Hazzard Run 2024 and 3rd Annual Halloween in Hazzard Costume Contest! Also Larry's Halloween 2024 Costume!

 

October means two things in Hazzard County, Hazzard Run and Halloween!  Being a card carrying citizen of Hazzard, I love both!  And I get to combine both into one heck of an event.  For the third year running, I got to host the Costume Contest at the Hazzard Run in Luray and it was another great success! Let's check out the Run and then the costume contest, and I'll throw a little of my hometown Halloween in at the end.  Sound good?  Let's go!

The Hazzard Run is just a perfect Dukes event.  You get a bunch of General Lees, other Hazzard cars, their Dukes loving owners, mix in a few cast members and music, and you have the combination for a great weekend.  

This is my third event, and the fourth time it's been in Luray.  The weather was perfect the entire weekend.  

It's fun having the drone up for events like this.  This is the pre-Run meeting where the best in the business, Bobby Scott, lays out the plan to all the drivers.  

The big events, like Cooter's 25th, and Last Stand, are great, but the Run has a totally different feel because all the Gen'rals and Hazzard cars are on the move.  

And let me tell you, there were a lot of cars this time.  

It was a sea of orange and white. Ever notice that almost all the other cars on the Dukes of Hazzard are white?  You sure notice at the Hazzard Run.  

In addition to the Chargers, Jeeps, Road Runners, Monacos and Polaras, there were a bunch of tribute cars and other cars that wanted in on the fun.  Everyone is welcome at the Hazzard Run!

Just like last year, I rode with our good buddy, Jim Dahlman, in his wonderful General Lee.  

By now, anyone reading this post should be familiar with Jim and his Gen'ral.  It's the second one I ever drove, I have videos of me driving it, Jim brought his car to my 40th birthday party, and he let his General Lee be a part of my wedding.  Jim is the best!

Jim had a great position in the run, about the middle of the pack with other Lees in front and behind.  

I set up my gopro on the door this time.  Last year I had it on the car in front of us and the year before I had it on the roof.  This made for a really cool shot.  The video is below.  

Right before we took off, I jumped back out of the car, through the door and not the window, and took some more pictures of lined up General Lees and police cars.  

Our good buddy Jim Cunningham had a great setup where he had a video camera connected to his roof and he could watch the action on his phone.  Super cool. 

Bill Shaffer and his beautiful episode 1 Polara led a few police cars in the parade. 

Silly Billy Lambing and his patrol car were next.  

After that was previous Costume Contest entrant Aaron Aikman and his brand new Rosco car.  This was the first big road test for his new pride and joy and it passed with flying colors.  It's now a part of his fleet that includes ECTO-1, the Munsters car, and many many others.  

There were all kinds of great cars included in the Run

Once we got on the road, we had the perfect view.  We straightened the curves and flattened the hills with a General Lee in front of us and behind us.  It was a blast.  

It's really cool to see all the spectators stop at different places to take in all the Dukes of Hazzard greatness.  

I mean, c'mon!

Jim is in his glory.  This is a picture of a very happy Duke Boy.  

I love when we go up or down hills because it creates an opportunity to see all the cars.  I'm glad the bridge wasn't out, but if it was, we all could have jumped it with no problems.  

Here's the promised video.  It's most of the run, until my memory card filled up, followed by some action at the racetrack.  Those pictures are coming up next.  It's a long video, but it's fun to watch or skip through.  Let me know what you think of my music choices.  

Coming back to Cooter's is fun because there's always a huge crowd waiting for us.  I chose to stick my head out the window and take in the applause over getting a good picture.  I made the right choice.  

Jim dropped me off at the store and headed to the track.  I got a few things in order for later in the day and drove to the track myself.  It's a little under fifteen minutes to the track but in that time I was driving my Acura, and had the stark realization that as much as I love my car, it ain't no General Lee.  Soon....

I grabbed a few pictures at the track of all the great orange cars, and some drone footage that you can see in the above video.  I wasn't there all that long as I had a contest to prepare for.  I headed back to Cooter's in my non-orange car. 

Ben and the Cooter's Garage Band entertained the Dukes Nation like only they can.  Miss Alma joined Ben on stage for a bit and it was magical.  We are so blessed to have Ben and Alma leading our hobby.  Thank you two so much for everything you do for us.  There's nothing else like Hazzard Nation. 

Dorothy Best was there signing autographs in her late husband's honor. We are lucky to have Dorothy there and we can honor James. She's the best. 

We were treated with several special guests at this year's Hazzard Run.  Catherine Bach and Jeff Altman signed autographs and entertained us.  Catherine's pictures are below. That rascal Hughie Hogg performed some magic tricks on stage before the contest.  I love slight of hand magic, an Jeff is a master at it.  I could watch him all day.  

Halloween in Hazzard Costume Contest time!

 

I realize you may not know everything there is no know about the Dukes of Hazzard and there's a chance you're wondering why I'm in a red jumpsuit with a monkey.  This year, like both previous years, I couldn't host the contest if I wasn't in a costume myself.  This year I went as Bo Duke in his NASCAR suit from the season six two-part episode, Undercover Dukes.  

