This Montreal kid turned his wheelchair into the Mars Rover for Halloween
Halloween is Emile Laliberte's favourite holiday. Since he was young, he always took great pride in his costumes, but this year's is truly out of this world.
"It's incredible," said the beaming 15-year-old Laliberte, who will take to the neighbourhood streets this Halloween in a special-made Mars Rover costume.
Laliberte uses a wheelchair, which means some costumes are not a great fit. At least, that was the case until he met handyman Robert Murphy and his group, Duct Tapers Anonymous.
In 2018, they got the idea to build a bespoke costume for a child with reduced mobility.
"So we grouped a whole bunch of people, designers, 3D artists, to start working on this," recalls Murphy from his garage workshop.
That's when they met Emile.
"We built a costume according to his specifications, and he wanted to be a dragon, which he named Chad."
The dragon was custom-made to fit around Emile's wheelchair.
Murphy gets emotional when he recalls the first time Emile transformed into Chad, the dragon.
"I go back to that video," said Murphy, his voice cracking. "And I see his face again, just laughing so much. So, yes, it's all worth it."
Emile Laliberte poses in his Halloween costume in Montreal, Sunday, October 28, 2018. In Halloweens past, 10-year-old Emile struggled to find costumes that wouldn't be hidden by his wheelchair.But Laliberte looks to be the envy of all the children on his block as he sets out trick or treating on Oct. 31 as a green dragon with 3D-printed scales, motorized wings and glowing animated eyes to watch over the Styrofoam castle that surrounds his wheelchair.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
ENTER 'ROLLOWEEN'
From that, Rolloween was born. On Duct Tapers' website, the organization says it will "keep making even more costumes until eventually, we have squads of happy kids rolling all over the Montreal area."
During the pandemic, they took a hiatus but are now back, and so is Emile -- who still loves Halloween.
"We asked him if he still likes to get dressed up, and he told us he did," said Murphy. "So we asked what his dream costume this year would be.'
Emile answered that he now has a new passion: outer space.
He asked if they could turn him into the Mars Rover. The answer was an emphatic yes, and for weeks, the team has been working to nail every last detail.
"Next year, he'll pass it on to another child as we build another costume," said Murphy. "Every year, we'll probably build one more, maybe two more, so eventually, we'll have an entire flotilla of costumes, just rolling on the streets of Montreal."
Murphy hopes Rolloween will inspire others to use their talents to help others.
"Make something nice for someone. Build something, fix something, help a neighbour," he said.
Laliberte plans to do just that. He was so touched by the Rolloween gang that he now wants to become an engineer so one day. he can make someone else's smile beam from ear to ear.
Just like his alter ego, Chad, the dragon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.
Student anti-war protesters dig in as faculties condemn university leadership over calling police
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at at universities across U.S., some of whom have clashed with police in riot gear, dug in Saturday and vowed to keep their demonstrations going, while several school faculties condemned university presidents who have called in law enforcement to remove protesters.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Hamas is reviewing an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as possible Rafah offensive looms
Hamas said Saturday it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Egypt intensified efforts to broker a deal to end the months-long war and stave off a possible Israeli ground offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Russia renews attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector as Kyiv launches drones at southern Russia
Russia launched a barrage of missiles against Ukraine overnight, in attacks that appeared to target the country's energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russia said its air defense systems had intercepted more than 60 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.