UK Texas Exes Celebrate Halloween in Style
Zombies, pirates, food, drinks, and a DJ—sounds like a typical American Halloween party. Except it wasn’t.
The 11th-annual Texas Exes U.K. Chapter‘s Halloween party in London last Saturday was a wild success. More than 375 Texas Exes, friends, Brits, and Halloween enthusiasts showed up in costume at the Prince of Wales Pub in London. Preliminary numbers show that attendees raised $10,000 for the chapter’s scholarship fund.
“We’ve built up a reputation from the people who come to the party and spread the word,” says chapter president Carra Kane, BA ’97, Life Member. “It’s not even all Texas Exes. We’re doing something that appeals to other people.”
Prizes were given for the most creative, scariest, and best couple costumes at the chapter’s biggest event of the year. Best couple—and all-around crowd favorite—went to Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke, who imitated the celebrities’ appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, complete with facial expressions and dancing.
The event highlighted a cultural difference in how Brits and Americans approach costumes. According to Kane, the homesick Texans favor funny pop-culture costumes, while the Londoners amp up the fear factor.
“You can always spot the Brits,” Kane says. “They come dressed as bloody cheerleaders, zombies, or other scary [costumes.]”
The cultural differences between English and American Halloween seem to contribute to the party’s success, Kane says. There’s no shortage of people in London looking to celebrate Halloween like a Texas Ex.
In fact, Kane and the other chapter officers decided to put a cap on the number of available tickets after complaints that last year’s party was too crowded. So while you might have to buy your tickets early to be guaranteed entry, we’ve been assured that the 12th-annual party is already in the works.
The Texas Exes U.K. Chapter officers in costume. Photo courtesy Carra Kane.
