Always seeking a way to top their performances, the young foreign set is setting a Halloween precedent: chartering a plane to Transylvania and booking Dracula's castle.
Grandiose parties have become a habit in Moscow, said Garnett, an American advertising executive. "You can go crazy here if you don't proactively organize something," she said.
She admitted that Transylvania was even more of a venture than usual. "This is probably the most complicated endeavor -- chartering a plane and all."
The $550 charge may give you pause for thought, but for those with the ready cash, the group is promising no less than The Halloween Party of the Century.
"I can't believe this is true," but Romanian tour officials "keep saying this is the first time this has been done" by a group of foreigners, Garnett said.
The package includes a Romanian visa, round-trip airfare to Bucharest, ground transportation to the village of Brasov, hotel accommodation and one invitation to the main event in the castle. Castle Bran, where Dracula lived, was not an ideal party spot because it "has no ceilings," but at press time the group had reserved another castle -- complete with moat and drawbridge -- where Count Dracula "also hung out," Garnett said.
The organizers had no problem selling 70 tickets that will fill up the plane leaving Friday, and in fact they ended up turning away 20 people, said American Robin Copeland.
En route to this Saturday's party, the Transylvania weekend has taken on the logistical proportions of a cottage industry, with a full steering committee and weekly meetings. "It's like having a third job," said Copeland, who estimates that she has committed several hours a day to the project this month. "This is a really high-maintenance deal."
Those left behind must cope with the knowledge that they have been outdone. American photographer Otto Pohl, who transported 15 centimeters of sand onto his apartment floor for a beach party in the summer of 1993, is planning a Halloween party for "people who actually have business to attend to in Moscow."
He said he was humbled by the Transylvania plan. "The commitment level is going to be phenomenal," he said. "That is so awesome."
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