FREE Workshops
(we help make creating easy &
entering The Creative Costume Contest a breeze,
or at least free)
We really are quite serious about wishing to restore community and creativity to our celebration of Halloween. In fact, it's our literal mission. Creating is so much easier than so many think. AND we've even got some free workshops to help you create.
Everyone who has ever made their own costume knows the pure joy of creating a costume from start to finish. They know it's even better when done with those you love, and even sometimes with neighbors and strangers engaged in communal creation. From the dawn of Halloween in time immemorial through the 1950s, few costumes were purchased. Almost every costume was made by its wearer or a relative, and usually from found materials.
How much creativity has been lost as we forgot—in the bustle of modern life—how much fun it is and how important it is to create with our loved ones?
As Halloween became commercialized, we lost this critical communal creative folk art despite the joy and canvass it annually provided. It served as a sort of blank cultural canvas through which our communal act of creating together knitted together neighborhoods and communities across the country. We imagined, sketched, designed, compared, and then made together then showed off our creations in local parades in virtually every neighborhood. Halloween's commercialization deprived us of a vital folk art enjoyed in many communities across America.
We hope you'll join us as we restore creativity and community to our celebration of Halloween.
Casper Rec Center: Sat 9/21
Natrona County Public Library: Sat 10/5
The Science Zone: Thurs 10/10 & 10/17
DETAILS FOLLOW FOR EACH
free
costume
workshops
ahead
⬇
Casper Recreation Center
Saturday, September 21, 2024
1-3 PM: (#13761) 20 seats
2-4 PM: (#13762) 20 seats
3-5 PM: (#13763) 20 seats
Register for the Halloween Mask Making workshop online:
by phone at 307-235-8383,
or in person at
The Casper Recreation Center, 1801 E 4th St.*
“A Folk Halloween Experience's mission is to restore community and creativity to our celebration of Halloween. There is a $5 suggested donation per person to cover the cost of wire armature and elastic bands for paper mache masks, but the workshop is free if you can't contribute. Their gifted paper mache mask makers will be at the ready to help you imagine and design your mask, to help you learn how to do paper mache, and you'll do the first two layers of paper at the workshop and get an instruction sheet to complete your mask at home. Our gifted costumers and cosplayers can also help you design and sew a costume and information for asking for their help will be sent home to participants on their handout. Registration is limited and will fill up quickly, so register today."
*If you are registering yourself and a child under 13, you'll have to come in to the Casper Recreation Center to have to call or come in so we can override the age limit.
The Fall Recreation Guide can be found here.
“Join us at the Library on Saturday, October 5th at 2 PM for a creative and hands-on Mask Making Workshop, led by A Folk Halloween Experience 2023 costume winners. This workshop is perfect for anyone looking to design their own unique mask or costume in preparation for Halloween! Bring a sketch or photos to help us understand your vision, and our team of 2023 costume contest winners and cosplayers will be on hand to assist.
We'll be working with wire armature to avoid the mess and discomfort of doing paper mache directly on your skin with petroleum jelly (and yes, no need to shave if you’ve got facial hair). You'll leave the workshop with the first two layers of your mask completed and detailed instructions to finish your creation at home.
The A Folk Halloween Experience team, dedicated to restoring creativity and community to Halloween celebrations, will be there to guide you through the paper mache process. They’ll also provide resources to help with your costume design, sewing, and more. Registration is limited, so make sure to reserve your spot today!
Don’t miss out on this chance to tap into your creativity and get expert help bringing your Halloween ideas to life. Call 577.7323 for more information and sign up below to guarantee your spot in this spooktacularly creative class!
Registration is limited to 30 and will fill up quickly, so register as quickly as possible. Registration is now open."
Natrona County Public Library
Saturday 10/5/24 2-4 PM
Participants under 12 must be accompanied by an adult
“The Science of papier-mâché & mask making”
Science Zone Family Nights:
- Sign up for both nights -
Thurs 10/10 & Thurs 10/17: 4-6 PM
Thursday 10/10/24, 4-6 PM: Participants under 12 must be accompanied by an adult
“Learn about the history of papier-mâché masks and costumes, look at old recipes for papier-mâché medium/glue, and create a hypothesis and design an experiment with your family or your team to test your hypotheses to find the best papier-mâché medium to become the official recipe for papier-mâché for A Folk Halloween Experience, and you'll then apply your first couple layers of paper mache. This is a family friendly fall Halloween offering but registrations will fill up fast, so be sure to register for both 10/10 and 10/17 family nights."
Thursday 10/17/24, 4-6 PM: Participants under 12 must be accompanied by an adult
“Compare, analyze, interpret, make conclusions and publish your results with other participants. If there's time, apply Gesso and craft paint and/or additional layers or use paper-mâché clay in order to sculpt features [and paint at home]. This is a family friendly fall Halloween offering but registrations will fill up fast, so be sure to register for both 10/10 and 10/17 family nights."
The following masks are masks made by neighbors who attended A Folk Halloween Experience in 2023 (Azriel included his work in progress for 2024).
Azriel's 2023 mask in progress
Participant's 2023 mask in progress
Participant's 2023 mask in progress
Azriel's 2024 mask in progress
Azriel's 2023 mask in progress
Participant's 2023 mask in progress
Participant's 2023 mask worn to their experience
Azriel's 2024 mask still yet in progress - Can you guess what he's designing?
