West Coast Costume Society

10/22/2026

🎃👻 Don’t let your costume haunt your closet all year!

Once the trick-or-treating is done, give your costume a second life! The week after Halloween, our friends at Nanaimo Science will be hosting a costume drop-off bin for the West Coast Costume Society.

Rather than storing that costume for another 12 months, drop it off and it’ll find a new home at next year’s Costume Boo-tique, our free costume giveaway that helps families celebrate a fun, sustainable Halloween. 🌿

📅 When: Nov 2–8
📍 Where: Nanaimo Science, Country Club Centre (near where the Boo-tique was this year!)

We accept gently-used costumes for all ages, plus accessories like hats, wigs, and props. Please make sure items are clean and in good shape.

A huge thank you to Nanaimo Science for helping us keep costumes out of the landfill and in the hands of kids who’ll love them! 💜🧡

10/15/2026

🎃 Pilates and Potions — and a chance to give back! 🖤

Our friends at Oxan Collective are hosting a spooky mat Pilates class on Sunday, October 25, 6–8 PM at 3024 Barons Rd, and they've generously chosen to support the West Coast Costume Society.

Come dressed in a costume you can move in, work up a sweat, and stay for some terrifying Halloween treats.

While you're there, we'll be accepting:
👗 Gently used Halloween costumes — all sizes, kids to adults
💜 Cash donations to help keep costumes free for Nanaimo families

Donations are completely optional, but every costume and every dollar helps us make next year's Costume Boo-tique even bigger.

🎟️ Tickets: $20 general / $10 Oxan members
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pilates-and-potions-tickets-2002343508335

Thank you, Oxan Collective, for having us!

10/13/2026

🎃☕ Door Prize Delivered!

On Friday we dropped off the Serious Coffee gift basket to our lucky Boo-tique door prize winner, Angela. Congratulations, and enjoy! ☕🖤

A huge thank you to everyone who entered the draw and shared their feedback. Your comments help us make the Costume Boo-tique better every year.

The draw was also a great way to build our mailing list — and don’t worry, we send emails only rarely, like when the next Boo-tique is coming up or donation bins are out at the library. Want in? Visit our website to sign up: westcoastcostumesociety.com

Thanks again to Serious Coffee for the generous prize and for supporting a sustainable Halloween! 🧡

10/07/2026

Thanks CHLY for the story!

A local society is celebrating five years working to decrease clothing waste and to make the cost of Halloween a little less spooky.

10/06/2026

Ever wondered why we ask you a couple of quick questions on your way out of the Boo-tique? 📋

No names, no sign-ups. Just how many costumes you found, what sizes, and how you heard about us. Here's what those 30 seconds told us this year, and why it matters:

🎃 407 costumes went home with Nanaimo families this year, up from 257 last year. That's over 1,000 costumes kept out of the landfill in five years.

👧 Sizes 4–6 are the most popular every single year, so we know to keep those racks full.

🧒 Sizes 7–10 DOUBLED this year (48 → 100!), and teen and adult costumes are now more than a quarter of everything that goes out.

📣 Almost half of you found us on social media, and our posters and the library donation drive brought in three times as many people as last year. So we know where to put our volunteer energy.

Every answer helps us plan a better Boo-tique.. Thank you for helping us get it right. 💜

Want a reminder when donations open next September? Sign up for our newsletter at westcoastcostumesociety.com

10/04/2026

That's a wrap on our 5th annual Costume Boo-tique! 🎃

Over 400 free, gently-used costumes went home with Nanaimo families — our biggest year yet, up 58% from last year. Five years ago we started with about 74 costumes on a few tables. Since then, more than 1,100 costumes have found a second (or third!) Halloween instead of ending up in the landfill.

None of this happens without our volunteers. About 100 hours of sorting, hanging, hauling and sizing went into this one, with help from a couple of very small stormtroopers and two extremely professional police officers.

Huge thanks to Vancouver Island Regional Library for collecting donations at all three Nanaimo branches, ( VI Regional Library Nanaimo Harbourfront VI Regional Library Nanaimo Wellington VI Regional Library Nanaimo North ), Country Club Centre for the space, and Nanaimo Science, Habitat for Humanity Nanaimo ReStore, Coastal Community Credit Union, 460 Realty and City of Nanaimo Local Government for the support.

And thank you, Nanaimo! For donating, for showing up, and for choosing a sustainable Halloween. 💜

Want to hear about next year's Boo-tique first, plus donation dates and volunteer calls? Sign up for our newsletter at westcoastcostumesociety.com (scroll to "Stay Connected"). It's the best way to make sure you don't miss it.

10/04/2026

A big thank you to Serious Coffee for donating a gift basket for our door prize!

Support from local businesses helps us keep the free costume Boo-tique running for families across our community. Be sure to stop by Serious Coffee for a warm drink, and do not forget to enter our door prize draw at the event!

10/04/2026

We hear you. Free, gently-used costumes for everyone, year five.

-->TODAY

10/03/2026

WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE COSTUME BOO-TIQUE

Sunday, October 4 | 11am–2pm
Country Club Centre, Nanaimo (outside of Nanaimo Science)

• Completely free.
• Costumes for all ages, from toddlers to adults.
• One costume per person, first come, first served. The best picks go early, so come at 11! Note there may be a line up.
• Bring your own bag to carry your find home.
• Quick check-out on your way out. We just note how many costumes and which sizes (no names) so we can plan next year even better.
• Free mall parking, easy bus access.
• Every costume on the racks was donated by your neighbours. Thank you, Nanaimo!

Five years of free, sustainable Halloween. See you Sunday. 🎃

Questions? [email protected]

10/02/2026

Wow, what a haul! Look at everything picked up from the Nanaimo North VIRL drop-off bin today 😍

A huge thank you to everyone who dropped off costume donations. Your generosity helps keep Halloween fun, accessible, and sustainable for families across Nanaimo.

We cannot wait to sort through all of these, and more, tomorrow and get them ready for the Boo-tique on October 4th at Country Club Centre!