Zombies, vampires and ghouls raved in the rain to celebrate Stealth’s 15th birthday. Rachael Halaburda grabbed some face paint and went down to check it out...
Offering up a festival at Nottingham’s legendary Wollaton Hall, Stealth’s debut Halloween spooktacular set lots of tongues wagging across the city, giving the brand the birthday party it deserved. Crowds were excited and ready to dance into the night thanks to its house and techno lineup; Patrick Topping and Denis Sulta were billed for Sunday, but it was Michael Bibi, Danny Howard and Latmun’s set we caught as we spent Saturday braving the weather to get monstrously messy at the 11 hour party.
The main tent was placed down the hill from the historic hall, which in the past had been used as Wayne Manor - the shadowy home of Batman in the Dark Knight movie and the perfect setting for the day. The wet weather turned the ground into a mud bath making the downhill entrance a little difficult to navigate however, all things considered, it added to the spookiness of the event - it wouldn’t be Halloween without a few tricks to overcome, right?
With gates opening at 12 noon we headed straight inside the arena. Though it was still the middle of the day, it was hard to believe it wasn’t late at night in a club somewhere. Packed from the very beginning, there were beams of light and visual projections filling the tent, all adding to the festival’s electric atmosphere.
Decor aside, the music was captivating and easy to lose yourself in; pulsing beats and rhythmic patterns turned hours into minutes and before you knew it, night time had arrived - Halloween’s favourite stomping ground.
When our feet were sore we took a half time break. This called for grub and just outside of the main tent were food trucks which always seemed to have a steady queue of ravers needing to refuel. There were gourmet burgers and chips galore, accessorised with containers full of gherkins and salad (meant for burger toppings) for some reason it seemed like a good idea to have the gherkins on top of chips. Perhaps we’d had one too many of the ghoulish tipples on offer, but there’s no denying that this freakish combo worked.
Back in the main tent and people were really getting into it now, the atmosphere was on a high. Hands were in the air, ghosts were getting down and zombies were lookin’ their best. Over at the bar area 80s classics were being played, offering something a little different while you ordered your drink, and the cocktails were frighteningly delicious.
Overall, Stealth celebrated in style. People powered through and the event stayed packed right to the end. It seemed like most would have been happy to stay for more - it’s a good job there was an afterparty planned at the club late into the night, with another day of fun to enjoy on the Sunday too…
Stealth's Halloween Festival took place on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October at Wollaton Hall.
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