rhcrayon: The Blog! - Post a comment
Oct. 26th, 2011
01:00 am - Photos: LA Kid Lit Costume Party! 2011
Happy Halloween Week, Everyone!
I had a great time this past Saturday at the LA Kid Lit Costume Party! 2011–the third LA Kid Lit Drink Night since a few of us started them in June. Because of Halloween, Jenn Bosworth suggested we dress up as book characters this time, and she picked the Wellesbourne as a swanky new location.
The Wellesbourne was fantastic! The dark, wood-paneled library/tavern with roaring fireplace suited every character perfectly, from Hogwarts students to detectives to gothic and whimsical creatures of the night.
Above: I went as Bunnicula, a vampire bunny that sucks the juices out of vegetables in the night (turning them white), by James Howe. Some of my other favorite characters brought to life included Roald Dahl's The Witches, which Hilary and Elizabeth did to perfection; Sherlock Holmes; Encyclopedia Brown; and Harriet the Spy, and The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds–the latter two played by Sara and Lee of my writing group, respectively.
Writing group fun! Because this is what all of our meetings are like.
You can see all of my pictures on Facebook here
or view the same album with bonus images on Zenfolio, which is prettier. (You can download all of the full-size images from Zenfolio, and watch a slideshow.)
A lot of the costumes were gorgeous. Check out this Dia de los Muertos creation! 
Those horns and that makeup . . . not to mention the perfect Sherlock outfit! I am in awe.
I love Halloween. It gets us all to play together. Sara recently blogged about the need to find your community for every next phase of your journey (and she also blogged her recap of the Kid Lit Costume Party–with more pictures!). The Kid Lit scene is definitely my peeps. Everyone got my costume right away! Not only did they get it, they waxed rhapsodic about Bunnicula, and one author revealed she knows James Howe! (She took my picture to send to him!)
A lot of my non-Kid Lit friends waxed rhapsodic about Bunnicula, too, when I mentioned I was going to this. You could see the shock of recognition in their faces, and the growing excitement as memories came back. That's what I want for my characters when I grow up. :)
I also met Mrs. Whatsit, from A Wrinkle In Time, and this Special from Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. 
That's exactly what Mrs. Whatsit would look like! And I was intimidated by Lori, the Special. I've never seen her hair tamed before. It suggested great power, ready to be unleashed.
I lis(th)ped through my fangth all night, which made talking about my book ridiculouth. I was proud of the giant daikon I found, and the white radishes. (I went through every daikon at two different Japanese stores to find the most carrot-shaped one. It weighed over two pounds! It cost more than a dollar–which is nothing for Halloween but a lot for daikon. And yes, I plan to eat these vegetables–if I don't use them on actual Halloween. I haven't decided yet what I'm doing for West Hollywood.)
In hindsight, I can't help but wish I'd taken more pictures–that took advantage of the location, especially. Like, why didn't I get Sherlock Holmes leaning on an armchair in front of the big, roaring fireplace? And how come I don't have a photo of Mia's gorgeous, red-lightning-riddled back (the main character from Jenn Bosworth's upcoming novel Struck)? I was too busy juggling daikon and lithping.
Ah, well. Next year.
Until then, see you in the next post!
rita
P.S. I realize I've barely mentioned people, and all the great friends we've made. Can you tell I love Halloween? But seriously, we had a lovely time.