This past Saturday was, well, packed. Between the events I attended and the proximity to Halloween, the downtown area was teeming with costumed people looking to have a little spooky fun. I, while not costumed, hit up a couple of awesome events.

First, I met up at the NC State Bell Tower with about 40 other bikers for the annual Halloween Alley Cat bike race, called the “Hell on Wheels Alleycat”. For those unfamiliar with the event, it is a bike race almost always in urban areas where each racer must achieve a set number of signatures that are given at various checkpoints all over town. The concept was originally formed by bike messengers as a way of testing who could route themselves the best around their cities. Often, there are secret or surprise checkpoints not directly listed on the manifesto, or list of objectives. Sadly, because of the fact that it was a race, there was very little grouping of cyclists. But, I did realize very early on that I had NO chance of winning, so I took my time and had some fun. I also got a great shot from one of the checkpoints (top of a parking deck on the corner of Wilmington street and Cabbarus street) as seen in the image above.

After 2 hours of hard biking and finishing mid-pack, we all stuck around the Riviera for some drinks and cooldown

Later that evening, the College of Design Halloween Bash continued it’s tradition of bands, dancing and costume competitions in the Pit, over on State’s campus. A long tradition, that was one of the last events to allow alcohol on campus. It’s been a dry event for a few years now, and the crowds have diminished some, but really not all that much.

Above is a setup shot

And then in full swing

The Halloween Bash has always been a staple when it comes to Halloween parties. Put on by students of the College of Design, it’s funded by t-shirt sales, ticket sales and other events throughout the year. The students select the themes – this year was Disco Masquerave Bloodbath. Past events have been ‘Circus Robotica’, ‘Everything’s Bigger Than You’, and ‘Pandemonium at the Grocery Store’. The students also put up the decorations, select the bands, procure the sound system, and have a terrific event to show for it. I don’t have a specific date for when it first began, but it’s been around a long, long time. Maybe one day, they’ll let the booze back in, and it’ll be just as great. Until then, party on!