Music - The Durango Herald

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Violinist joins San Juan Symphony Orchestra to celebrate Beethoven

DATE: Nov 8, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

The Weekender: Album collectors, start your turntables

Four Corners Vinyl record Club hosts show at La Plata County Fairgrounds

DATE: Nov 7, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Music Review: The Cure return after a long break to look at mortality with one of their best albums

You might think that after being silent for 16 years, The Cure would be in a rush to get things going. Think again. It takes over three minutes of “Alone” – the first song on their new album...

DATE: Oct 30, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

American Authors to play Community Concert Hall

Band playing next week in Durango

DATE: Oct 24, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Jeff Pilson talks Foreigner, Rock Hall and legacy

Classic rock band to be inducted this weekend in to Hall this weekend

DATE: Oct 17, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Mancos Brewing to host the Snowy Plovers on Sunday

Trio will perform for patrons Sunday evening

DATE: Oct 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Community

FLC Symphonic Band opens concert season

Musicians to perform ‘Fall Sentiments’

DATE: Oct 4, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Durango Choral Society sings of soaring

‘Take Flight’ is a musical journey to the sky

DATE: Oct 2, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

San Juan Symphony extends Heuser’s contract

39th season, ‘Radiant Echoes,’ will kick off in mid-October

DATE: Sep 4, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Organizers cancel Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna over fears of an attack

VIENNA – Organizers of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this week called them off on Wednesday after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in...

DATE: Aug 7, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Aerosmith retires from touring, citing permanent damage to Steven Tyler’s voice last year

LOS ANGELES – Aerosmith says Steven Tyler’s voice has been permanently damaged by a vocal cord injury last year and the band will no longer tour. The iconic band behind hits like “Love in an...

DATE: Aug 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

Catching up with musician Suzy Bogguss

Country singer headed to Durango for performance at La Plata County Fair

DATE: Aug 1, 2024 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

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Final phases of project underway at Camino del Rio and Main Avenue

Photos: Marching for women’s rightsDurango Women’s March on Saturday starts at Buckley Park, continues down Main Avenue

Durango Women’s March on Saturday starts at Buckley Park, continues down Main Avenue

Photos: Durango High School football DHS beat Vista Ridge 20-14 at home Friday night

DHS beat Vista Ridge 20-14 at home Friday night

Gallery: Animals, super heroes and other creatures take over Main Avenue

Photos: A fun and spooky day at school

Haunted house northeast of Durango gets bigger every yearCody Petersen’s Halloween hobby is his escape from the daily grind

Durango resident Cody Petersen said when he moved into his home at 15 Edgemont Way several years ago, his house on the corner looked lonely and spooky.Today, it’s a madhouse. Halloween decorations are splayed practically on every inch of his lawn, in the trees and up and down his home.

A group of school-aged kids stop in front of his house every day to pose with a little gothic doll in the lawn, he said. It’s the favorite attraction amongst hundreds of decorations Petersen bought locally and online as early as July in preparation for Oct. 31, Halloween.He said he doesn’t want to think about how much money he’s spent on fog machines, animatronics and Christmas lights, but the bill easily totals several thousands of dollars.

For trick-or-treaters on Halloween, whom he encourages to visit, jumpscares abound at Petersen’s home, featuring animatronic spiders, growling wolves and other monsters, he said.He’s working on his own animatronic coffin, which shakes and rattles, and a pulley system that will push and pull a ghost up and down the yard, but neither will be ready for this year’s Halloween.He said he has fond memories of his parents decorating for the holidays during his upbringing and he’s a huge horror genre fan. So he enjoys going all out on decorations for the spooky season. He justifies his hobby with the logic his kids will only be in high school a few more years, and it isn’t as cool to decorate the lawn for Halloween when one doesn’t have children living at home.But the neighbors enjoy his haunts as much as the rest of the community. He said his Halloween scene has gradually grown larger every year; at least 50 trick-or-treaters turned up at his home last year.“I'm a home inspector, so I do have a lot of tools and no fear of trying things out,” he said.

He said typical Halloween animatronics cost $400 a piece, but they only last one year or so without breaking. That’s frustrating, he said, and he believes he can do better by building his own.He said this year’s display and experience is more organic than past years thanks to his handiwork. Among his myriad decorations, trick-or-treaters can spot easter eggs referencing “Beetlejuice,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Pet Sematary.”Among the horror props are real animal bones Petersen said he’s found on hikes across the countryside.“I've got ghosts and spiders and witches and that kind of thing,” he said. “Here in Edgemont, we have giant spiders for real. ... We get these huge wolf spiders that are bigger than my hand. I mean, huge, bigger than tarantulas.”

Petersen said he was motivated to make his first decorations within the first month he and his wife moved into the home on the corner at 15 Edgemont Way.A lone pine tree, a typical Christmas tree that would be strung up with lights and ornaments in December, stood out to Petersen in the yard, he said. He just felt compelled to decorate it and light it up.He said he thoroughly decorated the tree and left it lit year-round. Within a month of moving into the house, his neighbor died. The man was old and suffering from Alzheimer's.

Months later, the man’s wife approached Petersen and told him she and her husband’s last salient moments together were spent looking out at Petersen’s lighted Christmas tree, pretending it was Christmas. In the following hours, the man succumbed to delirium. He died several days later.“I don't know why I had that tree, why I lit it, but that's why that tree, even when Halloween is over, all year round, that Christmas tree always stays lit now,” he said.Petersen is a horror movie fan, and in particular he’s always enjoyed the sinister character Michael Myers of the “Halloween” franchise.

He said every year, after thrilling trick-or-treaters at his home, he takes to downtown and East Third Avenue in his Michael Myers costume, bearing a giant bowl of candy, to continue the fun.The highlight of his yard, the creepy doll neighborhood kids like to pose and take pictures with, is Petersen’s “elf on the shelf,” he said. He likes to move the doll around the house, sometimes propping her up to hold animal bones.“I have a real busy and pretty stressful job,” he said. “I just love the fall so much. And to come home, it's just a good way to wind down and, you know, de-stress, just go out and work in the yard.”cburney@durangoherald.com

Cody Petersen’s Halloween hobby is his escape from the daily grind

Reader-submitted photos of Halloween decorationsLast week, we asked readers to submit photos of their Halloween decorations or a neighbor’s decorations. We received dozens of photo submissions. We have selected some of the most spooky, elaborate and fun photos to share in this gallery. Enjoy!

Photos: FLC volleyball returns homeFort Lewis College volleyball took on Adams State University on Tuesday

Fort Lewis College volleyball took on Adams State University on Tuesday

Photos: Expert leathercrafter and collector estate sale near IgnacioItems belonging to the late Alex Pappas were auctioned for sale on Saturday

Items belonging to the late Alex Pappas were auctioned for sale on Saturday

Photos: Pro boxing in DurangoLegends on the Animas boxing showdown took place on Saturday

Legends on the Animas boxing showdown took place on Saturday

Da-Da-Da DUNNN

The Weekender: Album collectors, start your turntables

Music Review: The Cure return after a long break to look at mortality with one of their best albums

American Authors to play Community Concert Hall

Jeff Pilson talks Foreigner, Rock Hall and legacy

Mancos Brewing to host the Snowy Plovers on Sunday

FLC Symphonic Band opens concert season

Durango Choral Society sings of soaring

San Juan Symphony extends Heuser’s contract

Organizers cancel Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna over fears of an attack

Aerosmith retires from touring, citing permanent damage to Steven Tyler’s voice last year

Catching up with musician Suzy Bogguss

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