HighBall celebrates 10 years of costume couture fashion
Among the haunted houses, ghost tours and fall festivals, one Halloween event in Columbus stands out as a testament to the city's dynamic creative spirit.
HighBall Halloween has enjoyed success that few people probably anticipated when the gathering made its debut in 2008 as a one-day street festival.
A decade later, the Short North fashion extravaganza has become a two-day affair featuring live music, public art and, most important, costume couture.
For the milestone anniversary, HighBall will celebrate the artistry of the top designers who flock to the competition every year.
The festival will begin Friday on North High Street with a themed costume party, followed Saturday by the signature costume-couture fashion show.
A blend of New Orleans' Mardi Gras and Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, HighBall is unlike anything else in the Midwest, said Betsy Pandora, executive director of the Short North Alliance, which produces the event.
“It’s such a different form of fashion expression that doesn’t really occur anywhere else,” Pandora said. “You get to fuse the practicality of fashion with the artistry of costume design.
“The costumes, year after year, have gotten more complex and interesting.”
The Alliance — then known as the Short North Business Association — founded HighBall to give a platform to the designers living and working in Columbus.
Led by Pandora's predecessor, John Angelo, the inaugural event featured about a half-dozen designers and drew 5,000 guests.
“It was apparent that there was something special, something different, about the event,” Pandora said.
In the years since, HighBall has anchored itself firmly in front of the Greater Columbus Convention Center for a party that draws 30,000 visitors throughout the weekend.
Children, too, are welcome, although alcoholic beverages are served and many different types of costumes can be seen on the street.
"It is an all-ages event," Pandora said, "but members of the public get to come to the event and dress however they like."
Organizers, she said, have yet to receive a complaint about anything that was deemed to be inappropriate for children.
On Saturday, HighBall will honor some of the past decade's best looks in a special fashion show ahead of the annual design competition. The main fashion show that follows will showcase four costumes by 10 designers, the most competitors to date.
Most relish the chance to step outside their comfort zones to design wildly imaginative ensembles.
“I feel very honored to be a part of such a wonderful event,” said Cincinnati designer Edina Ndebele, 31, who will compete for the second time after making her debut last year. “(HighBall) gives us the ability to showcase our creativity.”
Ira Tecson, 33, and Lauren Primm, 31, will participate as partners for the fourth year.
The pair met while working at a costume shop in town and discovered that they had a good chemistry. Tecson, whose background is in sculpture, excels at crafting the structure of the looks; Primm, of New Albany, is a traditionally trained designer.
“It definitely feels like a true partnership because I feel like both our voices are equally heard,” said Tecson, of the Clintonville neighborhood. “I like to think we have a dynamic range, and HighBall is a great venue to explore our creative muscles.”
Both said they enjoy seeing what other designers come up with.
“It’s great to see where everyone’s creativity takes them,” Tecson said. “There’s been some amazing costumes.”
But the costume fun isn't limited to fashion designers.
A public costume contest on Friday encourages visitors to dress as a favorite music legend. The contest is linked to a tribute concert in which
10 area bands will cover the Beatles, Beyonce, Nsync and other famous acts.
Additional attractions will include free ice-cream giveaways from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, a 10th-anniversary ball in the atrium of the recently renovated convention center and a two-night VIP party.
For the first time this year, HighBall is taking over a surface lot at Goodale and High streets. The area — dubbed Spectacle Park — will feature a second stage and an interactive art installation.
The projectionbased installation, called "Entangled," is the work of Columbus couple Eve Warnock, 39, and Pelham Johnston, 31, co-founders of OBLSK, an arts-andmarketing business that specializes in largescale works.
The exhibit they created for HighBall consists of columns across a 24-square-foot space that visitors can walk through as imagery is projected around them.
“What I imagine is that people truly become immersed into the sculpture and feel that they’ve entered into another world,” Warnock said.
The mysterious quality of the work — guests might be greeted by a serene forest or a creature springing out of hiding — fits perfectly with HighBall's aesthetic, the artists said.
“I remember just thinking it was such a fantastic opportunity for the city to come together as a community and share,” Johnston said. “Halloween always has that element of being able to dress up and both reveal parts of yourself but also conceal parts of yourself.”