While Halloween 2024 has officially passed (if marked by Mariah Carey’s speech) Annual TikTok proclaiming that Christmas is here), the memories – and the bruises – of a night spent Toronto’s Biggest Halloween Street Party will last a long time.

A decades-old tradition that began as a way for the city’s 2SLGBTQ+ community to express themselves freely (more on that later), Halloween at church flourished, in the same way as Pride a, in an annual spectacle experienced by tens of thousands of people from the city and beyond.

This year, for the first time in my life, I was one of thousands of people and I still don’t know what I feel.

Halloween on Church is known for its extravagant costumes.

I love Halloween. I really love it, so sitting in a subway car alongside at least 50 other adults dressed in full costume, I thought I was ready – excited, even – for what the night would have in store for me.

Returning from Wellesley Station and embarking on a two-minute walk to the heart of the event at Church and Wellesley, I follow behind Michael Myers and Leatherface as the sounds of “Monster Mash” blare from the stage of the event ahead of Second Cup. I’m in my element.

Almost immediately, I am greeted by a huge crowd, decked out in varying levels of costume, milling about. Costumed children and dogs are also present, while lines of adults snake around the neighborhood’s quintessential watering holes, like The drink, Garage on rue de l’Église And Crews and Tangos.

Check out our slideshow of the best Halloween costumes at church 2024 here.

At first, the event took place along Yonge, when places like the Parkside and St. Charles Taverns would hold Halloween balls, where, on this one night of the year, people could dress in drag under the guise of a costume without fear of societal or legal repercussions.

Soon, the event also became an opportunity for people outside the community to enjoy the spectacle – and, as Church and Wellesley became Toronto’s gay village, the festivities there focused on more and more.

The Sanderson sisters cast a spell.

Today, the appeal of the event is less about ogling the 2SLGBTQ+ community (unless you’re looking for a new suitor, I suppose) and more about ogling the people who are actually getting into holiday funds – and you don’t have to look far to find them.

It comes to me quickly, in the form of a particularly complex trio dressed as Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus By the way, this drag is still very much alive and is the beating heart of the event. Shortly after, they are followed by someone in a rendition of Carol Burnett’s iconic curtain dress.

Even when not dressed in drag, the event offers many an opportunity to express themselves creatively.

He-Man and She-Ra ready for battle.

A duo, dressed as He-Man and She-Ra, tell me they’ve been working on their costumes since February, making them by hand with floor mats and an incredible amount of hot glue.

“I love Halloween,” He-Man tells me with a sheepish smile, adding that he’s been coming to the event since 2017.

Do not feed the plants.

Another participant, a freshman at TMU, wore a homemade costume depicting the carnivorous plant of Little Shop of Horrors tells me this is the first year they are participating in the event.

“It’s our first time downtown for Halloween, so we wanted to check it out,” they said, adding that amid the crowds, their group had a hard time sticking together. , but that he’s “loving it so far.”

Some costumes are so elaborate that they require more fixed installations than other wandering ghosts and ghouls that roam the street.

The anxiety of Inside Out 2 embodies the commitment displayed at Halloween on Church.

One such costume, a twelve-foot-tall rendition of Anxiety from Inside Out 2 made entirely of balloons, holds a permanent court between Pocha 1989 and The Cherie, posing with impressed attendees, while across the street a particularly engaged Beetlejuice stands in front of an inflatable sandworm.

Around 8:30 p.m., I was ready to dive in, along with hundreds of other attendees who had already had their fill of festivities, for the safety of watching a horror movie on my couch, but quickly found myself unable to move , being slowly crushed between the two. Glad Day Book Shop window and a crowd 30 people deep.

You’d think the Beatles were in town, but they weren’t. In fact, it was Filipinx Drag King, based in Toronto, Kreme Inakuchi performing to a Screamo cover of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me,” which had traffic completely stopped.

Crowd scenes.

There’s no doubt that Halloween at Church is a great – and important – event for the city, drawing visitors from around the world each year to celebrate not only the holiday, but also the city’s queer community.

Unfortunately, this year at least (a number of participants inform me that there are “usually not that many people” and that the “good weather” is probably to blame), the problem is due to poor organization : Tens of thousands of people are packed into six city streets with just one main stage to gather around and a handful of porta-potties.

It was precisely this failure that left me stuck in a crush for at least 45 minutes trying, alongside thousands of others, to leave the event, while an equal number attempted to enter, and, the next morning I have the bruises to prove it. .

Perhaps, being a lover of all things spooky, I will one day return to Halloween at church, but, with all hope, it will expand to anticipate the large number of attendees, becoming even larger and better than before.

Check out our slideshow of the best Halloween costumes at church 2024 here.