It’s safe to say Halloween season has officially started as Bucoda Mayor Callie Carpenter made the official proclamation to temporarily change the South Thurston County town’s name to “Boo-coda” for the month of October during a town council meeting last month.
It’s now an annual tradition in the community with a population of just over 600 people.
“I, Callie Carpenter, mayor of the Town of Bucoda and the Bucoda Town Council, state this message to all those who dare visit our town during the month of October,” Carpenter said during the Sept. 24 meeting. “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, from zombies and witches, and other things that go bump in the night, welcome to Boo-Coda. Have a nice nightmare.”
Aside from the spooky name change, ghostly events galore as part of the Boo-coda Spook-tacular are planned leading up to Halloween as the community continues to defend its title of “the world's tiniest town with the biggest Halloween spirit,” Carpenter said.
The weekly haunted house and haunted market
The award-winning Boo-coda Spook-tacular haunted house opened last weekend and will continue to be open on select days leading up to Halloween.
It is located at 403 N. Nenant St. in the old Bucoda gymnasium built in 1939, which has documented paranormal activity, and will be open on the following dates and times:
• Friday, Oct. 4, from 7 to 11 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 11, from 7 to 11 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 12, from 7 to 11 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 18, from 7 to 11 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 19, from 7 to 11 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 25, from 7 to 11 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 26, from 7 to 11 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 7 to 10 p.m.
• Wednesday, Oct. 30, from 7 to 10 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 31, from 7 to 10 p.m.
Tickets for the Boo-coda Spooktacular haunted house are $13 per person plus a canned food donation with VIP tickets available for $20.
A special family-friendly haunted house geared toward those 12 and under who want Halloween fun but aren’t ready for the full Spooktacular haunted house will be held on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the north room of the Bucoda Town Hall and Community Center, located at 101 E. Seventh St.
The family-friendly haunted house costs $5 per person or $20 per family with two adults and up to four kids, or free with a donation of four non-perishable food items or children’s books. Additionally, donations of clean, usable blankets and coats along with bikes will also be accepted.
Proceeds and donations benefit the Tenino Food Bank, the South Sound Reading Foundation, the Alaffia Global Alliance for Community Empowerment’s bike program, KCCO Mixx 96.1 Radio’s “Wrapping up the Holidays” toy drive and local shelter programs.
The haunted houses are all run by the “Boo-crew,” made up entirely of community volunteers who also manage the rest of the month’s events.
Additionally, a weekly “Haunted Market” with food, arts, crafts and more from both local and commercial vendors will be open every Saturday throughout October starting at 11 a.m. in the Bucoda Town Square.
The Bucoda Town Square is located at 112 S. Main St. in between Joe’s Place and the Liberty Market.
Pancake breakfast, “Hearse Procession” and costume contest
Other events are planned throughout the month as well, beginning on Saturday, Oct. 5, with a pancake breakfast available by donation from 10 a.m. to noon in the south room of the Bucoda Town Hall and Community Center.
The pancake breakfast is being sponsored by former Bucoda Mayor and Independent Order of Odd Fellows Grand Master Steven Purcell along with President of Rebekah Assembly of Washington Alberta Luurs. It will be held in the south room of the Bucoda Town Hall and Community Center.
Following the pancake breakfast is the “Hearse Procession” parade and viewing. Registration is free but required and begins the same day at 11 a.m. with participants to begin lining up at noon in front of Joe’s Place, located at 118 S. Main St.
The parade will begin at 1 p.m. being led by the Tenino High School Band. After the parade, all participating hearses will be on display for viewing until 5 p.m., including the PNW Ecto-360 Foundation and its custom Ghostbusters team and hearse.
Also on Saturday, Oct. 5, a free-to-enter costume contest is scheduled at 3 p.m. in the Bucoda Town Square. Those interested are invited to wear their best history-, villain- or gothic-themed costumes, with certificates given to the top three judges’ favorites.
Family Fun Day Harvest Festival and costume contest
The next weekend, on Saturday, Oct. 12, the Bucoda Improvement Club will host the Family Fun Day Harvest Festival from noon to 7 p.m. in the Bucoda Town Square along with the weekly Haunted Market.
