Learn more about the Woodenhead Collective’s upcoming horror festival, The Day the Rez Stood Still: The Fourth Kind, happening in September at the Salt River Community Building.

3 Takeaways:

• The Woodenhead Collective includes Raeann Brown, Seneca Silverhorn, Dominic Martinez, Dwayne Manuel and Dushane Manuel.
• The Day the Rez Stood Still: The Fourth Kind is scheduled for Sept. 26 from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Salt River Community Building.
• The festival will have a horror market, cosplayers, a Monster March and more.

They’re back!

Raeann Brown, Seneca Silverhorn, Dominic Martinez, Dwayne Manuel and Dushane Manuel, known throughout the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community as the Woodenhead Collective, have announced the plans for this year’s spook-tacular festival, the Day the Rez Stood Still: The Fourth Kind.

The daylong celebration, now in its fourth year, welcomes horror enthusiasts and fanatics to share their love of the genre.

Whether it be dressing up as their favorite ghoulish icon, participating in the Monster March or spending some of their cold, hard cash at some of the artistic vendor booths, there’s something for everyone at the event, especially for those who enjoy a good scare.

The festival’s popularity has extended far beyond the Community. Currently, several well-known horror art vendors and businesses from Mesa, Tempe, Chandler and Phoenix now circle the day on their calendars when the Woodenhead Collective announces the date of their next annual festival.

This year’s event will be happening on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Community Building. As plans are almost set and finalized, the anticipation continues to grow around the Community.

“This all started as a small get-together,” admitted Silverhorn. “And it’s grown so much,” he said with a proud smile.

It’s true. Every year, the Woodenhead Collective’s event has seen an increase in attendees, participating artists and food truck vendors. The group holds meetings at the house of Brown’s mother, Alice Manuel, to brainstorm and develop plans for making each year bigger and better. By the looks of it, those meetings seem to be paying off handsomely as they seemingly provide the perfect environment for the group to come up with many new ideas, such as the Monster March and cosplay meet-and-greets.

“The coolest part about last year was the new element that we put into play, which was our cosplay and meet-and-greets,” said Martinez. “And the Monster March, which came from an idea from Professor Possessor (Dwayne Manuel). He also leads the march.”

Last year, local horror cosplay artists such as Art the Clown from “Terrifier,” Jason from “Friday the 13th,” “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” characters, Leatherface from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Babadook” spent the day in Salt River, mingling with fans and posing for photos with families and fans underneath the official TDTRSS3 banner.

As each cosplay horror icon posed for photos last year, the Woodenhead Collective played the character’s theme song as well, providing a perfect moment for all.

Additionally, the Monster March was a new attraction during last year’s fest. Fans marched along with their fellow monsters inside the Community Building. The march was one of Brown’s favorite moments during last year’s fest and is now widely considered one of the highlights of the event. “Just to see how many people came out and dressed up last year, that was really cool. That’s my favorite part because I get to be in it too,” she said with a smile.

Of course, participation is highly encouraged at this year’s event.

“We want you to get up there and showcase what you got!” said Martinez excitedly.

For the Woodenhead Collective, hosting the event is as much about community as it is about celebrating the spooky and horrifying characters that make the Halloween season an enjoyable one for many.

“We bring it home, we bring it here to the Community,” said Silverhorn. “It’s completely free; you don’t have to worry about paying anything. Just come out, have a good time and see what kind of spooky gifts you can get.”

To stay up to date on The Day the Rez Stood Still: The Fourth Kind, visit Woodenhead Collective’s social media pages @thewoodenhead.collective.

Check out OAN’s podcast episode with the Woodenhead Collective by clicking here.