Halloween 2013 gave the Gulf Coast a crowded dance card, with costume contests, karaoke throwdowns and a downtown parade stretching from Daphne’s Eastern Shore to the streets of Mobile and out to Pascagoula.
Eastern Shore: Karaoke for Keeps
The Record Bar on Highway 98 in Daphne put prizes on the line with a Halloween karaoke contest. The catch: contestants had to perform in costume, so singers belting out “Monster Mash” did so as whatever ghouls, superheroes or pop stars they’d assembled for the night.
Downtown Mobile: A Parade Down Dauphin
Back across the bay, the Lunatix & Co. Halloween Parade turned Dauphin Street into a costumed procession. A five-dollar donation bought marchers a spot in line at the top of Dauphin at Lunatix, with the route running all the way down to Serda’s at the bottom of the street. The event doubled as a fundraiser for the beloved local business and welcomed both grown-ups still young at heart and their kids — fitting for a city that has never met a parade it didn’t like.
Three Nights of Contests at Hayley’s
In midtown, Hayley’s stretched Halloween across three consecutive themed nights. Thursday — already the bar’s long-running karaoke night — went “Wild Wild West” with cheaper drinks, a costume contest and word that Dauphin Street fixture Luke Rivers would make his first appearance since shattering his knee weeks earlier. Friday’s theme shifted to Old Hollywood, and Saturday closed things out with a throwback boy-band costume contest, with prizes awarded each night.
Pascagoula: A Full Weekend at EastBank
Across state lines, EastBank Pub on Ingalls Avenue in Pascagoula dedicated the entire weekend to Halloween. Friday night’s “Frightday” celebration carried the holiday into November with live music from Jamie Hyatt and a prize-packed costume contest. Saturday brought touring rockers Clear Plastic Masks — already familiar to Gulf Coast crowds from SouthSounds Music Festival and the Alabama Music Box — with no cover charge for either night.
From family parades to late-night karaoke, the 2013 season gave Mobilians and their neighbors across the bay plenty of reasons to keep a costume handy all weekend long.