The Hazzard Run is an event that's been happening at Cooter's since 2009. Though there hasn't been one every year since, this was the tenth Run, and it's always a favorite for Dukes fans. Bobby Scott is the creator and organizer of the event, along with Jett Yaskow. It started as a parade of Dukes cars, General Lees and others, that went from the original Gatlinburg Cooter's Place to the Nashville location. Last year they moved to the Luray Cooter's. I've never had the pleasure of attending a Run until this year. Pictured above is the General Lee the belongs to your buddy and mine, Jim Dahlman. Remember Jim brought his car to my 40th birthday party last year and made the party epic.
I got to Cooter's on Friday and there was already a crowd. Jim wasn't the only General Lee owner ready to make the Run.
Friday evening I was invited to an exclusive barbeque and I had a blast. I had to use my GPS to find the location, but when I got there, there was no doubt I was in the right place.
The party was perfect. A highlight of the night, and the whole trip, was getting to spend time with Dorothy Best, wife of the late James Best. I chatted with Dorothy and her sister for hours about the Dukes, James playing Rosco, Sorrell, her time on set, different events, collectibles, and a lot of other stuff. It was a very special evening and I am very so happy I had the opportunity.
Saturday was the big day. When the Hazzard Run was first announced, and I noticed it was later in October this year, and the idea for a costume contest popped into my head right away. I've always wanted to combine my love of Halloween with the Dukes and the timing of the Run gave me the perfect chance. Just like the professional group pictures at the 40th anniversary in Nashville and the Good Ol' Boy Fest, if I wanted this to happen, I had to make it happen myself. I discussed the idea with Miss Alma months ago, and she agreed it would be fun. I was hoping she would agree to let me host it, and she was on board for that too. After the preparation and announcements were made, the only thing I had to do was design a costume. Even though I wouldn't be eligible to win because I was the host, I still needed to show up in costume. I had a few ideas, but I decided the Carnival of Thrills outfit was going to be a showstopper. Just like every other amazing Halloween costume contest I've worn in the past, I come up with the ideas, and my Mom and Natalie make them amazing. This one was all Mom. The jumpsuit came from walmart.com, the Carnival patch came from my collection, the other patches were custom from zazzle.com and Mom did the rest. This suit is perfect. People thought it was professionally made. It basically is. After all these winning Halloween costumes, I would agree that my Mom is a professional costume creator at this point.
I debated wearing the costume first thing in the morning, or putting it on after the run. Wearing it all day was definitely the right way to go. The Run started early and I got to Cooter's before most people, but as soon as I got out of the car, Miss Alma was there and she loved the outfit. We are so blessed to have Miss Alma as the Matriarch of all things Dukes of Hazzard! More on the contest soon. Let's talk about the Hazzard Run!
With this being my first Hazzard Run, I didn't know what to expect. It ran like a well oiled General Lee because this was not Bobby's first Run. Bobby is in charge of all the cars at all the big Cooter's events and he runs his own event perfectly. The Run started at Cooter's and followed a well organized path through Luray and through the Shenandoah Valley to the Shenandoah Speedway, the site of the Good Ol' Boys Fest in 2019.
It was great seeing all the Hazzard vehicles, and being in costume made it even more fun.
I rode with Richie in the official Cooter's Place General Lee. Richie knows the car pretty well, seeing as he built it and owned it for years before it became Ben's number one Gen'ral.
I set up my GoPro on the hood of the General Lee and recorded the entire run.
The video is long but shows the beautiful colors of the Shenandoah Valley and you can see how many people came out to see the parade of Hazzard cars.
General Lees in front of me and General Lees in back. I was in Dukes of Hazzard heaven.
Our pal Jennifer rode with us too. We were a set of Duke Cousins, that's for sure.
The Run went on to the Speedway, but we had to get back to the store to set up for the autographs and contest.
Tom Wopat rode in the Run and then headed back to greet his fans. I love seeing fans interact with the Dukes. It's such a special thing.
