Ghosts, ghouls and goblins were out and about Saturday night as bars across the Pontiac hosted Halloween parties for those too old for trick-or-treating. While some venues tried their hand at throwing an event for the first time, others were welcoming back an annual tradition, all in an effort to give the people of their community a festive way to celebrate the spooky occasion.
Auberge Baie Inn
In Campbell’s Bay, the Auberge Baie Inn’s Halloween party had a crowd of costumes bouncing up and down on the dance floor all night long to the beats layed by DJ Joe.
“It felt good to see people out and socializing,” said Anna Farrell, the bar’s manager. “They were all dancing and cheering.”
Farrell said the turnout of a crowd much larger than she had anticipated meant she and the other bartender Louise Belec only managed a couple of five minute breaks throughout the evening.
This was not the bar’s first time hosting a Halloween party, and Farrell said it certainly won’t be its last.
For next year, she plans to have extra staff support so she can throw an even bigger event.
Scooters Bar and Grill
Otter Lake’s Scooters Bar and Grill had a full house for its first Halloween party since the bar opened up about a year and a half ago.
“We’re trying to drum up some new customers and somewhere for people to go out and have a good time,” said the bar’s owner Scott Gauthier.
Locals showed up in full costume to enjoy live music provided by Danny Sylvester and Nikki B. on the fiddle.
Gauthier said that part of his motivation for having a Halloween party in Otter Lake is to reduce the distance people have to drive to enjoy a party.
“People travel around to go to Halloween parties,” he said. “It’s good to keep people localized in their own town so they don’t have to drive as far, or they can walk.”
Lakeside Bar and Hotel
Thirty minutes south in Portage du Fort, the Lakeside Bar and Hotel was packed full of costumes and tables were overflowing with candy and decorations.
Angie Beausoleil became the manager of Lakeside Bar and Hotel almost a year ago after being the staff manager for many years prior. She said she can’t even remember when the bar last hosted a Halloween party.
“I decided to have a Halloween party this year because I had a few people inquire as to whether we were going to have one,” Beausoleil said in a message to THE EQUITY. “Because it has been such a long time since we’ve had one, I thought it was about time.”
This year’s party featured a performance from local musical duo Small Town Rootz, composed of Robbie McCallum and Jamie Cameron.
As part of the decoration, she filled IV bags with cranberry juice and water to replicate the look of blood, and put them out on the tables.
“People are walking around with those little IV bags,” Beausoleil said. “People can drink them later in the night.”
Gavan’s Hotel
In one of the Pontiac region’s easternmost bars, better known perhaps for its St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, a large team of staff also put on a Halloween party to give locals an occasion to celebrate the spooky holiday.
Upon walking into Gavan’s Hotel on Saturday night in Quyon, guests were greeted by the bar’s employees, all dressed up in orange jumpsuits as a crew of prison inmates.
“We always try to do something that we can work together on,” said Gavan’s manager Kala Lewis, explaining the group’s costume.
In line with the prison theme, the staff also set up a homemade backdrop against which guests could have their mugshot taken.
This photo booth along with a busy dance floor kept bumping with the help of DJ Dave and a new firepit set up outside kept the evening’s 80 or so attendees partying late into the night.
“Especially with the fire pit outside, that was something new that the community really seemed to enjoy,” Lewis said.
But Saturday’s event wasn’t the end of what Gavan’s has in store for this year’s Halloween celebrations.
On Thursday and Friday of this week, the bar will also be hosting the first ever Festival Fantôme, an event organized by Quyon resident Mike Dubue.
The two-night party will see nine different bands and DJs from Canada and the U.S. – including well-known Canadian group Timber Timbre, as well as The Sadies, a prolific rock and country band from Toronto – play sets on the stage at Gavan’s and at Dubue’s music studio, which he opened in the church next door seven years ago.
“Gavan’s has a really nice sounding room,” Dubue said. “We rebuilt the stage and it sounds really good.”
Dubue started planning the festival in July and invited many of his friends to perform.
Dubue also organized buses to bring people from Ottawa out to Gavan’s and back home on both nights.“
I wanted to create a festival the way that I would do it, which is just really simple and lowkey with a small crowd,” Dubue said, noting both nights are over three quarters sold out.
“I also wanted to create more exposure for Quyon.”
Dubue plans to do the festival for the next three years when Halloween happens on the weekend. He also hopes to grow the festival over these years to include more groups and dates, and potentially more venues.
