Halloween Activities
ZombieFest
Takes place at the downtown Coos Bay pedway between the Egyptian Theatre and Mossy Rose.
Zombies, vendors, Fat Tuesdays Mardi Gras Grill barbecue, beauty pageant, jello eating contest, scavenger hunt, live music and other surprises.
Saturday, Oct. 8, 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Vaccination cards may be purchased for $5, mandating a 15 minute quarantine costs $2, or you can leave the quarantine tent early for $3.
Official commemorative Zombie Fest T-shirts available for $15.
Movies at The Green Spot, 181 Anderson, Coos Bay
Saturday, Oct. 8, 6 to 9:30 p.m., admission donation of canned or non-perishable food item. ‘Night of the Living Dead” followed by ‘Zombieland.”
Octoberfest
Coquille Community Center, 115 N Birch St., Coquille
Saturday, Oct. 8, 5:30 p.m.
Admission $10 at the door, $9 advance
This annual fundraiser is hosted by the Coquille Chamber of Commerce and Eagle’s Lodge. Enjoy a hearty dinner of bratwurst, sauerkraut and potato salad from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with entertainment by classic country band Destiny Rides Again. Bid on your after-dinner treat in the pie auction. Homemade pie entries at accepted at noon, pie auction and prizes at 8 p.m. Advance tickets available at the Coquille Chamber of Commerce, located on Birch Street next to the Community Center. The chamber is open from 10 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Haunted Theater 2011
Little Theater on the Bay, 2100 Sherman Ave., North Bend
Friday, Oct. 21 & Saturday, Oct. 22, 6 to 11 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 23, 4 to 6 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 24 through Thursday, Oct. 27, 6 to 9 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 28, 8 to 11 p.m.
Admission $3 each for the first visit, $1 for each additional visit. Sixth visit free.
Tour a black maze full of ghosts, ghouls and monsters at the third annual LTOB haunted house. LTOB actors raid the costume closet and practice unscripted drama. Bring the whole family for a safe and entertaining evening.
Masquerade Ball
presented by the Port Orford Chamber of Commerce
Port Orford Community Building, 11th and Washington St., Port Orford
Saturday, October 22, 6:30 p.m.
Advance tickets $25 for dinner and dance, $15 dance only, available at Downtown Fun Zone, Paradise Cafa and Port Orford Visitors Center; Admission at the door $30
The annual Masquerade Ball includes dinner and dancing with live musical entertainment. Come in costume. Proceeds benefit Port Orford Chamber of Commerce projects. Contact Laura Eades, 541-253-7530.
Halloween Gala
Reedsport Community Building, 451 Winchester Ave., Reedsport
Friday, Oct. 28, 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.
Admission $40, tickets available Oct. 1 at Mindpower Gallery, 417 Fir Ave., Reedsport
& Haunted House
Saturday, Oct. 29, 5 to 8:30 p.m.
Admission $2 or donation of 2 canned food items
Presented by the Coastal Douglas Arts and Business Alliance, the Friday night Halloween Gala in Reedsport includes dinner, ‘ghoulish” dessert auction, musical entertainment by Candy Apple Blue from Eugene, Oregon and a no host bar. CDABA will present prizes for individual, couple and group costumes, plus awards for best table decorations. Return to the Community Building Saturday evening for a family friendly tour of the haunted house. Proceeds from the haunted house benefit local food assistance programs. Call Mindpower Gallery for more information, 541-271-2485.
Zombiepalooza & Zombie Prom
North Bend Community Center, 2222 Broadway, North Bend
zombiepromusa.com
Friday, Oct. 28, Zombiepalooza 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Zombie Prom 6 to 11:30 p.m.
Admission to Zombiepalooza $1 or donation of canned food or pet food. Admission to Palooza and Prom, $10. Tickets available on-line and at PSI of Oregon, 530 N Broadway in Coos Bay, Tuesday through Saturday 12 to 6 p.m..
This family-friendly event is a fund raiser for the American Cancer Society and local food and animal assistance programs.
‘Cancer affects all ages, and people of all ages need food,” said event coordinator Donna Stewart.
Come to the Zombie Palooza for an Extreme Zombie make-over, enter the ‘Thriller” dance contest, meet ‘Night of the Living Dead” star Judith O’Day, and enjoy foods and crafts by local vendors.
Dance the Zombie Prom with Albany alternative rock band Second Son and DJ Drew Solomon. Vote for your 2011 Zombie Prom King and Queen, plus Miss Zombie Prom USA.