Bo and Luke are recruited by the US of A Government to go undercover and bring down a racing family that has ties to organized crime.  And there's a monkey involved named Mr. Jones.  

Daisy also dressed up like Bo and is actually the racer that finishes first in front of legends like Daryl Waltrip and Richard Petty.  So technically I could have been dressed up as Bo, or maybe I was dressed as Daisy dressed as Bo.  That's a fun possibility.  Which one was I?  I'll never tell.  

I was Bo.  And I had a Mr. Jones too.  

My costume wasn't all that hard to make.  I knew I had to find a stuffed animal chimp and I came across a character named Titan from a movie called Space Chimps that was already is a red jumpsuit so I had to use him.  I was planning on making a suit for a chimp, but this worked out so much better. Surprisingly, a red jumpsuit is super easy to find on Amazon. 

For my Carnival of Thrills costume, I didn't have a helmet and wanted to make sure I had one this time.  I considered buying a red helmet, but this old school design is actually harder to find because newer ones protect a lot better.  The helmet I ended up using belonged to my dad and actually saved his life from a horrendous crash in the '70s.  All these scuffs are from that one crash.  If he wasn't wearing this helmet, I would have never been born.  My mom used to take this to the high school where she taught when students didn't wear a helmet and show them the kind of damage it took that a head usually can't.  Over the years, the padding had crumbled away, but it was perfect to spray paint red and include with my costume.  Then after the contest, it would be a part of my collection with my monkey.

It was fun, but a little frustrating trying to decipher all the patches on Bo's jumpsuit.  The "Octoline" patch can also be seen on the season 5 Welcome Back Bo 'n Luke jumpsuits.  The other ones are unique to these episodes.  There is a big orange battery advertisement on Bo's arm, but I decided to replace it with the familiar Cooter's Place logo.  The Carver family crest worked out very nice.  The rest I recreated in Photoshop and I was very happy how they came out.

I have created the first ever Undercover Dukes Mr. Jones collectible.  My collection is the only Dukes of Hazzard Collection to have one.  For this, I am proud. 

I'm thrilled with the result.  Everything works perfectly.  Me and Mr. Jones are ready to host the costume contest.  Let's meet the contestants. 

We had two fierce Uncle Jesses.  First up was David Daniels.  Wow, he could be Denver!

Next up is last year's individual winner Michael Nix.  The competition for number one Uncle Jesse is a hard fought battle!

Curtis Moore entered once again as Rosco.  That's three years in a row!  I love it, I love it. 

Brandon Bergin also entered again as Rosco.  I love how much our good friends support the contest!

Last year, James Murphey III won in the duo category by entering with his pal Blake as Big Cooter and Little Cooter.  Two years ago he took home the individual prize as Cooter.  He tried to make it a threepeat this year. 

 

Cooper Cavender entered in the under 18 category as Luke Duke in Daisy's Jeep.  I really got a kick out of the Jeep.  It can be remote driven by an adult with a controller and has a bluetooth speaker to play Dixie.  I love this thing!

Entering the group category were Brittany Diamond as Lulu Hogg, Ben Diamond as Rosco, Jaskson Fisher as Luke and Joseph Cribs as Bo.  I love that families and friends get together to enjoy the Dukes and enter the contest. 

Amber Miller was back at it as Daisy and she did not disappoint. Again, love the daises.  

    

Mallory Bernier, Lily King, and Amelia Felice entered the group category as triple Daisy.  Incredible!  Great job ladies!

Last year, our good pal Russ Gundle blew us all away as the General Lee Transformer.  This year he took it a step further as the General Lee with a working Dixie horn!  It was incredible.  He was afraid it was too loud to blow the horn inside on stage, but the crowd demanded it and it was perfect!  I love your creativity Russ, and I can't wait to see what you do next year.  

Our friend Lee Bryant, who dressed as Lulu last year, dressed as Flash this year, but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of her wonderful costume.  Lee, please forgive me! Here's all the participants to this year's contest.

Oh yeah, there was one other duo entrant.  Jett Yaskow and Jason Moody absolutely astonished me as Boss Hogg and Lulu.  I had dinner with Jett  and Jason on Friday, and they didn't even tell me they were entering the contest.  Right before we went on stage, they told me they were entering as a "Duo Mystery."  When I was introducing the entrants to the crowd they made their grand entrance and there was eruptions from the fans.  This is my favorite costumes yet.  Jett and Jason, hats off to you guys.  This is the reason we have a costume contest.  This is prefect!

The winners of the 2024 Halloween in Hazzard Costume Contest are:

Cooper Cavender as Luke in the Jeep - Under 18

Mallory, Lily and Amelia as Triple Daisy - Group

David Daniels as Uncle Jesse - Individual

Russ Gundle as The General Lee with Dixie Horn - Unique

Jett and Jason as Boss Hogg and Lulu - Duo

There was very fierce competition for each category and each entrant deserves a prize.  Thank you so much for everyone who entered and took the time to create a costume and participate.  Each year this contest gets bigger and I am so grateful I get to do it.  The winners really deserved their prize.  Congratulations to each winner.  This makes me so happy.

