St. Clair County Alabama Boo Bash on Logan Martin Festival
Halloween on Logan Martin Lake does not wait for darkness at a front door. It travels by boat. Families along the shoreline dress their docks in cobwebs, lights and carved pumpkins, and costumed children ride from pier to pier collecting sweets across the water. That floating celebration is Boo Bash on Logan Martin, an annual Saint Clair County tradition that pairs a lakeside Halloween party with a practical cause: support for the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association and its lighted-buoy programme, which marks hazards so boaters can navigate the lake more safely.
The event does not belong to a single street or a single town green. Decorated docks are scattered all across Logan Martin Lake, in coves and along channels on both shores, while the one official land-based stop sits at Lakeside Park in Pell City. Pell City serves as the organising city, and it carries a particular civic distinction: it is one of two county seats for Saint Clair County, sharing that role rather than holding it alone. Anyone picturing a compact festival ground should picture instead a lake full of glowing piers and a park that anchors the celebration on shore.
About the Festival
Boo Bash on Logan Martin is billed as a dockside trick-or-treat, and the phrase describes it well. Homeowners register their piers, decorate them for the season, and welcome boaters who cruise dock to dock in costume. Registered piers are assigned a number to display, because the decorating is also a contest: judges award trophies for first, second and third place among the dressed-up docks. Boats join the competition as well, with a separate boat decorating contest that requires registration, and its judging takes place at Lakeside Park.
The park stop has its own name and its own life. It is called the Boo Slough, the official LMLPA Land Stop, and it is hosted by Pell City Parks and Recreation. Families who come by land rather than by water find carnival games, photo booths, food trucks, giveaways and a prize drawing there. A costume contest adds another layer of competition, and one recent layer of the event extends the evening with a costume-contest after-party at Tiki Hut.
Beneath the fun sits the fundraising purpose. The bash supports the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association, known by its initials LMLPA, and in particular its lighted-buoy programme for boating safety. Money raised through the celebration helps place and maintain the hazard buoys that warn boaters away from trouble spots on the lake, so every decorated dock contributes, indirectly, to safer water long after Halloween ends.
For a useful comparison, see the St. Clair County Alabama Fall on the Farm Festival for another county festival.
Quick Facts
| Item | Details |
| Festival name | Boo Bash on Logan Martin |
| County | Saint Clair County, Alabama |
| Organising city | Pell City, one of the county’s two seats rather than its sole seat |
| Setting | Decorated docks across Logan Martin Lake, with the official land stop at Lakeside Park in Pell City |
| Organisers | Kelli Lasseter and Sonya Hubbard with their Boo Crew; the City of Pell City events page for 2025 bills it as presented by LMLPA and Parks and Rec |
| Beneficiary | Logan Martin Lake Protection Association (LMLPA), supporting its lighted-buoy programme |
| First held | 2022, as stated directly by the City of Pell City and lake-magazine layers |
| Editions billed | The city billed 2025 as the fourth annual; a county newspaper column also billed 2026 as the fourth annual, a conflict the record leaves unreconciled |
| Most recent dated edition | Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Admission | No admission charge is published in any source checked; the event is funded through donations and sponsorships |
History of the Festival
The City of Pell City states the beginning plainly: the event began in 2022. A lake magazine’s 2026 coverage agrees in its own words, saying the bash exploded in popularity since its inception in 2022. That first year was modest by later standards. The same 2026 magazine layer recalls that the first running drew one hundred forty little goblins and their adults, a small fleet of trick-or-treaters compared with what followed.
Growth came quickly, and it changed the shape of the day. In 2024 the event, then in its three-year history, partnered with the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association for the first time and added its first land component, the Boo Stop in the Park at Lakeside Park. That edition ran on Saturday, October 12, 2024, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The partnership tied the party to the buoy programme, and the park stop gave families without boats a way to join in.
The city’s role deepened the following year. A land-use agreement for Lakeside Park was approved by the City Council on July 14, 2025, formalising the park’s place in the event. The City of Pell City billed that year’s running, held Sunday, October 5, 2025, from noon to 4 p.m., as the fourth annual Boo Bash on Logan Martin, with a rain date of October 12 at the same hours recorded in the lake magazine’s 2025 layer. The magazine’s 2026 coverage also conveys the scale the event had reached: last year’s impressive two thousand three hundred trick-or-treaters, a figure that layer ties to the 2025 edition.
The fundraising record is told in layers that do not quite match, and both are worth keeping separate. The lake magazine’s 2026 account says that last year Boo Bash presented LMLPA a check for twelve thousand dollars for the lighted buoy program. City and newspaper layers tell it differently, saying the event was able to raise more than fourteen thousand dollars last year, enough to meet the main goal of supporting the LMLPA in adding ten new hazard buoys. A 2025 layer records seventy buoys placed on the lake so far in the programme. The figures are recorded here side by side, not merged into a single total.