Haunted House
presented by the Coquille Police Department
Coquille Valley Middle School, 1115 N Baxter St., Coquille
Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, 29, 7 p.m. to midnight
Oct. 30 and 31, 5 to 9 p.m.
Admission $3 age 18 and under, $5 adult, plus donation of one nonperishable food item.
A little bit scary and a lot of fun, this haunted house benefits the Coquille Police Department Shop With A Cop program and local food banks.
Gravediggers Ball
Lloyds of Bandon Tavern, 219 Second St., Bandon
Saturday, Oct. 29, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
No cover
The Bandon Gravediggers Ball is a time-honored tradition for trick-or-treaters 21 and over. Lloyds owner Janice Davis joins designer Ruthanne McSurdy Wong in designing the 2011 shipwrecked theme. Costumes are invited, and prizes include the coveted designer’s award The Golden Pumpkin. Live music will be provided by Portland trio Hookah Stew.
Cherry Creek Floral’s Community Carving Contest
608 Spruce St., Myrtle Point
Enter pumpkins Saturday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or October 30, 12 to 4 p.m.
Vote and enjoy the displays Monday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Jack o’ lantern experts of all ages are welcome to enter the free contest, get a cookie and compete for prizes in six age categories. Cash prizes range from $3 to $25.
Cherry Creek owner Betti Nugent sponsors the contest with support from local merchants.
Past entries have included simple painted designs by the youngest contestants to a home-grown pumpkin equipped with animatronics and audio equipment.
‘These kids come in, and they’re so proud of their pumpkins,” Nugent said.
Last year, 300 people visited Cherry Creek Floral to enjoy the display and vote for their favorite designs.
Annual Kids Halloween Party
Events Center on the Beach, Curry County Fairgrounds, 29392 Ellensburg Ave., Gold Beach
Sunday, Oct. 30, 5 to 10 p.m.
Preschool to high school are welcome to compete in costume and pumpkin carving contests. There will be games, face painting, movies and fortune telling. Spaghetti feed is just $5.
The Pirate Ship
52054 Sturdivant Road, off Holly, six miles south of Bandon. Saturday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 30 dusk to 9 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 31 dusk to 10 p.m.
Safe Trick or Treating
Downtown Coos Bay, Monday, Oct. 31, 3-6 p.m.
Participating merchants display pumpkin poster in their windows.
Safe Trick or Treating
Pony Village Mall, 1611 Virginia Ave., North Bend
Monday, Oct. 31, 5 to 8 p.m.
Costume parade 6 p.m.
Halloween is a day for children and adults to flex their creativity. Dress pretty. Get ugly. Be outrageous. It’s a no-holds barred invitation to explore.
‘People want the opportunity to do art,” said artist and stage designer Ruthanne McSurdy Wong. Wong is the kind of Halloween fan whose countdown to Oct. 31 starts in September. The holiday inspired her first-ever sewing project.
‘I sat down at my mother’s sewing machine and whipped up this rag,” she laughed. ‘I was 8 years old.” The costume was a disaster, but she wore it with pride.
This year, Wong collaborates with Lloyds Tavern owner Janice Davis to organize the Bandon Gravediggers Ball. But designing the series of vignettes that will transform the tavern into a shipwrecked odyssey is only half the fun.
‘The most exciting thing about it is to pour the people into the mix,” Wong said.
There’s no age limit for Halloween fun on the Southern Oregon Coast. The trick is deciding which event to attend. And when so many of the holiday festivities benefit health and community organizations, the treat is a gift to the community.
Contemporary costume parties have their historic roots in Medieval European tradition, especially the British Isles. William Shakespeare even mentions autumn Hallowmas in ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona.” It’s not surprising a playwright would note a holiday that calls for dressing up.
Even after years working in theater, Wong has seen Halloween costumes that amazed her.
‘You think you can see through it, but you can’t,” she said. ‘Even the most simple makeup changes you.”
Face painter Kasey Sudyka-Crum keeps a growing collection of photographs of the faces she has painted. Her subjects ask for animal faces, sometimes a simple design from nature. One photos shows her daughter’s face. Half is painted in soft blue and pink with rosy glitter; the other half is a pale, grimacing ghoul.
‘They love to be pretty and scary,” Sudyka-Crum said.
Who wouldn’t embrace the chance to drop their own persona for an hour or two? asked Lani Reynolds. Before moving to Bandon and opening her own interiors shop, Reynolds worked as a costumer for stage and screen. She views Halloween as chance for anyone to be anyone else.
‘There’s an actor in all of us,” she said with a wink.
By Geneva Miller, Special to The World
Geneva Miller is a freelance writer. She can be reached at migelyn@aol.com.
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