It’s October 2013: How’s Your Halloween Costume Coming Along?

I have found that Swing dancers like to dress up, whether it’s vintage attire for a dance, or formal wear for dinner at the Cicada Club. So, it comes as no surprise that Swing dancers really pull out the stops when it comes to Halloween costumes.  Nearly all of the mainstream Swing venues have fantastic Halloween parties where almost everyone dresses up.

Here are some Halloween Swing parties not to miss!

• The Set Shop Jazz Age Halloween Dance (Saturday, October 20th)
  This dance is unique in that it takes place in an actual set design shop, so the decorations are pretty cool as you can imagine. They got the popular Jonathan Stout Orchestra for this, so the turnout should be good. There are already lots of dancers signed up on their Facebook event page! Admission is $20.
• PBDA’s Haunted Halloween Costume Dance (Saturday, October 27th)
  PBDA always has some good costumes for their annual contest. This year they will have the Ladd McIntosh Swing Orchestra. Admission is $20.
• The Cicada Club’s Vintage Halloween Party (Thursday, October 31st)
  I love the Cicada Club, but the timing is very unfortunate in that it conflicts with Lindy Groove’s Halloween party.  The band will be the excellent Dean Mora and his (Haunted) Orchestra. Tickets are $25 + $2.38 service fee in advance, or $40 at the door.  If you buy dinner, the cost of the ticket is included.  With these prices, I bet the vast majority will still go to Lindy Groove, but I’m sure there will be a contingent of vintage folks who stick with Cicada.
• Lindygroove’s Haunted Halloween Ball (Thursday, October 31st)
  If you can only make it to one Halloween Swing party this year, go to Lindygroove’s Haunted Halloween Ball. There is no live band, but this is still the best Halloween Swing event in L.A. The costumes that people come up with for this event are just incredible. There is a $400 costume contest and $75 Jack O’ Lantern contest. The LG website doesn’t mention any higher cost for admission, so I’m assuming it’s the regular $8 (someone correct me if I am wrong).  This will be crowded, so be prepared!
• Rusty’s Rhythm Club (Friday, November 1st)
  Rounding out the Halloween parties is Rusty’s Friday dance with Lil’ Mo and the Dynflos, an excellent do-wop band. Save some energy for this! Admission is $15.

Undoubtedly, Strutter’s Ball, and Atomic Ballroom will have Halloween parties as well. I’ll post them when I find out about them.

Even if you don’t go Swing dancing very often, you should come out to some of these parties. Swing dancers know how to do Halloween!

Here is a gallery of costumes from previous years if you need some motivation/inspiration: