By A.D. AMOROSI
For Halloween aficionados along the East Coast observing that this year the holiday falls on a school night, Henri David offers up his 48th Annual Halloween Ball on Sunday, October 30 (Mischief Night), at Philadelphia's Sheraton City Center Hotel. Rest assured that this party isn't just for locals: David's event is renowned for bringing in costumed revelers from as far away as New Orleans and Los Angeles.
“I don’t know how they find me – the crazies – but they find me, and every year they’re younger than the last crowd,” says David, noting that he's not on social media or email - he doesn't own a computer. What draws them? "People still want to dress up and be seen." No one, though, loves dressing up more than David, the internationally renowned jeweler with a Philadelphia shop named Halloween, who has four costume changes planned for his October 30 event ("No, I'm not telling you; not even a hint"), with at least one of them involving hydraulics or stilts.
A highlight of the Halloween Ball is the costume contest ("though the fight for top dog is fierce") with a recent addition to the stakes: a category for Best Super Hero Cartoon or Film Character. Another change is the date: "I know that parents need to bring out the kiddies, so we're having the party on Mischief Night for the first time since 1988." Henri David's Halloween Ball will still reach into October 31 as the contest and the traditional promenade will occur at midnight. "This will make the crazies happy," he says. "Me too."
Tickets for costumed revelers are $25 ($60 for voyeurs), with tickets sold in advance at David's store (Halloween, 1329 Pine St.), or at the door, 9 p.m. Oct. 30 at Sheraton City Center Hotel, 16th and Race Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Photo ©Mike Lynch
Posted on Sunday, October 30, 2016
