Pirates of Pinehurst street show returns with new additions to Halloween animatronics

For the fifth year in a row, the Pirates of Pinehurst spook show has returned to Sherwood.

All along Pinehurst Court, visitors to Woodhaven can view extreme Halloween decorations featuring animatronics, lights, fog, and more. There are also shows that run Thursday through Sunday evenings through the end of October, and hidden gold along the neighborhood's public trails that trick-or-treaters can find and trade in for candy and prizes on Halloween night.

Chris Northup, also known as Captain Crusty, is one of the seasonal pirates who lives along Pinehurst Drive. He said the street sees about 400-500 attendees during the busiest shows, totaling about 10,000-20,000 folks throughout the month.

"Our goal is to add one new 'wow' element every year. Every year, each island has slightly different configurations — we'll put skeletons in different places; we'll add different lighting elements," Northup said. "The experience now runs the entire length of the street. It's really impressive to see how other neighbors have gotten involved ... we got some new neighbors in this year, so we're probably going to have more exciting show-related elements in coming years."

It's free to come out and see the displays, the show, and trick-or-treat, with sponsors helping to raise money for the Sherwood Education Foundation (SEF). About 20 houses along the street play along with pirate-themed Halloween decor, with eight households active in creating the show.

"We all are responsible for our own displays," Northup said. "We've never had the idea of having a show for a profit."

Also new this year, mobile drink cart Travelin' Tom's Coffee Truck is slated to come out and sell upscale hot chocolates, also donating the proceeds.

"This year, we've (raised) somewhere around $15,000 that we're going to be donating ... and a grand total should be in the neighborhood of about $40,000 since we started doing this a few years ago," Northup said. "The bulk of the donations go to the theater program at Sherwood High School."

Northup said that kids who attended the first years of the show are now in high school, and some of the students in the drama club volunteer as actors and stage crew.

Residents Ian and Megan Swanson, along with Tim Rosener — who also happens to be the Mayor of Sherwood — are the brains of the operation, tinkering with hardware, designing the show, engineering the program, and using a 3D printer to create custom gold coins for high-level sponsors, Northup said.

"Ian and Megan both have theater backgrounds, and they have jumped all over the set designs and concepts," Northup said. "This is really brilliant, the stuff they come up with. It's just amazing how much thought they put into all this."

Howard Gerber, a pirate and neighbor on the street, handles the software, website, and sponsor-wrangling. He said the show is created with separate digital tracks for voices, lighting, and animatronics that coordinate the program between four different houses.

"Essentially, they squish them all together and make one giant file that holds all the stuff. Then to start the show, it's literally a click of a button," Gerber said. "It was honestly days trying to get it working, because there's an entirely new part to the show."

Gerber said Ian Swanson and Rosener spent days sitting across this table in the garage with their laptops open, collaborating to build the mechanisms, control them, and program it into a show.

"I would say the biggest success is one, the enjoyment that it brings to the entire community and the kids," Gerber said. "And the other part is just how much we've raised for the SEF."

Gerber said the biggest challenge is the weather, since the electronics need to be covered when it rains.

"Glitches happen quite frequently, and I tell everybody hey, apologies — you're going to get a full refund," Gerber joked.

"All the (sponsor) money goes directly to SEF," Gerber said. "We don't manage any of it, because we don't want to be in the business of managing it."

However, the pirates do submit reimbursement for 20% of the money raised to help cover operating expenses. Northup said they spend a lot of money on the decor, tech, and show — much more than they get back.

The Pirates of Pinehurst are sponsored by Sheila Gray and Jenna Baird real estate agents, Dutch Bros., Les Schwab, Sherwood Bookstore, Chris Olson Homes, and more. Proceeds go toward fundraising for the Sherwood Education Foundation.

"I live in Woodhaven, and I do like to give back to the community," said Olson, one of the sponsors. "I like Fall, I like the holiday Halloween, and I think the creativity part of it is really what stands out to me—and the purpose of what it turned out to be, from just a show to hey, now we're actually raising money. It's in my neighborhood, I think it's cool, and it's good for the community."