Let the Halloween Weekend Commence!

With the 31st being on a Wednesday this year, a lot of the Halloween festivities, as usual, have been transplanted to the weekend before- which starts- tonight! Allow me to do one final promotion-heavy reminder of where you can see me (or, in some cases, just hear me…) Later today, I’ll be on WGN radio (720 AM) , doing a live broadcast with Garry Meier from the Odeum in Villa Park- where the “Asylum Xperiment” is located! I’m visiting Garry between 4 and 5 pm, and it should be a lot of fun- Garry and his staff will be dressed as the Munsters! (BTW- you would have had to be pre-registered to attend, but, of course, you can enjoy it on the radio- and, since WGN carries across the country as a clear channel, many of our new Sven fans can listen in!) Tomorrow, Saturday, we have a full day of fun- we show up at the 4th annual Parker’s “Bark-o-ween” celebration- I’ll be there at noon to sign autographs and pose with you and your pet! Then, it’ll be the annual costume contest- with great prizes, so I’d advise you to dress up that pooch- and yourself as well- and take part- it’s always fun (and I get to make wisecracks as I m.c. the whole thing!) My part takes place from noon to 2 pm, but the celebration- and big sale on pet items- goes throughout the afternoon! Parker’s is at 1340-1342 E. 55th Street in Chicago- and, even if you don’t have a pet- it really is fun to see the parade of costumes, so stop by! If you need a radio fix of Sven- you’re in luck- I’ll be back on WGN between 6 and 7 pm with our old pal Nick Digilio, who always gives us such a flattering introduction at Flashback Weekend every year… then, it’s off to Elgin- which, again this year, is being over-run by a zombie infestation! Don’t worry, though- there is a zombie-free “safe zone” at the “Nightmare on Chicago Street” in downtown Elgin. Suit up in your Halloween costume, and make your way past the amazing displays of the walking-dead infested areas- to the fun party location, with food, music, vendors, and- maybe even a few zombies who have strayed past the barriers! You can come meet me and get an autograph from 9 pm to about 10:30-plus, we’ll have Sven shirts and button sets available for purchase- and then- it’ll be time for me to join Elgin’s mayor in crowning this year’s “Miss Zombie”! I might just have a “Miss America”-type tune to warble as she takes her victory walk! (By the way- if you’re going to attend-make sure you’ve set your video recording device to tape our Me-TV show…) Then- Sunday- the big event- at the Muvico Theaters in Rosemont-9701 Bryn Mawr Avenue, just off River Road- a big screen digital presentation of the restored “Creature from the Black Lagoon”- in 3-D! This will be the current polarized type of 3-D, not the old red-green glasses, so it’ll be pristine! I’ll be there to sign autographs from 2 to 4 pm, then, do an introduction of the film before it starts at 4:30! Lots of fun stuff to do, as well-a children’s Halloween party, some Halloween short subjects before the movie- and more! By the way, we WILL have some Sven t-shirts and buttons available for purchase! You can get advance tickets at www.muvico.com Rumor has it I’ll be making a cameo appearance on Janet Davies’ WLS-TV “190 North” on Sunday night- and,as the week heads to Halloween- perhaps a late night visit to WGN radio (again?!)- and- will I stop in on our WCIU “You and Me This Morning” show? Check back for details! Oh- the “Halloween Horror of the Day”? Let’s choose –the Giant Leeches! Inhabiting a small sector of the Florida Everglades, the leeches- as big as a man, and almost as smart as some of the locals- dwell in an underwater cave, and grab any unfortunates who stumble into the swamps to use as handy juice boxes. They drain the victims’ blood, and their bloodless carcasses occasionally float to the surface! Their movie may have sucked, but so did they- and they are the “Halloween Horror of the Day”!