Jett just impressed the heck out of me with his Boss Hogg. Great job brother!

Much to the chagrin of Richie, who wanted to get done and already shut down the autograph line, I took all the winners into the garage area to take pictures with Catherine. She was busy signing beloved Dukes memorabilia and didn't get to watch the contest. I couldn't let her miss this. She really got a kick out of Jason and Jett's performance. Who wouldn't? 

I really wanted her to see the girls with their Daisy Dukes on. We all love seeing younger Dukes fans keeping it going. 

David just has the look and Catherine agrees.

Amber came back too and Catherine really loved her attention to detail. 

I had to grab a pic with my Daisy dressed as Bo costume with Daisy. She totally got it. 

I took a picture with this monkey and Mr. Jones. Jeff is such a fun guy and I'm so glad he's a part of the Dukes family once again. 

When things were winding down, we were able to get Catherine to sign Jim's General. As we were walking out I told her that Jim was kind enough to let his car be a part of my wedding and she wrote an inscription about it. 

I hope you enjoy the autograph saying you have the most romantic General, Jim. If not, I'm forever sorry about that. Hey, it's a unique inscription. 

Great pic of our buddy and our favorite lady. 

Bobby Scott runs a great Run. He organizes the whole event and does it perfectly. Great job again brother! 

After the Run, concert, and contest, Bobby and Aaron set up a projection screen and roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. 

It was such a cool atmosphere with the General Lees at night. 

We watched One Armed Bandits by the fire side. Who could ask for anything better? 

Cooter's Garage in the background and Daisy on the big screen. We were all happy in Hazzard County! 

If that wasn't enough, back at the cabins, our buddies Jim, Alex, Dave, Matt, Bill, Billy and the crew had another projection screen set up and we watched more Dukes!

This time Alex asked for a suggestion on which episodes to watch and I, of course, said Undercover Dukes. 

It was fun pointing out details and discussing points that only us crazies would pick out. Watching with fellow super fans was a lot of fun. It was such a perfect ending to a perfect day. 

Sunday was more Dukes and it was great. 

We asked Jeff to sign Jim's General and he spent a good bit of time checking it out. 

Jim is a proud General papa with all these great signatures. 

I left them to chat and they talked Dukes for quite a while. 

The weekend was awesome. A perfect Run with perfect weather and a perfect contest. Everything worked perfectly. Thanks to Ben and Alma and Bobby Scott and the crew at Cooter's. Everyone works so hard to make these events great and again, thanks for letting me be a part of it. I can't wait until next year's Hazzard Run and Halloween in Hazzard Costume Contest. I already have an idea for my next costume. What are you dressing up as? 

While you're here, I'll take this opportunity to show off my non-Dukes Halloween weekend. Saturday before Halloween we had trick or treating in our neighborhood and me and Chad went to a friend's party. 

I totally understand why recording artists release greatest hits albums. When you have great songs in your repertoire, you bring them back. I did the same thing with my previous Halloween costumes. It's been eleven years and I brought back my Terminator costume. Once again, it was a hit! 

The Terminator said he would be back.

Chad also went with a throwback and went as Raphael.  He told me he dressed as the best Ninja Turtle way back in kindergarten and bought a new version this year.

I asked Bill to don the Cobra Kai gi and it was definitely a hit. We all had a great time giving out candy and our neighbors really liked our costumes.  

I was looking for Sarah Conner all night. 

Chad and I went to a friend's party and it was the most legit Halloween party I've ever been to. 

The host of the party, Ryan, dressed as the Heart Break Kid, Shawn Michaels. His party was so much fun. 

These dudes dressed as Starsky and Hutch. What a surprise to see a '70s costume at a party with mostly people in their thirties. 

I made friends with the Fiend! We talked wrestling for a long time and I loved it. I asked him how far back his fandom goes and he says he jumped the railing at a WWF event to hug Hulk Hogan and I had huge respect for that. Great talking to you. 

One party goer dressed as Weird Al and I had to take a picture for Jeff. He approves. 

I really loved these guys as Harry and Marv from Home Alone. The creativity and detail was great. He really looks like Daniel Stern and went with the best option. Great job. 

So let's talk about this party. There was not an inch of Ryan's house that wasn't Halloween. He said this was his wife's Christmas. It was the all Halloween everywhere. They had a live tattoo artist upstairs and I watched this guy get fresh ink. How crazy is that?!

They had a real casket in their house. And it's theirs and in the house year round. What a party. Before we left Ryan gave us a save the date for next year's party. I'm looking forward to it. I love a good Halloween party. 

I contemplated my existence as a cybernetic assassin and then won best costume. It was a good night. 

Back in Hazzard, we had a perfect event. Billy Lambing took this lower angle photo of me with my dream General Lee and I think it's my favorite picture with the General ever. I love being a citizen of Hazzard County!