October is upon us, and along comes the shorter days and cooler nights that bring out the sweaters and hot toddies by the fire. This part of our northeast seasonal cycle has long been a favorite simply because October displays…feels like…the best of New England’s charm. We’ve got our fingers crossed for a colorful breakout on our trees given the last couple of years haven't been great. However, the thinking here says we’ve had some decent rainfall despite a brief dry spell or two over the course of the spring and summer. From what we can observe, it appears like we’ve got a shot at a good season of red and gold.
October is the beginning of what might be said is the season of “family and friends”. There are the religious and secular holidays that are celebrated from October through December (and into January), that include Eid al-Adha, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Whether the basis is religious or secular the common threads through all of these important celebrations are of giving thanks, and unity. The notions of thankfulness and unity are timeless, and important to a civilized society.
On a less profound note, but still in the vein of family and friends is that peculiar “non-holiday” that gets a lot of attention for kids and grownups alike: Halloween. With something of a complex history, Hallows Eve has pagan and Christian origins, but today is more like an excuse to dress up and have fun. Maybe it’s just life going in cycles and loops for us, but we’ve kind of started to look forward to Halloween again. It was always fun when our kids were young, but we drifted away from it once they got to their teens. Maybe it was exhaustion. But we've come full circle and are looking forward to Halloween fun with our grandson, and the local truants who will descend upon us.
On a related note, we've been talking…. and talking…. for a few years now.... about doing a something fun for adults along the lines of Halloween…but not Halloween.
We’ve agreed that a Venetian style Masquerade Ball would fit our tastes for adult fun. The questions have always been: how would we make it special, and how would we pull it off? To differentiate the event from a Halloween party, since lots of those will go on for sure, we’ll steer clear of that weekend, but it’s nice to think one could be held in early October to fit in with the colorful time of year. This kind of gig would hopefully be “colorful”.
A grand soiree might include music, dancing, Cirque du Soliel style entertainers, along with food and libations of course. The exquisite masks one might see from images taken from the real masquerade of Venice would be de rigueur. Black tie, or costumes would lend a sense of sophistication we think. And all of it would be wrapped in the air of mischievous, ribald, and utterly wicked, carnival fun.
Think you'd be up for it?
Now, where to find a castle to rent?
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