COTTAGE GROVE – Frogs, Frankenstein, Freddy Krueger, the Statue of Liberty, Catwoman, the Scooby-Doo gang, witches, and many other characters and costumes filled up the dance floor at the Cottage Grove Armory for the Mayor’s Monster Ball last Saturday night.
An estimated 250-300 folks showed up to support a fundraiser for the WallDogs Mural Festival and the 50th Anniversary celebration of “Animal House,” coming in the summer of 2027. According to Cottage Grove Mayor Candace Solesbee, The WallDogs are a group of worldwide recognized artists that take over one city per year. The highly skilled sign painters and mural artists from around the world restore and create historic artwork. Recent projects by The WallDogs have been done in Illinois, New Hampshire, and Indiana.
In 2027, around 300 artists will come to Cottage Grove and paint 15 murals around town in four days.
“Our goal is to expand on that, and every year after the WallDogs leave, we plan on doing one mural per year going forward,” she said.
Solesbee emphasized the importance of the event being open to the public, allowing the entire community to participate and raise funds for something that directly benefits the community.
The ball included a silent auction with 28 donated gift baskets from local businesses like Pinocchio’s Pizza and Sweet Springs Farm. Some of the auction items included a picnic basket with a one-night stay at a bed and breakfast, gift certificates from small businesses, and a Goose Train Mural glass-cutting board.
In addition to the full spread charcuterie board available for guests to snack on, CG restaurants hosted “adult trick-or-treating” along the perimeter of the dance floor. Classics like The Axe and Fiddle, Jack Sprats, Random Acts of Cookies, The Grove, Dietz Deli, and Bohemia Tavern served up spooky bites, including pulled possum sliders, “Beetlejuice” Sandworm cake, and caramel apple earwax.
Newer establishments also got a chance to offer a taste to the community. Harper’s Homestead Grill, Mama T’s Frybread, Pour 818, and Cone Heads all presented indulgent snacks.
A mad scientist bar had mixologists concocting spellbinding cocktails of vampire blood sangrias, midnight margaritas, and Jello shot-filled syringes. Ten percent of the bar’s proceeds went to the fundraiser.
Other businesses could participate, too, by decorating seating areas. Apple Pie Antiques brought vintage chairs, old photographs, candlesticks, and luggage with skeletons and spiderwebs popping out. A haunted mansion backdrop from Mitchell & Associates Real Estate made the perfect selfie-taking station.
Mayoral awards were given to participating businesses for the best savory dish and the best seating space.
At around 7 p.m., roughly 50 zombies hypnotized the crowd as they broke out in a flash mob to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
When the band hit the stage, clowns, witches, butterflies, and almost everything in between hit the dance floor. Fog rolled through the room as Hot Fuzz performed 1970s rock, like Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.”
