Published 2010-10-25T20:10:00Z”/>
Stephanie Maynard
Halloween is the perfect time to have a witch brew up a cocktail, but it’s also the best weekend to take a cute zombie to prom.
All over Chico, the bars and pubs are gearing up for the Halloween weekend. Chico State students can expect costumes, drink specials, live music and themed nights at their favorite venues.
LaSalles will host Friday’s Zombie Prom with a live band dressed as zombies.
The employees of LaSalles decided on the theme, said assistant manager Lisa D’Amico.
“We did a Facebook group to see what everyone wanted and generate ideas,” D’Amico said.
LaSalles will have different themes from Thursday to Sunday, D’Amico said. On Sunday, there is a general theme of “haunted mansion” – but the staff will be dressing as “freaks and geeks.”
“I’m going as Hermione from ‘Harry Potter,’ and another one of the staff is going as Lady Gaga,” D’Amico said.
D’Amico expects Saturday to be the bar’s biggest night, she said. For their “heaven and hell” theme, half of the bar will be decked out in heavenly costumes and the other half in hell-inspired wear. This is a theme LaSalles has used before.
D’Amico doesn’t expect crowds to get too devilish or out of hand, she said.
“Our staff is trained to handle crowds really well,” D’Amico said. “The biggest thing is people who get too drunk, and that usually happens outside the bar – and there are lots of cops around.”
Staff of other bars expressed similar feelings, such as Sue Reed of Lost on Main.
“I’ve noticed that the crowds have increased in the past couple of years, but the kids are really well behaved,” Reed said. “Halloween is coming back in a good way.”
Other bars are sticking to tried-and-true drink specials, said 33 Steaks, Booze and Jazz proprietor Tyler Cooke. Over the weekend, they will have specials on vodka with lemonade, vodka with Rockstar and “big kids’ Kool-Aid.” There will not be a cover charge.
“Our main focus will be on Friday and Saturday, since people still have to wake up and go to work or school on Monday,” Cooke said.
Halloween falling on a Sunday means that this year’s partying is going to be more spread out than previous years, he said.
“Last Halloween was on a Saturday, so this will be a whole different experience,” Cooke said. “Sunday will be an abnormally busy Sunday, but it will still be a Sunday.”
He has been working at bars since 1998 and remembers when there were lines to get into bars that went past the Bell Memorial Union, Cooke said.
“That just doesn’t happen anymore,” he said.
Cooke is not the only one to comment on a decline of student patrons. Doug Roberts, owner of Duffy’s Tavern, has also noticed this trend.
“So many people are going back to their roots of house parties,” Roberts said.
Duffy’s Tavern plans on the big nights being Saturday and Sunday, Roberts said.
Roberts is not concerned about crowds, he said.
However, others have a different prediction, such as Joe’s Bar manager Dan Burns.
“So many out-of-town people come into town and think this is the weekend to go crazy,” Burns said. “You can find crowds six to eight people deep on the sidewalk. It’s gotten to the point where we don’t think police can do much if we had a problem.”
Joe’s Bar will have a full staff and a few extras on hand during the weekend. There will be drink specials and the staff will be in costume.
“We want everyone to be safe and sane come Monday morning,” Burns said.
Stephanie Maynard can be reached at [email protected]
