Hamilton running organization VR Pro hosts charitable Halloween races in support of Hamilton Food Share and McMaster Children’s Hospital Foundation
VR Pro is a company which facilitates race events for the running community within Hamilton and Burlington. This year’s Halloween races were held on Oct. 26. and started at the Discovery Centre Waterfront Shores.
This year’s race offers runners a one kilometer race, a five kilometer race, and a 10 kilometer race. But while the race offers runners a chance to indulge in the Halloween spirit and compete with others, it also aims to help others. Funds raised from the races this year will be donated to the McMaster Children's Hospital and the Hamilton Food Share.
Amitoz Bhattale is the company's new director of marketing. This year's races were her first Halloween races and she has helped to make this year’s event one to remember.
“It's all about the community in this one. And we are supporting McMaster Children's Hospital in this race and the Hamilton food shelter as well. We've already raised over $3,500 for that [McMaster Children’s Hospital] and $1,500 worth of food for the Hamilton Food Shelter,” said Bhattale.
It's all about the community in this one ... we are supporting McMaster Children's Hospital in this race and the Hamilton food shelter as well. We've already raised over $3,500 for that [McMaster Children’s Hospital] and $1,500 worth of food for the Hamilton Food Shelter.
Amitoz Bhattale, Director of Marketing
VRPro
By signing up for the Halloween race with VRPro, runners were prompted to donate to either the McMaster Children’s Hospital or Hamilton Food Shelter. Additionally, those who signed up for the one kilometer race were asked to donate $25 overall.
Along with numerous individuals donating to these charities before the race, VRPro also had an option for people to bring non-perishable items to donate or to make a monetary donation to Hamilton Food Share.
“[W]e definitely want to make an impact whether it's through the charities that we support or through the community that we bring together. And that's how we measure success as VRPro. And personally for me, if I have done the marketing right, and if we have gotten enough participants and we have exceeded the check that we have for us, that's a personal success for me,” said Bhattale.
If you are a runner and passionate about supporting charitable organizations, VR Pro hosts other holiday themed, charitable races throughout the year. On Dec. 1, 2024 they will host a Santa Parade Race followed by the Santa Hamilton Race on Dec. 15, 2024, the funds from which will support Food for Life and Mission Services.
C/O MICHELLE CADIEUX
The Silhouette: Please introduce yourself.
Michelle Cadieux: My name is Michelle Cadieux. I am the course coordinator and one of the instructors for introductory psychology.
I've heard a lot about you guys doing costumes this Halloween. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?
Every year, we do the charity event where, if we raised enough money, your [professor] dresses up for Halloween. In reality, [Dr. Joe Kim] and I would dress up regardless of whether or not we raised enough money — we think it's a lot of fun. It's an initiative to raise money and we participate every year.
"Every year, we do the charity event where, if we raised enough money, your [professor] dresses up for Halloween. In reality, [Dr. Joe Kim] and I would dress up regardless of whether or not we raised enough money — we think it's a lot of fun. It's an initiative to raise money and we participate every year."
MICHELLE CADIEUX, COURSE COORDINATOR AND INSTRUCTOR FOR INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY
What do you guys have planned for this year?
That's kind of a surprise but Joe and I are going to have matching costumes. It turns out that, for some odd reason, I own two adult Mario costumes. I'm not actually sure why. But then, my son decided to go as Mario last year for Halloween. My husband wanted to go as matching Marios and I went through our costume closet — yes, I own an actual closet full of costumes — and all of a sudden I found a second one. So, Dr. Kim has gone as Mario a couple of times and borrowed the costume from me. It looks great on him. This year, I was just like: "Oh, we're totally going as matching Marios". I'm really into Nintendo games and I got my son really onto the Mario side of things. We went through all of Mario Odyssey together during the pandemic. Though, this year, he's going as a Pokemon. He's going as Eevee treating and my husband and I are both going as Eevee evolutions. So we're an Eevee family. He also has a Pikachu one for school.
Do you also have more costumes?
I have four different costumes for this year. I have the costume that I'm going to wear for lecture, Mario, and then I have the costume that I'm going to wear when I go trick or treating, Leafeon, and then I have the costume that I'm going to wear for my TAs during our tutorial preview. I haven't quite decided what that one's going to be yet but I have this medieval princess thing that I'm thinking of and I have a Sailor Mercury costume that I'm wearing for a Halloween party.
Do you have a favourite costume?
