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STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK The nightmare returns. The popular Nightmare on Main Street returns to Ketchum on Friday night. Only this time it will be in The Argyros where costumed fun lovers can shake their Bigfoot perms without getting cold or rained and snowed on. “I love off-season events like April Fools and Halloween that can bring the community together,” said Nick Harman, who is staging it with his cohorts at The Argyros. “In England where I grew up we do not celebrate Halloween like we do over here. I’ll never forget watching ‘ET’ and all the stuff around Halloween. And, when I came to America, I just threw myself into this annual celebration.”
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Doc Rock, a real-life doctor, mixed the music for Nightmare on Main Street back in the day.
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The fun kicks off with trick or treating for the public from 4 to 7 p.m. The show goes from 7:30 to 11 p.m. with a costume contest flush with prizes at 9 p.m. The first hour will be offered to those under 18 free of charge. Tickets for the remainder of the party are $20 for adults, available at https://www.theargyros.org/calendar/nightmare-at-the-argyros-ft-dj-bearskinrug.goo Leading off the entertainment will be Idaho Falls DJ Rowdy, who spun tunes for Wood River High School’s homecoming and prom. He’s bringing extra subwoofers that create a big club sound that is not something locals here normally get to hear. And he’s bringing lights and lasers to dazzle partygoers. “His sound is very energetic. Real high energy and the kids absolutely go crazy for him,” said Ernie Trevino, the sound designer at The Argyros. “He’ll do anything from pop remixes to a little hip hop.” Trevino, who goes by the name DJ BearSkinRug, will follow DJ Rowdy with a little disco, a little 80s, a remix of The Addams Family and more surprises and thrills.
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Remember when Prue Hemmings appeared as Cruella?
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“My dad had a big record collection so I would always play his records,” said Trevino. “I was fascinated by records and I started getting into DJ-ing when I was in 7th grade. A neighbor with turntables showed me how to scratch and use the mixer. “And, when I was setting up a sound system at my first rave party, I saw how DJs could connect with hundreds of people by playing music and manipulating music, by bringing down the eqs and bring them back up,” he added, referring to the way sound engineers enhance mix and adjust different frequencies. Trevino was especially impressed by the way he saw one DJ command the crowd with the way she manipulated music. “I said, ‘That’s what I’ve gotta do. That’s why I got into music in the first place—to connect with people.’ ”
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Nightmare on Main Street brought out everyone from Little Bo Peep to the cowboy from “Toy Story.”
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Trevino began doing an online DJ show called “Songs for the Faux Bearskin Rug” during the COVID pandemic in California where he lived at the time. “I did calming music to help people calm down in the pandemic,” he said. “When I moved here, I thought it would be wise to have a different persona. I decided I could be a real BearSkinRug.” Trevino is excited about taking his turn as a Nightmare DJ following a tradition that has seen so many great DJs like Doc Rock and Gustavo. He’s heard of Nightmare on Main Street, which was the stuff of legends. The City would close down Main Street for the giant block party. Partygoers would go all out, with a life lifeguard setting up his chair on a pile of sand right in the middle of the street one year and Snow White showing up with all seven dwarves in tow another.
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The MarriNOT Hotel was a tongue-in-cheek protest against a hotel that was proposed for Ketchum’s Main Street.
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After the event lapsed for a few years, Harman revived it in 2015 with the help of a GoFundMe donations. He snagged fabulous prizes from merchants to hand out to the Best Group, Best Female, Best Male, Creepiest, Sexiest, Most Creative and Best Overall costumes. And he never failed to show up himself in a creative costume, one year banding together with a few others to set up a MarriNOT, a 72-foot “hotel” that offered room inside for eight to kick back at a wine bar. Another Ketchum resident known for his imaginative costumes is Mike Hoover, a former staff member of The Argyros now working at the Sawtooth Society. He is sponsoring Friday’s event, providing the money for The Argyros to purchase significant amounts of decorations. “You won’t recognize the Argyros,” Harman said. “We’ll have big creepy inflatables and more. And we’ll give out gift certificates and tickets to The Argyros for the best costumes.”
Harman said this is just the beginning. “We hope to grow it more and more every year,” he said. “We’ve already got big ideas for next year.”
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