As Halloween and trick-or-treat mania begins, Ohio State students may have a lot planned for the weekend, including heading down to the Short North’s fourth annual Highball Halloween: Masquerade on High.
Costume designers, runway models, general attendees and even pets will dress up in their costumes to celebrate the scariest night of the year.
This year the Highball Halloween will take place on Friday, along High Street and Fifth Avenue. The event will celebrate Halloween by introducing a masquerade theme and using fashion, art and designs on a 76-square-foot main stage. It starts at 5 p.m.
John Angelo, producer of Highball Halloween, has worked with sponsors, local fashion designers and modeling agencies to prepare for the show, hoping to attract more than 20,000 attendees, including OSU students.
“It’s a big event. We’re six blocks away and it’s an easy roll from campus,” Angelo said.
Local fashion designers will be able to showcase and be creative with their designs during the event’s fashion show, “Costume Couture Fashion Showdown,” which starts at 10 p.m.
Members of the public will also have the opportunity to participate in a similar competition where they can show off their costumes. First-prize winners for both contests will receive $1,000.
The contestants will have five categories in which they will be judged: most radiant, best transformation, best extreme face painting, most fabulous and best B-Movie ensemble.
The competitions will be judged by local business sponsors, high-fashion designers and Columbus mayor, Michael Coleman. Among others, the panel of judges includes a designer from Columbus College of Art and Design, Suzanne Cotton, America’s Next Top Model contestant Dominique Reighard and CW star Angie Quach.
Angelo said he thinks the costumes and the creative designs are what make the night complete.
“To marry fashion and masquerade is really amazing,” Angelo said. “These costumes that the designers have been working on are visually entertaining. Some of the costumes will even expand up to 12-feet-tall.”
Along with the fashion show and the general public competition, there are to be other contests where pets can participate. Dog owners can register their pets to take part in the “Dogtober Howl-o-ween Canine Costume contest.”
Elizabeth Martino, a fourth-year in strategic communication and a Short North Business Association intern, has helped prepare for the Highball Masquerade and said she is expecting the show to be a success.
“It is going to be really impressive and there will be so much cool stuff that is happening. It is definitely going to be a great event this year,” Mortino said.
There will also be musical and theatrical performances ranging from DJ Pons, giant puppets and “Amazing Giants” stilt-walkers that will walk along High Street.
For Nicholas Krebs, a fourth-year in political science and communication, this will be his fourth time attending.
“Overall, the atmosphere is full of Halloween spirit and it’s really exciting to see everybody celebrating,” Krebs said. “It’s all about the masquerade.”
General admission will be $5.
