CircuitMOM to deliver double dose of tricks and treats this Halloween weekend

CircuitMOM Productions has a double dose of shenanigans planned this weekend, with plenty of tricks and treats to help celebrate Halloween.

“Halloween this year feels very electric to me,” said Matthew Harvat, aka, CircuitMOM. “Events are slowly coming back, still with a lot of health safety rules and extra steps for everyone, but we will take it. Chicago has always been so much fun for Halloween; I think this year will be over the top.

“We are very grateful to be able to produce our parties again and be invited to help create seasonal decor for commercial and residential clients. A lot of that business did not happen in 2020, so it is good to be mostly back at it. People hear about the supply and demand challenges out there for products and services in general and our events are no exception. Venues are short-staffed, basic decor elements are very hard to find and everything takes twice as long to accomplish, but (there's) no complaining here. 

“We have been living in the perpetual, 'Ok, let's move to Plan B' business model for 19 months, so it has become second nature.”

CircuitMOM delivers its 10th anniversary for Halloween at the House of Blues on Saturday night, Oct. 30, starting at 9 p.m., with Slashers, starring DJs Eddie Martinez and Ale Maes. Both have been working overtime to create a one-of-a-kind musical journey to fit the theme, Harvat said

Joshuan Aponte, Tyler Miller and Edwin Martinez (CircuitSON) have created a spectacular set design that is 22 feet tall and 35 feet wide for the Saturday night event.

“One of the things we love about House Of Blues is having a proper, theatrical stage,” Harvat said. “There is no other venue like it in the city and that keeps us on top of our game to create bigger visuals every time we open the doors. We work for months creating looks, performances, and visual art to fill that gigantic space with every event. Our audience expects to see live entertainment that flows throughout the night seamlessly, so it is a lot of moving parts, but we thrive on the chaos we create and love every minute.”

New to the event stage for Slashers is Venom Apollo Summers, who has been rehearsing for two weeks-plus. There also will be a costume contest as well with over $1,000 in cash and prizes.

Harvat said Martinez and Maes are “incomparable talents who not only DJ but produce some of the most incredible music.” Harvat added, “This will be their first time spinning together, so there is no doubt it will be an iconic night. 

“Eddie was my 'Number One DJ To Watch' back in 2012 for my OUT Magazine blog and he has exceeded any and every expectation. Ale is truly a rising star with a Jeff Besos style fast track into the stratosphere with his immeasurable DJ and producer skills. We are lucky to have both with us.”

This year marks CircuitMOM's 23rd year producing events at the House of Blues. “Even though it is a 5-story venue and can be overwhelming for first-time attendees, people feel at home in the space because it is pretty cozy even with 1,200 people dancing. It is our second home,” Harvat said.

The party continues Sunday, Oct. 31, naturally.

CircuitMOM presents I SCREAM with renowned DJ Joe Gauthreaux at Prysm Nightclub (15443 N. Kingsbury) from 4-10 p.m.

“We love the Prysm space. That building is where CircuitMOM got her start back in the 1990s when it was the iconic Crobar. The room is sleek; the sound is world-class; the LED wall is massive and their new, permanent light show is off-the-charts amazing,” Harvat said. “We hope this will become an annual event partnership. Who knows, maybe we will do more Sunday tea dances in the space. We invite people to come kiki with us on Halloween before they head to Queen at SmartBar and Metro for the biggest Halloween night party in the city.”

Halloween weekend is traditionally the end of the dance party productions for any given year for CircuitMOM Productions. From November 1 to January 15 of every year, MOM & company do about 25 to 30 holiday installations for both commercial and residential clients which keeps them very busy.

Harvat said 2021 “has been an interesting year for everyone. We went from doing nothing to non-stop meetings and productions, from June 15th to now. The support from our audience has been amazing and we are blown away by their excitement for both Halloween and our 2022 calendar of events. Our entire team is going to sleep the last two weeks in January of 2022 so we can reset our brains to tackle what will hopefully be a banner year for everyone. Things are looking up, but the world is not out of the woods yet.”

In 2022, CircuitMOM will resume plans they had set for 2020 and expand, too. “Some places we are headed (in 2022) include Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Puerto Rico and Columbia, with more locations in the works,” Harvat said. “We are watching out for more new talent to showcase and forming strong relationships across the industry to help support each other in still very uncertain times. (We're sure that) 2022 will be an exciting new chapter for us.”

Harvat added: “We cannot thank people enough for their support. We get messages from all over the world from our guests who are coming to our events which is very humbling. We love our hometown and try to highlight its beauty with our art. 2020 was very scary for every industry and to be able to get back to what we love doing for half of 2021 was a miracle. Thanks for believing in us. We promise to keep working to bring new and exciting art to life on our dance floors for many years to come. Be safe, take care of each other and we hope to see you on our dance floors very soon.”

Events: Halloween 2021 (Chicago's LGBTQ calendar is on GoPride.com)