This event is free to attend and features pumpkin decorating, with pumpkins provided, face painting and other spooky games and activities for children.
On the same day, another free-to-enter costume contest will be held in the Bucoda Town Square at 3 p.m.
This time, the costume theme will be fairytale, superhero or cartoon and animation, with certificates given out to the top three judges’ favorites. Additionally, certificates will be given out to the best family and group costumes.
Casket races, historic cemetery tours and costume contest
The following weekend, Boo-coda’s famous casket races will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, with same-day registration opening at noon and races beginning at 1 p.m. at the intersection of South Main Street and East Seventh Street.
Registration is open now. It costs $150 if done early or $175 if registering the day of the races. Registered teams must consist of five people — four “pallbearers” who will push the casket in the race along with one “corpse” along for the ride.
The registration cost includes a special casket race shirt for each team member if the team is registered before Thursday, Oct. 10. Additional shirts are $25 each.
According to Carpenter, both Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders and Thurston County Commissioner Wayne Fournier have already registered their teams and are preparing to face off during the races. The Chronicle also entered a team the last two years and plans to be in the running again.
Awards will be given out 10 minutes after the last race for first-, second- and third-place finishers along with the “Dead Last” trophy for last place. Awards will also be given to the scariest casket, funniest casket, most original casket and best costumed team.
Participating teams have the option of either building their own casket to race or using one provided by the Town of Boo-coda.
For those building one, caskets must have at least a minimum of two wheels with casters being allowed, be between 2 to 4 feet wide and 5 to 8 feet long, which includes at least two pushing handles firmly attached.
Participants must also sign waivers before racing, and race officials may disqualify any casket they feel is unsafe.
To register a team and read the full list of regulations, fill out the form at https://tinyurl.com/3bnk98b4.
Registration payments can be made with cash, credit card or check in-person at the Bucoda Town Hall and Community Center.
Checks must be made payable to the Town of Bucoda. Payments can also be mailed to Bucoda Town Hall at 101A E. Seventh Ave., Bucoda, WA, 98530. Credit card payments can be made over the phone by calling Bucoda Town Hall at 360-278-3525.
Also on Oct. 19, between 4 and 8 p.m., the Forest Grove Cemetery of Tenino will host historic cemetery tours. Tickets can be purchased at the cemetery for $15 per person or $35 for a family with children, with all proceeds going toward the cemetery.
Forest Grove Cemetery is located at 18011 Northcraft Road SE in Tenino.
Finally, at 5 p.m. on Oct. 19 another free-to-enter costume contest will be held in the Bucoda Town Square. This contest’s theme will be best undead or classic monster costumes, and casket racing teams are also invited to participate to compete for the best ensemble certificate.
‘Thrill the World’ dance, Trunk or Treat and final costume contest
On the final weekend before Halloween, Boo-coda will participate in the annual worldwide simultaneous dance to Michael Jackson’s famous song “Thriller” on Saturday, Oct. 26.
In the past, this event has featured over 23,000 dancers representing 32 different countries on six different continents, all dancing to “Thriller” at the same time.
Free to attend, registration and dancing practice begin at 1:30 p.m. with the synchronized dance scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
This event is free to attend and will be held in front of the Bucoda Town Hall and Community Center. Awards will be given for best costume, best dancer and best overall performance.
Before the synchronized “Thriller” dance takes place, the final costume contest will be held in the Bucoda Town Square at 2 p.m. with the theme being best 80s, Michael Jackson or zombie and dance costumes.
After the dance and final costume contest, a free Trunk or Treat event will be held for young trick-or-treaters starting in front of Joe’s Place at 4 p.m.
The month-long Boo-coda Spook-tacular is sponsored by the Thurston County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, the Thurston Economic Development Council’s South Thurston Economic Development Initiative, the Port of Olympia, Lucky Eagle Casino & Hotel, Puget Sound Energy, Kiperts Tractor and Trailer Sales, Kelly’s Body Shop-Collision 1, Joe’s Place, Gordon Enterprises LLC, Experience Olympia & Beyond, KELA/KMNT 104.3 Radio, KCCO Mixx 96.1 Radio and The Chronicle.
For more information, visit https://boo-coda.com/ or follow Boo-coda on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BOOCODAWA/.
