Category Archives: Holidays
Halloween Clown Evolution
Jusby’s Halloween plans have evolved since his 4 year affiliation with the Halloween House.
It began in 2007 with Mike’s post on Myspace asking for people to wear a scary clown costume. I decided to be a volunteer “Horror Liaison” as my regular clown self .
Danger, A Head
In 2008, I returned with a Mad Hatter (Clown Lite) variation.
I also brought my own music and flaming tea cup.
In 2009, I brought Honey the Clown and wore the referee shirt to keep warm.
Last year (2010), it went OFF THE HOOK with the introduction of the Scary Clown Look at Eastside Big Tom’s Fright Night.
So, it’s been a natural progression to accept a position at the Haunted Firehouse which is open for 3 weekends leading up to Halloween. Coincidentally, Mike closed up his yard due to the continual stream of trespassers.
2011, it’s Scary Doctor Jusby of the Youth Asylum.
In the Pink “Green Room”, taking a call from Beyond.
The Haunted Firehouse is a non-profit fundraiser for Family Support Center and the summer youth theater program Kids at Play. The Haunted Firehouse opens on October 20 and runs for a long weekend, before re-opening on October 26 and running through Halloween night. On weekdays, the Firehouse runs from 5 pm until 10 pm. On weekends, we extend the SCARE until midnight, so come prepared for late-night fear!
NOTE that after 7 pm the Haunted Firehouse is Rated PG13, and those under 13 will only be allowed accompanied by a parent or guardian!
The Haunted Firehouse costs $5 for admission. There are no advance ticket sales — each admission costs only $5! First come, first serve!
DID YOU KNOW THE FIREHOUSE IS ACTUALLY HAUNTED?
- Former firefighters who worked here reported that an old firefighter who died patrols the halls at nights (our staff know this ghost well!)
- Rumors of suicides from prisoners held in the jail downstairs.
- Rodents of unusual size once roamed downstairs in years past.
- There was a big smallpox outbreak right here downtown in this area and many people died.
- This used to be the red light district (in Olympia!!!) — the city built this building as part of their public clearing of the brothels that previously stood right near here.
- Prior to becoming the city hall/fire station this was the livery and stagecoach where people came to town and put their horses or caught the stage.
- The man that used to have a cabin here on this site, mysteriously drowned in a canoe accident on capital lake right before taking office as one of the first state legislators.
Purim Extraordinaire (~400 Total Pied Faces)
“My services have undergone expansions, improvements and tweaks. This includes an additional clown retinue,” began the conversation that led to 2011’s Purim Extraordinaire, a few notches above last year’s “Special Visit” which concluded with 10 pied faces. Although I pied a few additional faces this year, I also brought a few additional clowns along, so the energy was significantly higher.
To the Romans it was Cobbler Rasa, the French referred to it as La Tarte Blanche, aboriginal clowns called it Entering the Creamtime, and of course the ancient Qabbalah clowns spoke of soulful and doleful schmaltz by the bowlful
We are engaging with clowning as our Right Livelihood. We would prefer to provide services to those who can afford the asking rate, but we will not deny the needy and the appreciative.
All reasonable barter and donation exchanges considered.
We are committed to providing safe, appropriate, and profoundly memorable surprises that are customized to your occasion and audience. We want everyone to enjoy a healthy dose of laughter and leave with a deepened sense of their place in the community.
Halloween House 09
I brought Honey along to help guide tours!
Now where’s my head?! Where’s the Devilman?!
I lost my stinking head in the maze! and the Devilman got away.
But I found someone’s Driver’s License. I guess I better get it back to them.
Converted ALL the halloween mix tracks to 128kps for smoother playback, to avoid annoying skipping/ artifacts/ dead air from 200+kps & stinking VBR. I will also avoid embarassment at future b-day parties when the music won’t play! way to troubleshoot, Jusby! [It’s still a mono system tho *ahem*]
86 Tracks totalled 4.2 hours… which continued even through the power failures. As did the Green Laser!
However, it did require additional AAA batteries from Mike.
The tracks included: Arrington de Dionyso, Angelo Badlamenti, Eliot Smith, Baby Gramps, Bo Bell, Depeche Mode, Diamanda Galas, Dub Narcotic Sound System, Echo & the Bunnymen, Frank Zappa, Gabrielle Roth, Jugala Orchastra of Sunda, the Residents, and Gyoto Monks among many others.
Here’s a comment I got on Olyblog:
Thanks a ton
My young daughter (Wren) really appreciated your guided tour of the haunted house. She knew from last year that you led the less-horrifying tours. She’s a spunky kid in real life, but doesn’t like the buckets-o-gore of this type of show. Her best friends insist they absolutely looooove it, and torment her if she doesn’t go with them on the tour. So she has to go, even though she really doesn’t like it.This year she sought you out discreetly (for a 10 year old) and attached herself to one of your tours. The un-clueful friends followed along behind her. They didn’t seem to notice EVEN THE TINIEST BIT that they’d missed the full-on horror treatment this year. Afterwards, as the girls resumed trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, Wren dropped back from their pack to rave about what a big favor you were doing, how your abbreviated tour let her save face with her ghoul-tolerant friends for the first time, how smoothly you signaled the performers to let them know to hold back on the monstrousness… She went on for half a block, until her girlfriends interrupted us to tell me how SCARY the CLOWN GUIDE was.
Apparently you were terrifying. Congratulations. What a performance.
Halloween House, Dress Rehearsal pt. 2
At half past seven (or quarter ’til eight) Jusby made his appearance as the clown referee/ tour guide for the Tumwater Halloween House. New props and new actors had been added, but the main difference in Friday’s performance was the intense wind and rain. Although it was relatively dry within the black plastic maze, the doors and edges kept getting blown open, and I still had to guide people to and from the rainy open yard areas.
