Steaming cauldrons, strobe lights, and biodegradable utensils. Eerie tunnels of cobwebs, jack o’ lanterns, and a compost pile. At first glance one might not see the differences between a typical party gathering and an eco-friendly one, but the Environmental Club’s first ever Halloween party played nice with Mother Nature.
“We wanted to throw a sustainable event to show people that it’s not that hard to be environmental,” said Brittany Evans, President of Salt Lake Community College’s Environmental Club.
Eco-friendly, yes, fun, even more so. Hundreds of students came and went through the course of the evening sporting all manner of creative Halloween garb. Everything from honeybees to dead prom queens roamed the event.
A costume contest was held with contestants strutting their creative costumes on a runway while throbbing music urged them on. A panel of four judges, including the on-duty Utah Highway Patrolman, awarded honors to the top three:
Brittany Evans took top honors with her stunning “Gaia, Goddess of Earth” costume.
With an amalgamation of earth toned body paints swirling about, a willow limb headdress, and smartly wrapped swaddles of fabric, Evans awed the judges with her spot on thematic number.
Kaya Nielsen took second place as a sassy Lady Gaga. In a slippery silver dress with cubed shoulders and perfectly sculpted blonde hair Nielsen was reminiscent of Gaga at a concert of hers in Glastonbury, England this summer.
Moriba Sannoh rounded out the top three with a freakishly accurate Steve Urkel ensemble, from the 90s sitcom Family Matters. With trousers riding high, and the showmanship to dive into the Urkel’s nerd persona Sannoh couldn’t be denied.
Honorable mentions could have easily been given to Poison Ivy, Luigi (as in Mario’s brother), and a fabulous pirate couple. Todd Lehman, the vice president of the Environmental club, twisted the typical idea of costume into a subtle jab at the oil industry by dressing up as an oil spill clean up worker, soaked in oil.
So what makes a party environmentally friendly? All advertising for the event was printed on 100% recycled paper. All extra refreshments Phi Theta Kappa had provided were to be composted if they hadn’t been eaten. The utensils and plates were made of biodegradable materials. The Pacific Unity Association (PUA) created an impressive spook alley with borrowed props and reused materials. They essentially made use of existing resources, bought materials that were designed to be gentler to the environment, and paid enough attention to the trash to make it useful. To borrow an easily remembered eco-mantra, they reduced, reused, and recycled.
Keep an eye out on campus, or here in The Globe for upcoming Environmental Club events.