Past Events
Welcome Foolish Mortals
to the
Edwards Center 2025 Haunted Mansion
Judith and Jerry wanted to create a haunted mansion experience for the Edwards Center residents, but wanted to keep it at a “Disney” experience level of scare. So, why not make a down-sized “Disney Haunted Mansion”???
Design/planning started in earnest in August of 2025. We started with measuring the room. Judith did all of the layout, carefully choosing what would fit in our room. Some of this changed over time as we came up with new ways of pulling off the particular effect (especially Madame Leota).
Judith concentrated on the decorations and construction of displays like the tombstones, bats, trees, books, and singing heads. She also found all of the costumes.
Jerry concentrate on the animatronics in the cemetery (the moving head and ghost), the lighting, the sound, and the Madame Leota projection.
Months to design and built, six hours to install, two hours of the event, and three hours to take down. Whew! But they loved it, and we have ideas for improvement for next year :-).
Click on the video below for a walk-thru.
The 2025 Kinton Holiday Faire
For several years, Judith has had a booth at a few local bazaars as an outlet for her papercrafts and books. Jerry usually puts one or two items in from his hobbies too. Their favorite is the Holiday Faire in early November that is hosted by The Kinton Grange, located just south of Beaverton, OR. The event runs for two days, and is very popular.
The plan is that this will be the last year for having a booth at a bazaar, but then, never say never 🙂 (This is what nearly 30 years of marrage will teach you)
Below is a video walk thru of our booth.
Each year, the Edwards Center puts on a Jingle & Mingle event for their residents. In 2024, Jerry and Judith decided to help by setting up a “Photos with Santa” area.
A sleigh was used that Jerry and Judith designed and built for a bazaar that Judith coordinated earlier that year (see more in a segment below). Anyone want to buy a sleigh????
Jerry used a double camera (two Nikon D5600) layout to get two different views, controlling the photo shoot via a computer and the software digiCamControl, a free camera control software.
While Jerry was taking photos, Judith and her sister Debbie had games set up where residents could earn prizes … and EVERYONE was a winner!.
In 2024, Judith received permission from the Hillsboro Elks Lodge #1862 to host a November 2024 holiday bazaar, with the proceeds to be given to the Edwards Center. Judith was the overall coordinator and designer of the event, though it took a lot of work from a host of helpers to pull it all off.
Design of the event started in February, and design/construction of ‘special venues’ in the summer.
Judith firmly believes that bazaars are more effective if there is an overarching theme of the event. This year’s was “Santa’s Workshop”. Here are some of the highlights:
- Photos with Santa
- Sleigh with Santa and Mrs. Claus
- Reindeer barn
- Santa’s workshop
- Hot chocolate bar
- Run by the residents of Edwards Center
- Over 60 vendors across 2 floors.
- Over 700 attendees.
- Parking lot filled for over 3 hours.
- Police cadets provided parking coordination.
- Raffle baskets available for bid on-line.
- Over $5000 donated to the Edwards Center cause.
Judith designed the sleigh, reindeer barn, Santa’s workshop, and the hot chocolate bar. Jerry was responsible the construction of those items (with a lot of help from Judith) and with the design and construction of animatronics.
Click here for a page that shows more of the construction of these items.
Jerry used a double camera (two Nikon D5600) layout to get two different views, along with several of fill lights and linked flash units. The cameras were controlled via a computer and the software digiCamControl, a free camera control software.