I brought along my music, and that added a nice texture to counterpoint the people screaming and growling and crying.
Here’s a few of my co-conspirators. This guy hung out with a baseball bat in “the Head Shop”.
This gal spent some time dancing in the Clown Club.
And this guy is gonna owe me some Major Goop & Candy!
But he’s got a lot of work tomorrow before the reopening. Some of the fog machines died, and a giant tree limb cracked and was hanging precariously over the yard. And probably lots more stuff I shouldn’t worry about.
I’ll be loading up the Clown Club with scary balloon dogs… and hopefully another gifted clown or two!
After all, the whole thing benefits the Thurston County Food bank. I have benefited from the Food Bank in the past.
Halloween House 2009 Preview
(c) Mike Fritsch
I pulled up the Halloween House on North street the other day, and Mike said, “We were just talking about you.”
What a reception! Okay, here I am!
“If you still want to do the tour guide bit…?”
Oh, yeah! So he sent me home with a head that I doctored up with some Jusby make-up.
Then Orion and I brought it over to The Clown Room. Tonight is Opening Night 6-10 PM.
I got a-head of myself!
btw, it’s REALLY DARK and SCARY… Don’t bring the little ones.
But if you insist, Jusby will guide them through with shouts of “LITTLE KIDS! LITTLE KIDS!”
Later that night… Jusby escorted the first visitors through, but not before a long discussion about the True Meaning of Halloween, and what to do when a little boy says, “Please, No, Daddy! I don’t want to go! I’m TOO SCARED!”
More pics from other photogs
Here’s another one from Fall Arts Walk ’08 I just found on flickr ~
by Ruby ReUseable
It was actually raining outside. I pied one face and called it good.
I had on my foul weather green mock-turtleneck instead of the usual polka-dotted shirt.
While we’re at it…
Here’s an interesting one I got from Miriam Khan. I’m showing EF Students how to twist a balloon doggie in a Lecture Hall at Evergreen.
I don’t have much documentation of that parachute! I wish I had the one where she got pied!
Speaking of pies… I waited almost a year until this guy from the Fremont Solstice festival found me on facebook through our mutual friend, David Raffin, who wrote all those wonderful clown stories.
I’m wearing a mushroom beret that Janeane made.
New Year’s Eve Afternoon Pie-fest
On New Year’s Eve afternoon, outside of Round Table Pizza in West Linn (my high school hangout) wondering when the rest of the audience would arrive and watching the whippersnappers lose my juggling props in muddy snow!
Getting squirted by the green fish.
My most enthusiastic supporter.
His sister.
Their mom.
A great sport!
His sister.
Their dad,Tony, got his pie and celebrated graduating with a BS after 21 years!
Daniel Mueller “took one for the team”
Brad Scoggins got the last pie of 2008! He celebrated graduating from French Culinary Institute in New York City AND turning 40!
Jusby and Santa Roll Like That
WHAT A DAY!
I picked up my copy of the Our Money Matters Buy Local Savings Book at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. I’m at #9, on the first page of perforated coupons right below Harlequin Productions and right before KAOS.
I got a lot of comments on my discount of 3.14159265% OFF Any Premium or Deluxe visit. Marie Poland, the director of the Buy Local Campaign, had to do a double take. She thought it might have been a typo or computer error until she cracked the code: it’s Pi, of course. I don’t even want to do the math on that discount!
Inside the lobby of the Washington Center
By Sylvester Park for the Wagon Ride
I tried out a new look with the green wig and curlicue hat, built a Rudolph puppet from a hobby horse whose stick had broken, and put fresh batteries in him so he’d make galloping and whinnying noises. I also decided to bring the clipboard like it had THE LIST (the naughty and nice one). It also held extra cards and coupons.
Then I had my pic taken with Santa just before the parade started.
And hitched a ride with him! In the Electric Trolley.
As we approached the TCTV cameras the announcer saw us coming and said, “It’s Santa! and… is that Mrs. Claus?!”
So I jumped out and handed him my card, which he read off!
“Jusby the Clown and Comedy Consultant 888-2729! Getting his plug in!”
I was SO STOKED to be a clown in Olympia!!
Dress Rehearsal
Jusby, Devilman, and Mike at the Halloween House on Thursday’s opening night/ dress rehearsal.
Jusby’s make-up is a new clown-lite variation. His Mad Hatter costume is missing the giant bow tie. He’s wearing a short sleeve button up over an Evergreen sweatshirt. Not pictured: Jusby’s polypropylene long underwear and the teacup full of bloody sugar cubes.
The music definitely helped. The playlist included:
Arrington de Dionyso “Breath of Fire”
the Januaries “Love Met the Devil”
Magnetic Fields “Save a Secret for the Moon”
Devics “Ghost”
the Knurlings “Cemetary Stomp”
Harvey Danger “Authenticity”
Hamlet Machine and Sponge “Spirit”
Mary Water “Headless Horseman”
Shocore “Bone Cracker”
Dennis Driscoll “Maureen Halloween”
the Actual Tigers “Standing By”
the Shaggs “It’s Halloween”
the Rondells “TV Zombie”
Diamanda Galas “I Put a Spell on You”
Joey Ramone “Spirit in my House”
Reverend Horton Heat “Halloween Dance”
and lots more! from the Dance O’ Dance mp3 archives.
I anticipate spending the majority of Halloween evening working the crowd from the front yard all the way to “the frightening Egress!” I’ll arrive at approximately 6:30 and depart at 10. Love to see you there!
