[Courtesy of Kevin Credo]

City Park Gets into the Grown-Up Halloween Spirit at Brews and Boos

08:00 October 26, 2024
By: Kevin Credo

Frightfully Fun

In the final days of October, when "Halloween" starts feeling more like an actual date rather than a month-long consumer season, New Orleans hosts multiple recurring events, growing somewhat in profile, that help the region get into a more macabre spirit.

WYES and its celebrations of Morgus the Magnificent have ignited a multigenerational nostalgia for New Orleans buffs, and the Krewe of Boo parade captures that fair moment when the warmth of the tropical hurricane season gives way to a winter that lasts through the true Mardi Gras parading season.

A more upscale celebration to the final weekend of Halloween takes place in the gardens of City Park. Taking place on both Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26, Brews and Boos brings the seasonal magic of the park to a grownups-only clientele to raise funds for the City Park Conservancy. Compared to its four-night, family-oriented Ghosts in the Oaks fundraiser from October 17-20, Brews and Boos retains much of the atmosphere (and all of the scenery) while catering to a drinking-age clientele.

Halloween music filters out from the entrance to City Park's Storyland. Park staff hand out color-changing collectible cups as a wizard greets visitors from the entrance to Carousel Gardens, surrounded by an eclectic mixture of general sculptures, permanent Storyland deco, and Halloween props. A black cat scampers between the different pathways of the park as fog machines billow and neon lights shine over spiderwebs, giant spider decorations contrast with the massive spider statue a stone's throw away in the Sculpture Garden, as well as the jungle gym that looks kind of arachnid-like if you squint the right way.

The City Park Ferris wheel overlooks Tad Gormley Stadium, and the small train moves costumed crowds around the sights of Delgado, the lagoon, NOMA, the Sculpture Garden, and the small shed that feels inadvertently climactic and a wee bit unsettling even without any apparent Halloween theming. The ticket price covers unlimited beer, poured out on tap at just enough speed to catch another ride on the train or the grand, Victorian-style carousel. "The Monster Mash" and Weird Al play as the horses spin, an intimate night far from the anxieties of the world or the spectacle of Taylor Swift at the dome. And in that intimate night amongst City Park, it strangely feels like a moment where anything is possible.

This is a two-night event, so all interested can stop by for a second round Saturday evening on October 26. For more information, visit neworleanscitypark.org/event/brews-and-boos-3-3.

Sign Up!

FOR THE INSIDE SCOOP ON DINING, MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT, THE ARTS & MORE!