"Radical Self Expression Day" & Costume Contest
Don't invite me to watch a scary movie.
Dress up as ME and get a prize! Costume Contest Info at bottom.
Happy Hug-oween!
Halloween was so important to me for so long.
It was the one day I could “radically self-express” without fear of judgement.
I could explore looking like a rock star.
I could explore being goth.
I could explore dressing like a woman...many times, in fact.
I could find an excuse to be shirtless (Caveman? Chippendales? Gladiator?) and be sexy without feeling audacious.
All year I ached for the Halloween window where we I could take off the uniform of convention.
When I found Burning Man in 1998, it was Halloween permission x 10,000.
In the Burning Man ethos, “Radical Self-Expression” is the opposite of a once-a-year holiday. It is one of the basic Principles that guides the community.
And my relationship with Halloween has never been the same.
I no longer have a pressure cooker of unexpressed impulses. I look and dress however I feel. And I have many opportunities a year to dress as wild as I want. (You could also make the argument that I’ve been in costume for the last 20 years.)
But Burning Man also gave me sensitivity around the word, “costume.”
A costume is when you are pretending to be something you are not.
That is why I use the term Burning Man “outfits,” not costumes. I am expressing a part of myself.
And, honestly, I would much rather express a part of myself than pretend to be someone else. (I went to Comic Con only once. I dressed up as myself as a superhero, “Commander Hugalot.” People kept asking me what movie or anime I was from. I didn’t understand the assignment.)
But I now see the fun in dressing up as a character. I have learned to re-love Halloween. It’s just a mild love now. I usually make a costume out of stuff I already have.
This year I am going to be a “Surreal Estate Broker.” I have a gorgeous fuchsia blazer that will make me look like a bizarro-world version of Century 21 gold-coated agent.
I even had cards printed up at Staples:
1st ever HALCYON COSTUME CONTEST!
Throw together a pink outfit (or however you might portray/mock me) and take a photo! Post in your wall or Instagram and tag me.
All genders welcome! All participants get prizes! You can enter multiple times.
Prizes:
Signed copy of my new book, "Protagonist"
Ticket to Pink Heart Presents: A Self-Expression Celebration (next Sat. in San Diego.)
$10 Gift Card
All Participants: "Be present. Have Integrity. Align with Love." sticker. (Or alternate sticker if they already have one.) Plus half-off a copy of my book.
In Conclusion
I hope you are amazing. Life is wonderful and wild for me. Just got notice to move from the landlords. Trying to find a place to live and a Sprinter-type van to tour in. Wheeee!
Still hosting 3 online gatherings a day. Morning Love on Facebook at 9:00am PST. And Gratitude Circles in zoom at noon and 6:00pm.
Still deeply grateful to be connected to you.
Are you dressing up? Send me a photo of your outfit (or costume)!
Love,
Halcyon
Bonus for reading to the end!
My most creative - and most disappointing - childhood costume: “A Carrot.”
Spray-painted paper did not weather the rigors of trick or treating. And everyone thought I was a pumpkin.
