A} EDITOR FIRST NAMELAST NAME Spendin doesn’t Rave to be Spooky Langara students don’t have the creepy crawlies about eerily expensive costumes this Halloween By ALANNA HARDINGE-ROONEY he scariest part about Halloween doesn’t have to be the price of your costume, say cash-strapped Lang- ara students. In recent years, Canadians have typi- cally spent about $1.5 billion — or $60 per person — on candy, decorations, costumes and event tickets, according to the Retail Council of Canada. “Everybody overspends,” said recre- ation leadership student Melanie Pro- kop, who plans to dress up as a Mexican Day of the Dead style skeleton. Prokop hopes to keep costs down by using clothes she already owns, shop- ping at thrift stores and enlisting the help of a friend who owns a makeup stu- dio. “The face paint is the main costume and that’s cheap,” she said. “Anyone can do it really.” Specialty costume shops sprang up across Vancouver in October, with every- thing from vampire teeth to angel wings to Top Gun flight suits on offer. But the abundant - and often overpriced — plas- tic-wrapped options have encouraged students like Ryan Funk to take their business elsewhere. Funk, a fine arts student, saved money by monitoring Wal-Mart’s website until his Ghostbuster costume went on sale. “School is kind of more important than a $1,000 costume,” he said, adding that he has opted to watch movies with friends Halloween night instead of dol- ing out cash to attend a party at a down- town nightclub. Design formation student Bjorn Rie- der said he’d rather not discuss the cost of his knight costume. “It’s not like ’'d go out and spend ri- diculous amounts of money in one year, but I’ve accumulated stuff over a long period of time,” he said. His elaborate medieval costume in- cludes a handmade cloak and a $200 sword. “Last year I decided two weeks before Halloween that I was going to be a knight and I hid in my room and chain mailed - like actually made - a full suit of ar- mour,” he said, estimating that he has spent about 250 hours crafting various components of his costume. Despite the high cost of materials, Rie- der says his costume is priceless. “Halloween shouldn’t be expensive, it should be fun,” he said. Se Pumpkins on sale at Southlands Heritage farm in Vancouver RUMAN KANG photo Pumpkin. patch, perusing, and) You don’t have to summon Beetle- juice or dance around a cauldron to make a great jack-o-lantern By RUMAN KANG et out your knives and get creative. It’s time to carve those pumpkins. This time of year pump- kin patches and grocery stores are full of pump- kin hunters looking for that perfect jack-o-lantern canvas. C Gotrepiece While some people search for a prize-winning pumpkin there are those who prefer the green and deformed instead. “Normally, I get the outcast pumpkin, the really weird one. It inspires me to do some crazy face,” said Sarah Gobel fine arts student at Langara. After selecting your perfect spooky specimen the real fun can begin. The options for carving the perfect pumpkin are endless the only limit is your imagination. Carving a pumpkin no longer means recreating the classic jack-o-lantern if you use your creativity and some careful planning you can make anything TTR _ateal en ALANNA HARDINGE-ROONEY photo Clockwise from left: A volunteer at the Dunbar Haunted House puts on his costume, decorations on display at Spirit Halloween Superstores, costumes at Merchant of Dream on Commercial Drive and the Dunbar Haunted House Creepy calorie count Treat or treat, trick or treat, do you really want all those calories to eat? Turns out singular treats aren’t the problem. However, Ghoulishly gorging is. THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MONTH XX, 2011 B By PATRICK JOHNSTON e careful attacking your treat bag this Halloween - you might find yourself munching down 40,000 calories without even realizing it. It’s the deceptive portion size of Halloween that leads us overboard, said registered dietician Kara Vogt. Individual treats aren’t a problem, as the body breaks them down to their basic nutritional building blocks, just like anything else we eat. “A Halloween treat is the perfect example of enjoying treats in moderation because of their portion size,” Vogt said. The treats given out to trick-or-treaters are usually 70 or 80 calories apiece. Langara Arts students Elaine Teldor said she would collect “400-500 candies” in a night, while her friend Palvinder Kular guessed his best total was lower: closer to 300. Teldor and Kular were both easily surpassing 20,000 calories in their treat bags. Canada’s Food Guide recommends that active males should consume 3000 to 3300 calories per day beginning in their teens. The Guide suggests active females aged 14 to 30 consume 2350 calories per day. Asked about the health costs of trick-or-treating, Teldor and Kular’s friend Christina Shi smiled wryly and said that hiking around the neighbourhood in pursuit of the ultimate bag made trick-or-treating good for your health. Teldor felt her dad’s home in Gibsons was an advantage in her pursuit of the “pillow case” bag. “The whole area is all kids,” she said. “Every house had candy.” Shi always trick-or-treated at several mansions near her childhood home in Surrey because the homeowners would give away cans of pop and big chocolate bars. Kular found old folks homes to be a good source because treats would be left out on a table. “They’d say ‘take whatever you like,” said Kular. Halloween isn’t a time a time when we think about healthy eating, but Vogt said we should keep it in mind. She points out that four mini-sized chocolate Halloween treats are equivalent to one regular bar. Vogt suggests dark chocolate is a good choice as it is a good source of anti-oxidants. Chocolate is also more satisfying, so you'll eat less, she said. REVIEW of Halloween sweets WHICH ONE DO YOU PREFER? OH HENRY? Christina Shi: “I never understood the popularity. Elaine Teldor: “Too dry.” Mark Wong: “Okay, I'd eat one or two. It's got good peanuts.” Palvinder Kular: "I'll eat one, and leads to two, max three.” WUNDERBAR? Shi: “Ten! | love them so much.” SNICKERS? Teldor: “They're the best!” Kular: “| don't like the texture.” HERSHEY BAR? Shi: “It's like a regular chocolate bar. I'd eat five at once!” Kular: “I like the white chocolate with Oreo.” Wong: “My teacher says they taste like rubber!” REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS? Teldor: “Amazing,” and would eat “at least 10 of those.” Shi: “They're pretty close to Wonderbar.” caruing the perfect jack-o-lantenn, you would like. The rise in popularity of Halloween with adults has led to pumpkins becoming biodegradable pieces of art. “Tm going to get a really decent sized pumpkin and try to make it unique this year really go all the way by shaving it and getting the light to come through instead of just cutting holes,” said Bjorn Rie- der, design and formation student. If you don’t feel up to creating your own master- piece there are kits that will help to create almost any type of jack- o-lantern from the classic triangu- lar face to the wickedest of witches. “Tm going to use a stencil, and I think I am going to make a witch,” said Priscilla Hong, nursing stu- dent. Most kits come with carving tools and stencils and range in price from $4 to $30 for more advanced ones. Pumpkin carving is great excuse to throw a party so round up some pumpkins and spend some quality time with family and friends. “Tm going to have a pumpkin carving party with pumpkin themed martinis,” said Rieder. Whichever pumpkin you choose and regardless of what you carve the most important to thing to re- member is to have FUN. TIPS pumpkin carving it RON = Avoid pumpkins with bruises and soft spots 7 Make sure to inspect your pumpkin before you buy 5 Scrape out the inside with an ice cream scoop 6 Draw your design onto the pumpkin Use a serrated knife. It makes everything easier! Source: Xop 6 on 6 xop xop xop Save the seeds. Roast them for a deliciously healthy Cut the top off at a 45-degree angle snack