8th Annual Wicked Manors “Freak Show!”

Friday, October 31

Wicked Manors was first brought to Wilton Drive in 2007, and this year it’s expected to be bigger than ever before! An estimated 25,000 partygoers are expected to come to The Drive, decked out in their scariest and/or campiest Halloween costumes, ready to have an evening of fun! Wilton Drive is closed off to automobile traffic for 14 hours, starting at 1 p.m. on Halloween, and the street will be transformed into a veritable “Monster Mash!” Bars and restaurants are open for business and food trucks will be lining The Drive for your enjoyment!

The theme this year is “Freak Show,” inspired by the hit TV series American Horror Story, so looking scary and odd is very much encouraged. The event starts in earnest at 5 p.m. with the trick or treat on The Drive for the children. If you are a parent, come on out and let your kids go door to door asking for candy in a safe environment. If you’re a pet lover, there will be a pet costume contest at 7:30 p.m. Dress up your puppy (or any well-behaved pet) in a cute Halloween outfit and bring him or her down with you, and the both of you might just win a prize!

Misty Eyez, the dragtastic mistress of ceremonies, returns to host Wicked Manors for another fun year of partying and fabulous costumes! She will be accompanied by DJs and surprise entertainment acts that will be revealed on Halloween night!

The first of many (human) costume contests will be held at 8:30 p.m. and the theme for this contest is “dead celebrity.” Which favorite dead celebrity are you thinking of dressing up as? Marilyn Monroe? Anna Nicole Smith? Michael Jackson? Amy Winehouse? Natalie Wood? Get creative with your costume and your look and you might just win a prize! The second costume contest will be held at 9:15 p.m. and the judges are looking for the costume with the best sex appeal. Think you’ve got that je ne sais quoi? Show it off for a chance to win! The best sex appeal costume contest is sponsored by Alpine Jaguar.

At 10 p.m., there is a costume contest for best drag/crossdressing look. At 10:30, the judges will be judging the looks based on which partygoer’s costume is the “most unique and outrageous.” If I were to enter, my costume would be Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life running a slaughterhouse. I’d be able to win in both of these aforementioned categories! (Feel free to take this idea and use it if you like.)

If your costume idea is too fabulous to be confined to just one person, the best group costume category is the one you should compete in. The possibilities for entries in this category are limitless. My idea would be to get some friends together and form a zombie gay wedding party, complete with zombie bridesmaids! Whatever you choose, the judges will be picking their favorite at 11 p.m. Finally, at 11:30 p.m., the grand prize will be given out to the best of the best! All the winners from the previous categories will compete for the big award, acclaim, and did I hear “grand prize”? I wonder what it could be! The grand prize is sponsored by New York Grilled Cheese Company. After midnight there will be costume parties and contests at various bars and nightclubs, such as Village Pub and Hunters.

Throughout the night, there will be a Superfreak Show Flash Mob entertaining the crowds on The Drive. Debuting last year, the Flash Mob is back and better than ever with the “freaks” dancing to “Super Freak” by Rick James and “Le Freak” by Chic. Choreography is being produced once again by Tito Abdelredo.

Proceeds raised in the run up to, as well as during, Wicked Manors will benefit The Pride Center. Celebrating 20 years this year, The Pride Center provides many useful services to the LGBT community in Broward County. Their services include HIV counseling and testing, prevention outreach, large-scale condom distribution, healthcare counseling and navigation, peer mentoring, wellness empowerment classes, and much more. You can donate online by going to wickedmanors.org/donate.

Wicked Manors “Freak Show” is presented by The Pride Center and the City of Wilton Manors. Hotspots Media Group is proud to be one of the local media sponsors of this event. Hunters Nightclub is a presenting sponsor. Additional sponsors include Hits 97.3 (who will be broadcasting from Wilton Drive and will be providing live music all night), Alpine Jaguar, Broward County Parks and Recreation, the City of Oakland Park, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, Panache Style, Some Men Like It Haute, New York Grilled Cheese Company, Village Pub, and Divers Direct.

For more information on Wicked Manors, visit wickedmanors.org. Follow Wicked Manors on social media as well: facebook.com/wickedmanors, twitter.com/wickedmanors and Instagram your photos with the hashtag #wickedmanors.

Mike Halterman

Mike Halterman has been the editor of Hotspots Central since its launch in July 2016. He joined the Hotspots Media Group family as editor of Hotspots' South Florida magazine in June 2013. A former "40 Under 40" honoree in The Advocate magazine, Mike lives in the Tampa Bay area.

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