Like all Halloweens celebrations that merit the adjective ‘awesome’, there was laughing, there was crying, and there was a giant wad of cash. It was awesome. Although this year’s festivities ended in tears, these were not the tears of manic children crashing on the other side of a candy-induced sugar high; these were tears of Awesome.

As pirates, ballerinas, and gorillas roamed free in the mall food court this October 31rst, the Awesome Foundation embraced the trick or treat spirit to bring this month’s submission winner a treat of $1000 cash in a sneaky way.

It was a sunny afternoon in downtown Halifax, and the Awesome team hatched a plan around a café table in Scotia Square to present Danny Brophy with his prize money. Subtly approaching Danny and his unsuspecting entourage, the crew began to loudly discuss the subject of veterans, photography, and of course, awesome, until they were noticed and removed their overcoats to reveal AF shirts, exposing their true identities as emissaries of Awesome!

Why veterans and photography? Danny Brophy is the son of a Korean war veteran, and he had a dream. A dream that after much deliberation AFH unanimously selected out of the finalists submissions to make a reality.

Ever since Danny took a portrait of his father not long before he died, and saw for the first time, “a map of his life on his face”, he had a dream to take portraits of the veterans in Halifax Veterans hospital for them and their families. He said that the cost to his time and talent is “a small price compared to the freedom they have given us”, but he needed Awesome’s support to pay for printing and frames.

When Danny’s submission surfaced, the timing turned out to be perfect for Danny to engage supply businesses who wanted to help with his idea. And as further serendipitous circumstances would have it, the hospital contacted Danny asking him to come in on this very Remembrance Day to take his portraits!

Danny had had his doubts about meeting the mysterious and unidentifiable Awesome strangers in the food court, but when he met the smiling team who told him and his friends that it was the picture of his father that had caused them to choose his idea, he was overjoyed and moved to tears (a contagious swell of emotion that left 66% of people present in tears as well).

It was of course, nothing short of awesome.

The Awesome Trustee’s continue to make it rain one grand every month, creating thousandollianaires out of deserving citizens to make Halifax more happy and the average more awesome. This month was no different.

Neither is next month. Submit your awesome ideas to the website, or you can sit in the food court to see if someone approaches you with a thousand dollars. It could happen.