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Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014
LEAD the
INDEX Getting to Know News . . . . . Council Notes. . Photo Booth . . Opinion . . . . Interactive . . . Style Feature . . Fun & Games . . Business . . . .
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COVER
Ingrid and Brian Carli stand in front of a couple of the bigger Halloween decorations that are part of their elaborate display at 64 Embassy Place. Blink and you’ll miss it, though — most of the decorations go up the morning of Oct. 31 and come down that very evening. See story, page 3.
BY THE NUMBERS
$381 million
That’s how much money Canadians spent on candy, confectionery and snack foods in October 2013, according to Statistics Canada, making it the second-biggest spending month in that sector to December ($451 million). Analysts expect spending to be even higher this year thanks to Halloween falling on a Friday and a recent drop in gas prices.
Hectic Halloween for a good cause
GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader
Halloween is one hectic day for Brian and Ingrid Carli. For the 11th straight year, the Carlis will be up before dawn on Oct. 31, transforming their front yard at 64 Embassy Place into a house of horrors for local kids — and kids at heart — as well as scaring up donations for the St. Albert Food Bank and Community Village. They’ll be up at 5 a.m. to start putting up decorations — some of the bigger ones are in place beforehand — and then have them all down by 10 p.m., after the trail of trick-or-treaters has trickled to a halt. But, as exhausting as the day is, the Carlis wouldn’t have it any other way. “Over the years, we’ve had little kids, six to 10 years old, who drop off thank-you cards,” Brian said. “As exhausted as we are the day after and as much as we say, ‘That’s it, this is the last year,’ those are the types of things that spur us on.” An average of about 2,000 people come by the house each Halloween, although that number fluctuates depending on the weather. They usually collect about $300 to $500 and 500 to 600 pounds of food for the Food Bank each year. The obsession with Halloween started 18 years ago, before the family moved to St. Albert. Brian saw a Halloween display in Winnipeg that he really liked, and decided to do something himself. “That just set me off. (I said,) ‘I want to do this. I want to be the guy with the scariest house in the neighbourhood,’” he said.
Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader
Ingrid and Brian Carli stand next to one of their two hearses in the driveway of their home at 64 Embassy Place. Every year, they decorate their home to the nines and collect donations for the St. Albert Food Bank. Of course, their neighbours on Embassy Place are gracious and understanding, even if it means they have to shell out candy for a larger-than-average number of trick-or-treaters. “They’re very, very good,” Ingrid said. “I mean, how often do you see someone waving at someone in a hearse? It’s like, ‘Oh, there’s Ingrid and Brian.’ We’re very fortunate on our street. “We do have a few new neighbours who will see it for the first time (this year). But the majority of people have been here
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since the beginning too.” The Carlis try to add something new to the display each year, with different themes in different areas, but they admit they’re starting to run out of room, both in their yard and in the various storage areas they use the rest of the year. “We have a sea can, a trailer, a storage unit and the entire back of the garage that’s all Halloween,” said Ingrid, whose license plate on her two-toned Cadillac Escalade reads “MS HLWN”. The other 364 days of the year, Brian and Ingrid are active
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members of the Edmonton Bone Wagon Association, a collection of classic hearse owners in the region. Together, they dress up and take their cars to show-and-shines all over northern Alberta, including Rock’n August here in St. Albert. “It’s very informal. If you have a hearse, or you like Halloween, or you like to dress up, you’re a member of our club,” Brian said. “When we host an event, it’s kind of an open forum. If you want to show up, come on by. Bring your car, get dressed up, just come and visit — it doesn’t matter.”