Join in a spooky, fun event for a scary cool cause! Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth is hosting this year’s annual haunted house event, the Nightmare on Railroad, at Boundary Bay Brewery. BAAY Operations Director Juliette Machado details the upcoming festivities.
The Nightmare on Railroad
“The event has two main features,” says Machado. The Haunted Fear Garden takes place at Boundary Bay Brewery, who partner with BAAY for the event and offer use of their beer garden. BAAY’s talented build crew transforms the space into an eerie haunted house-themed environment with different rooms and jump scares. The entrance to the Haunted Fear Garden is through the alley on Maple Street. “Admission for that part of the event, running from 6 to 9 p.m. for all ages, is just $5. From 9 to 11 p.m. we ramp up the scare factor and it becomes a 21-plus age requirement with $10 admission.”

Just up the road, BAAY students will perform an electronic zombie dance routine for audiences to enjoy.
“They get all dressed up and do a creepy dance number,” Machado says. “This year, the zombie performances will be on that same block but not at Boundary Bay, but they are still part of the Nightmare on Railroad event.”

Guests can decide which activity to visit first and easily travel between the two. “On Friday the 28th, the dancers will perform at BAAY,” says Machado, “It’s a short five-minute dance number and they’ll be doing it every 20 minutes or so. On Saturday the 29th and on Halloween, the dancers will be in the Depot Market Square, right across the street from Boundary Bay.” There is no admission cost to take in the zombie dancers.
Partnering With Boundary Bay
BAAY first collaborated with Boundary Bay to host its Halloween event in 2015. “This is the 7th year of the Haunted Fear Garden and BAAY’s former Executive Director Ian Bivins forged that relationship with Boundary Bay, being a key organizer and build crew leader for the event ever since,” Machado says. “Our event sponsors are Boundary Bay Brewery, Hardware Sales, Bellewood Farms, and En Christo LLC.”

The Fear Garden has become a community favorite of Bellingham’s Halloween season. “The fact that we have different times with different scare-levels provides options for our guests,” says Machado. “I’ve heard people say it’s now a staple of their weekend since BAAY’s been running this event for so many years, aside from the pandemic.
The Nightmare on Railroad is open to even the smallest of fright aficionados. “We have these LED tea lights available, especially if the younger kids want to come into the Fear Garden,” Machado says. “At the entrance, they will be offered a ‘bravery light’ and can carry that through the Fear Garden. This will signal to our performers to scale back the scare factor.”
Supporting BAAY’s Mission
The Nightmare on Railroad is a fundraising event that supports BAAY’s programming and activities. “All of the proceeds benefit BAAY and help us facilitate our mission to offer accessible arts opportunities for youth,” says Machado. “We have a scholarship program that’s central to what we do. Families can request financial aid and we offer it, no questions asked. We want to remove barriers to accessing arts education and this is one of our main fundraising events that helps us continue to provide financial options to families.”
Visit BAAY to learn more about the organization and how you can support them while enjoying the Nightmare on Railroad event coming up this week.
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