Halloween is around the corner, which means the beloved Night of Dread parade is descending on Toronto’s streets once again.

Community arts theatre company the Clay and Paper Theatre has announced its programming for the 24th annual Night of Dread Festival.

This family-friendly festival features an entire month of “free, public, hands-on workshops, culminating in a theatrical pageant, with giant puppets, fire spinners, stilters & live music,” according to its website.

However, the most anticipated event of all is the Night of Dread parade.

This event is described as a “procession of fearful pageantry, revels, and mockery” with performers dressed in over-the-top costumes.

This Saturday, October 28th, monsters of all kinds will parade through the streets before putting on a frightful spectacle in Christie Pits Park.

But, this isn’t your typical spooky spectacle — this parade has a positive message!

It’s all about coming together and banishing your fears as a collective.

“Through parade and pageantry, music and ritual we face our darkest fears together,” the description says.

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Not only is it free to attend and fun to watch, but it’s also interactive.

Participants are encouraged to “raise a dreadful racket with pots and pans, drums, musical instruments and other noisemakers.”

The parade’s Fear Catchers will be wandering around collecting fears from audience members, so be sure to write yours down on a piece of paper.

The event will begin at Christie Pits Park with a neighbourhood-wide procession — then, the frightful fun will return to the park for a theatrical spectacle that will center around the chosen Fear of the Year for 2023.

After the show, there will be a concert in the Valley of Remembrance, a haunting shadow show, and a bonfire “where the Night of Dread Fear Master names our fears and burns them for us.”

Among the performers are fire spinners, circus artists, performances by a Juno award-winning jazz saxophonist, singers, giant puppeteers, and Afro-Brazilian percussionists.

And don’t forget, the dress code for the parade is “black, white, and most dreadful.”

Stay tuned for more details about this year’s Night of Dread Parade. As always, it’s sure to be an incredible performance.

Night of Dread Toronto

When: October 28th, 2023, 6 PM
Where: Christie Pits Park
Cost: FREE

Curiocity Staff

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