As everyone prepares for the night of the dead, Hotel Congress has something planned for the living — every day this week.
Hotel Congress kicked off its weeklong “Halloweek” celebration on Friday, with the Retro Game Show Night’s Addams Family Feud and Saturday night with Nightmare on Congress Street. The celebration continues through Thursday night with the Werewolf Bar Mitzvah.
Hotel Congress’ Entertainment and Booking Director David Slutes said the hotel began Halloweek three years ago as a way to combine its numerous Halloween events. As one of the club’s biggest events of the year, Slutes said it made sense to make it last a week.
“Halloween is historically one of our biggest nights … it behooves us to go crazy,” Slutes said. “People want to come here, it’s a fun place to be and we really want to put on a pretty good party.”
Traci Poe, a social worker at Odessey Hospice, was dressed in one of the most eye-catching costumes at Nightmare on Congress Street. Wearing a carousel as part of her headpiece, and tentacle-like arms, Poe was the spitting image of the human carousel featured in “Beetlejuice.” Poe said she spent two months preparing her costume for the Hotel Congress debut.
“It’s a nice open area and it seems to have a lot of great costumes every year,” Poe said. “We get to be anything we want.”
Poe and her costume group, all featuring “Beetlejuice” characters, took home second place in Friday’s costume contest.
The club has several nights of live music, costume contests and surprises planned for attendees. On Tuesday, the club continues with an all-ages performance from MellowHigh featuring Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis and Left Brain of Odd Future. Halloween Eve, the club will feature a free show from Golden Youth, with Signals and Spider Cider, Slutes said.
Local Tucson artist and Hotel Congress party thrower Robert Hall, better known as “Slobby Robby,” said that Halloween at the club is unlike any other event.
“There’s an art gallery in the lobby, there’s a dance floor with a dance party, there’s an outdoor festival — so it’s not like just going to one haunted house and walking through and leaving,” Hall said. “There’s a lot of different dimensions we’re offering and different things in different areas.”
Hotel Congress will wrap up the week with its All Souls Procession / Night of the Living Fest Kickoff, featuring live perfromances from a variety of bands. The night will also include costume contests, TABS, Crystobal, BoBFelix, DanH, and Jaime J., and other surprises.
“This is a really good place between the music, the art and the costumes to kind of feel like you’re in a different world,” Hall said, “and I think Club Congress has been known for that for a while.”
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