Luke wasn't the only Duke Boy at the Hazzard Run. Byron Cherry, Coy Duke, also attended. Byron is a lot of fun!
Dorothy Best signed autographs and sold prints of Jimmy Best's artwork. I'm really glad we connected and look forward to talking with her again soon.
Dukes of Hazzard Lead Mechanic, Tom Sormento, also attended the Run. Tom kept the General Lee on the road, and in the air. He witnessed every jump the Gen'ral made while the show was filming. He has so many great stories and it's always a blast getting to chat with him.
Tom took pictures with his fans and Cooter's General Lee outside the Hazzard Garage. This really is the perfect place to get a picture with the cast of our favorite show.
Unfortunately my camera focused on the wrong subject in this picture, but what a great pic these fans got with Coy Duke!
It wasn't all Hazzard cars at the Hazzard Run. There was also a car show presented by the Shenandoah Valley Mustang Club. There were some amazing cars there. But, they just weren't orange enough for me.
That's more like it. Every car show I've ever been to, I'm searching for the General Lee. I love seeing so many!
But we all know my favorite part of the 2022 Hazzard Run was the Halloween in Hazzard Costume Contest! I was so happy when I saw fellow fans in costume as soon as I got to Cooter's in the morning. People were excited for the contest! Fans that didn't dress up were excited to see those that did. Let's meet the participants in the event. First up were my favorite of all the costumes. This is Dave and John Ashbridge dressed as Bo and Luke from the season 5 episode "Welcome Back, Bo 'n' Luke." These fellow jumpsuit wearing fellas really nailed it. Topped with helmets, something I didn't think of, they were a hit all over the Run. I wonder if they would win the contest?
Next up is Brandon Bergin as Rosco P. Coltrane. Brandon and his Silver General Lee have a big presence on the Instgram side of Hazzard County. I first met Brandon in 2018 at Cooter's.
Next up is Tabitha Ingram as Daisy Duke.
Tabitha and her boyfriend James Murphy III brought their sweet white General Lee Challenger. James entered the contest as Cooter!
Another Duo of entrants were Corry Lin Stephensca and Mike Phinny. They dressed as Deputies Daisy Duke and Enos Strate. I love the unique thinking Corry and Mike put into their costumes. Man, the contest was fun!
Next up is Gabriel Thacker and his dad Kevin. They entered in to the group category with Staci Helms. Gabriel is Rosco and Kevin is Enos. Staci didn't have her costume ready yet and you can see her in the group picture below.
Out next contestant is none other than our own "Dukes Geek" Bill Lambing. Bill wasn't just dressed up as Rosco, he was dressed as "Ya Dipstick Rosco." Billy has been representing the Dukes of Hazzard for decades and appeared on the reality show Beauty and the Geek as the Dukes Geek in the mid 2000s.
Next up entering the Under 18 category is Nolan Desrosiers as Bo Duke. Nolan looks great and even has a near perfect belt buckle.
Rounding out the contestants is Curtis Moore. Curtis is dressed as one of Hazzard County's finest. I am so grateful for all the contestants that they took part in the event. Let's see how it all went down.
Byron really wanted to enter but I told him the rules were strict. He said he had the best Coy Duke costume ever and I had to agree, but I double disqualified him for getting into this General Lee through the door. Use those windows Byron!
I took this picture with Corry, Mike, Dave and John before the contest. This is probably my favorite picture of the weekend. You know when there are certain pictures that you're sure will stick around for a while, and this is without question one of them. I'll use this one to promote any upcoming costume contests or basically any other event I'm associated with for years to come. I really love this picture.
I posted it to twitter soon after taking it. Our pal Jason Parmeter pointed out that we looked like Series 3 of the Figures Toy Company Dukes of Hazzard action figures. I didn't even think of it, but he was spot on. We are even in the same positions as the ad for the Entertainment Earth exclusive series. I love the picture we took and love the reference to the toys. Everything about this makes me so happy.