I have a whole bunch of really cool ones. One that students tend to pick for me is a 1950s diner waitress costume. I will wear the whole outfit including the roller skates and I will lecture while wearing roller skates. I haven't decided if students like the costume or just the higher risk that I'm going to fall on my face. Skating on carpet is actually really hard. Regardless of how good I am on skates, I might trip and my arms go up. Everyone in the room will gasp and I don't know if they're hoping that I'll fall or not. Either way, I think it's funny. [The costume] was actually made by my godmother. A lot of my costumes come from her — she used to make costumes for Halloween. She was really into it and luckily we're of similar size. So, when she was emptying out her costume closet, I inherited a bunch. The love of costumes may be genetic.
Could you tell us a little bit about the psychology of why we want to be so scared around Halloween?
Being scared is something that a lot of people find thrilling. I don't think it's necessarily connected to Halloween. It's just that Halloween can sort of be an excuse. Being scared ups your adrenaline and that feels good. There's an element of thrill that we enjoy. It's the same reason we like eating spicy chicken wings — even though it hurts — because the pain releases endorphins. We get this connection between being scared and getting that adrenaline rush in a situation when we're not actually in danger. It's why we do escape rooms, watch horror movies, play pranks where you jump out behind somebody and everyone laughs. A little bit of fear gets our blood pumping, gets our adrenaline up and that can be a really positive feeling as long as you're not in actual danger.
By: Jordan Graber
Content Warning: This article contains a racial slur.
From the candy to the decorations and the costumes, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. When I was young, I loved to dress up as the basic Halloween ensembles like Count Dracula and Sleeping Beauty.
As I grew older and became more exposed to the overarch of social media, I became more aware of the issues surrounding the cultural appropriation and essential jokes made by seemingly innocent costumes worn on Halloween.
In this new light, I began to understand the distaste of several of the costumes that I have chosen to wear over the years, such as my gypsy costume or my Native American princess. These were costumes that, at the time, I thought nothing of but in reality, have negative connotations and may be seen as oppressive and offensive to certain groups.
Just last year, a sophomore attending University of Central Arkansas sported “blackface” to a fraternity party on campus, posing the famous comedian Bill Cosby. After posting a photo of his get-up captioned, “It was a bold night,” the image went viral and he received large amounts of outrage and backlash, which included threats against his life. He later posted an apology on Instagram which outlined his regret of the offense that he had caused, as well as the fact that until that night, he had apparently never heard of the term “blackface” or the negative connotations that went along with it.
Unfortunately, it is a common misconception that these costumes are okay, and the student is not the only one who doesn’t realize the serious offense taken in misrepresentation. This includes, but is not limited to, Julianne Hough sporting blackface while dressing as a popular Orange is the new black character, young people dressing as “sexy terrorists,” a young woman dressing as a Boston marathon bombing victim, sexy ebola nurses, eskimos and Native American chiefs. These costumes continue to be mass produced and sold in everyday stores and Halloween pop-ups, driving the idea that these are somehow actually okay to wear.
Intentions do not matter when representations are all that people can see. Disney princess or not; think about the ramifications. You can choose to be whatever and whoever you want for a day, just don’t make it at the expense of another.
Costumes are a fun and exciting way to be what you can’t be everyday. By no means is this something that should go away, but a certain amount of consideration is required when deciding what to wear.
Representations, whether they are recreational or intentional, call for some sensitivity.
Dressing to represent any sort of lifestyle or experience that is not your own is offensive and oppressive to the identity of another, no matter what the intention is. The people that we may want to dress up as represent real lives, experiences and histories.
A “sexy “gypsy” costume can be worn for a fun (and hopefully legal) night and then taken off the next day, but the person wearing the costume may not understand the very real harassment Romani people face in Europe. Likewise, one can dress up as a “sexy terrorist” for a Halloween bash while there are real Muslim men and women out there who are discriminated against based on this awful stereotype.
To make a costume out of something that represents the experience of another is to make fun of a group’s passions and struggles. It deems their life experiences unworthy of real acknowledgement, insinuating that these lifestyles are ones that are thoroughly understood by all. Traditions, heartbreaks, tragedies and passions are all made into nothing more than a costume. It strips people of their individuality.
Cultures are not costumes. Gender or sexual identities are not costumes. The sexualization of real people and minorities, and costumes referring to violence against women is not okay. Essentially, if you have to ask yourself if what you are wearing is culturally appropriative or offensive in any way, it might be time to get yourself a new ensemble.
There are people who face real discrimination, poverty and violence as a part of their everyday identity. This Halloween, be mindful of the costume you are choosing to wear. Intentions do not matter when representations are all that people can see. Disney princess or not; think about the ramifications. You can choose to be whatever and whoever you want for a day, just don’t make it at the expense of another.
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