Event date: October 31st, 2008
Event location: 8703 SE 43rd Avenue, Milwaukie, OR
Every year by early October, Jeff and Chris Davis transform their garage, driveway, yard and parts of their house into one spooky spectacle after another. The Davis Graveyard on the corner of Johnson Creek Boulevard and SE 43rd, hosts thousands of visitors each year.
Under the name Davis Graveyard Productions, The Davis' have produced award-winning Halloween scenes on local lawns year after year. With help from their friends, neighbors and Hal the Halloween Cat, the Davis' make nearly every prop by hand. They also received generous grants from the Clackamas Cultural Coalition and the Arts Foundation Alliance of Clackamas County for their creepy community art.
They hosted a fundraiser last Friday night that brought in almost $1,200 for the Portland Center Stage Promising Playwrights Program. All proceeds from Halloween Night and the annual graveyard DVD and extra footage benefit the Milwaukie High School Dance Team.
So what do the neighbors think about the Halloween equivalent of Peacock Lane? The answer from the Davis Graveyard blog reads, "In general they are very supportive, but they are not happy when our visitors cars block their driveways. Please be courteous by not block[ing] their driveways even for a few minutes. The police have given tickets to visitors that block driveways or park in the street."
The Davis Graveyard is open for daily viewing. Lights come on at dusk until 10:00 pm Monday-Thursday. Other special effects-sound, video, fog, and animations-come on Friday-Sunday from dusk until 11:00 pm.
On Halloween Night, The Davis Graveyard will reward the media, thrill seekers, and lost souls with eerie visual effects of horrors hidden within a church, large crypt, and a replica turn-of-the-century hearse. Graveyard Dancers will perform from 7:00 to 9:00 pm and the street will be closed off from Johnson Creek to Roswell from 5:00 to 11:00 pm.
To see gallery photos, video, and learn more of the history of this local tradition, visit:
http://www.davisgraveyard.com
