Love. Those of you familiar with the song will know how fast it is. For most of the song I was marvelling at their speed and enjoying their choreographed moves. These, along with their costumes and attitude, made it superb. One of the last performances was The Time Warp by Lori, Kirri, and Mark. The ladies took to the stage first, Lori looking sexily androgenous and Kirri vampishly so. They taught us the steps and when all was in readiness Mark burst onto the stage in all his glory. I won’t try to describe his costume or presence as I doubt I could do them justice. You will have to refer to the photos but believe me they won’t compare to him in the flesh. What followed was fun, outrageous and absolutely brilliant.

When it came to the costume competition there were three categories up for grabs. Best costume was won by Val Wormald, who had produced an outstanding witch’s costume complete with a smoking cauldron which was actually full of sweets for those of us brave enough to reach into the murky depths. For Best Mask we had Ian, who along with a black cape was wearing a mask of a vampire, mouth agape and ready to strike. You may remember what a hot night it was and to wear a rubber mask all evening long was a sterling effort. On of the best costumes was a vampire complete with a pale, recently-fed-on-damsel in his thrawl. I thought this costume was wonderfully effective. In a white shirt, which made me think of hospitals and morgues, and a red smear of blood around his mouth he was very disturbing. Our winners, having received their prizes, posed for a photo where Val spontaneously exhibited a tongue that would put Gene Simmons to shame.

It was a fabulous night in every respect. Well done to the ASLIA organising committee for putting on an event that was so enjoyable and helped raised funds for ASLIA Vic projects. As we mostly only see each other in a professional context it was wonderful for me to be able to chat to people in a purely social one. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did and may there be many more such events.

Rock On!