The rules of the contest said the judging was based audience reaction, social media consideration and celebrity judges interaction. Before we all went on stage, I had to take the pulse of the fans. Billy really did a great Rosco and even does a super impression. Everyone loved his costume.
My Carnival of Thrills jumpsuit had a blank back, but John and Dave went the extra mile and put the Cooter's logo and the 01 on their backs. It's the little things that really go a long way.
The contest took place after Cooter and his Garage Band performed. Ben, Lisa, Robbie and the band always put on a great show.
While we were waiting to go on, I snapped this pic of Jett and Bobby. They make the Hazzard Run run, and it runs so smooth. Thanks for all you guys do. I always enjoy hanging out with these two.
Just a couple Hazzard cops hanging out on the lawn. They need a Flash to stretch and yawn.
They looked like they were having so much fun, I had to join in.
The celebrity judges were none other than Byron and Tom. Right before the contest started I conferred with them about who they thought should take home the gold.
And I snapped a couple of pictures with them. Had to be done. I had the social media reaction, the celebrity judges' decisions, and all I need was the crowd response. Time to get to the stage.
All the contestants came on down to the stage and I read everyone's name and costume.
For each category we whittled the numbers down based of the applause they got from the crowd.
The competition was fierce in the duos category and the crowd was definitely split between the deputies and the orange clad Duke Boys.
I gave everyone a chance to show off a little in front of the crowd.
The Bandit had a few jokes and Billy Lambing even did his Rosco and Enos impressions.
Alex and Billy put up a valiant effort, but they didn't get as many cheers in the individual category.
James Murphy III took home the individual prize with his Cooter costume. The crowd cheered a costume of their hero to victory.
The group category winners were the team of Gabriel, Kevin and Staci dressed as Rosco, Enos and Daisy.
Nolan won the best under 18 with his spot on Bo Duke and the final category was the most heated. Corry Lin and Mike against Dave and John.
Deputy Daisy and Deputy Enos went against Welcome Back Bo 'n' Luke. The battle of the century!
In the end, there couldn't be just one. The crowd, judges, and I were so split, it was decided they both deserved a prize. We had a duo of best duos!
This is another one of those great pictures that I'll cherish for a long time. This is the entire pool of participants for the first ever Hazzard in Halloween Costume Contest at Cooter's. Each winner took home a seventy-five dollar gift card to Cooter's! Well, I'm guessing they took home seventy-five bucks worth of Cooter's stuff because I know I would have spent that right away. What a great time the contest was. Everyone shown in the picture is, from left to right, Mike Phinny and Corry Lin Stepnensca as Deputies Enos and Daisy, Dave Ashbridge and John Ashbridge as Welcome Back Bo 'n' Luke, Alex Page as the Bandit, Nolan Desrosiers as Bo Duke, Billy Lambing as Rosco, host Larry Franks as Carnival of Thrills Bo Duke, James Murphy III as Cooter, Tabitha Ingram as Daisy, Kevin Thacker, Gabriel Thacker and Staci Helms as Enos, Rosco and Daisy, Brandon Bergin as Rosco and Curtis Moore as a Hazzard Deputy. Thank you so much for everyone who participated!
After the contest I wondered around and just had fun. I happened to walk by the moment Byron was signing Jim's General Lee and snapped some pics. Jim sure was happy to add Coy's autograph to his beloved car. I'm glad I got to witness it.
I spied a Carnival of Thrills car door leaning on the wall in the garage and had to pull it out and take some pictures with it. I got so many great pictures at the Hazzard Run!
The festivities closed out with Dukes on the big screen. I can't think of a better way to spend a warm Autumn evening. This was truly a special event for me. I lot of people said they wish they would have dressed up or wanted to see how it went the first time and want to do it next year. I hope we have twice as many costumes next Halloween. I successfully combined Dukes and Halloween. Wow. I can't wait to do it again!
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