Giant stuffed fish heads, four foot long whips, and hand-made alligator feet — all of these things are not what you would call “ordinary.” However, this Halloween weekend I witnessed all of this and more.

Last Friday night, the Rainbow Roundtable threw a MasQUEERade ball to get everyone in the Halloween spirit and, presumably, to get as many people as possible to dance to Call Me Maybe before it ceases to be relevant. Admission included refreshments from Damon’s, a costume competition, a live DJ, and an unlimited supply of Monster (to go with the Halloween theme). I was particularly excited about the costume competition, but my enthusiasm paled in comparison to the rest of the attendees. There were gladiators, crows, fairies, fish, wizards, and an eerily accurate Dr. Frank-N-Furter from Rocky Horror.

Less than 30 people showed up to the ball, but the lack of people didn’t stop the insanity in any way. The night started off slow, but as soon as DJ Foxx started playing Gangam Style, the room became flooded with gyrating costumed bodies attempting to do the cowboy. Over the course of the evening my favorite activities consisted of dancing like a fiend, chugging Monster, and simultaneously stuffing my face with mozzarella sticks.

When it was time to announce the winners of the costume competition, a silent hush filled the dance floor. The categories were as follows: The RuPaul, The Ellen DeGeneres, and the Neil Patrick Harris.

Winners:

The RuPaul—the biggest transformation costume:

Allen Wontroba as the (allegedly) homemade alligator.

The Ellen DeGeneres—the funniest costume:

Josh Keilholtz as the giant fish head he managed to find at Goodwill.

And finally, the Neil Patrick Harris—the sexiest costume:

Erica Pilgram as a femme fatale gladiator.

The awards were well deserved, although some categories were definitely a close call.

Overall the MasQUEERade ball was a success, despite the poor turnout. Personally, I’m not sure you could find a nicer group of people to eat fried food and dance the Time Warp with.