One more wrinkle belongs in the record. The 2026 edition ran on Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and a county newspaper column from August 27, 2026 billed it as the fourth-annual Boo Bash on Logan Martin, repeating the billing the city had given the 2025 edition. Whether the numbering slipped or the counting method differs, the sources leave the conflict standing, and this account leaves it standing too.
What to Expect
The heart of the afternoon is movement. Costumed children and their adults travel by boat from decorated dock to decorated dock, gathering treats at each stop. Because registered piers display an assigned number, the cruising doubles as a tour of the contest entries, and the lake fills with floating jack-o’-lanterns, spiderwebs and string lights reflected on the water.
Expect contests at several levels. Waterfront households compete for dock-decorating trophies for first, second and third place. Boat owners enter the boat decorating contest, which requires registration, and bring their entries to Lakeside Park for judging. Costume wearers get their own contest, and the 2026 layer carries the celebration onward with a costume-contest after-party at Tiki Hut.
Part of the pleasure is simply watching the traffic. A parade that floats changes character every few minutes, as a pontoon dressed as a pirate ship gives way to a fishing boat hung with ghosts. Children compare hauls between stops, dogs ride in costume on bow decks, and porch lights along the banks mark the homes taking part. Even visitors who never leave the park can follow the contest by watching the entries gather for judging.
On shore, the Boo Slough at Lakeside Park works like a small fair. Carnival games, photo booths, food trucks, giveaways and a prize drawing fill the land stop, hosted by Pell City Parks and Recreation. Between the docks and the park, the event offers two festivals in one: a Halloween cruise for boaters and a park party for everyone else.
Planning Your Visit
Timing shapes everything about this event. The afternoon window has shifted between editions: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in 2024, noon to 4 p.m. in 2025, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in 2026. Because the hours move, confirm the current year’s schedule before making the trip, and remember that a rain date has been published in at least one year, so wet weather may shift the day rather than cancel it.
Decide early whether you are coming by water or by land. Boaters can work the full dock-to-dock route and enter the decorating contests, while land-based visitors should head for the Boo Slough at Lakeside Park in Pell City, where the games, food trucks and judging take place. Lakeside Park has no street address in the sources checked for this event, so rely on local Pell City directions to the park rather than a published festival address.
Costumes are not optional in spirit. Children trick-or-treat in costume, adults dress up for the contests, and decorated boats and docks carry the theme. If you own a dock on the lake and want to hand out treats, registration matters, since numbered piers are how judges find the contest entries. Sponsors keep the event running: in 2024 the lake magazine billed it as presented by Platinum sponsor The Tiki Hut at Rivers Edge Marina, and by 2026 Tiki Hut was in its third year as title sponsor, so expect sponsor presence around the park and the after-party.
A Sample Afternoon on the Lake
Arrive at Lakeside Park before the start so children can try the carnival games and photo booths while the first boats set out. Once the window opens, boaters begin the dock-to-dock route, pausing at each numbered pier for treats and a look at the decorations. Mid-afternoon, return to the park for the prize drawing and giveaways, and watch the decorated boats gather for judging at Lakeside Park. Finish with the costume contest, and, in years when it runs, the after-party at Tiki Hut.
How It Compares With Other Halloween Events
Most Halloween festivals gather everyone into one field, one street or one haunted trail. Boo Bash on Logan Martin spreads itself across an entire lake, turning the shoreline into the venue and boats into the transport between stops. Its land stop gives it the familiar comforts of a park festival, yet its centre of gravity stays on the water.
It also differs in purpose. A typical autumn fair raises money for a school or a church; this one channels its energy into boating safety, funding lighted hazard buoys through the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association. The costumes and candy are the draw, but the buoys are the legacy, blinking on the lake every night of the year.
Planning Checklist
- Confirm the current year’s date and afternoon hours before travelling
- Choose between the boat route and the Lakeside Park land stop
- Bring costumes for children and for any contest entries
- Register your pier if you plan to hand out treats from a dock
- Register in advance if entering the boat decorating contest
- Carry a torch or boat light for the trip back across the water
- Bring a bag or bucket sized for a full afternoon of treats
- Check the weather and any published rain date before setting out
- Plan time at the Boo Slough for games, food trucks and the prize drawing
Beyond the Festival
A trip to Pell City offers more than one afternoon. The city sits on Logan Martin Lake in Saint Clair County and serves as one of the county’s two seats, so courthouse-square errands and lake recreation sit side by side. Visitors who come for the bash often stay for the lake itself, with its marinas, ramps and shoreline parks, and the surrounding county offers small-town main streets worth a slow drive before heading home.
Why the Festival Matters
Boo Bash on Logan Martin shows how a young event can root itself quickly when it answers two needs at once. Lakeside families wanted a Halloween celebration built around the water they live on, and the lake needed money and attention for the unglamorous work of marking hazards. Since 2022 the bash has supplied both, growing from one hundred forty little goblins to thousands of trick-or-treaters while keeping its buoy programme at the centre. It is a party with a maintenance budget, and Saint Clair County is safer for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a boat to take part in the bash?
No. Boaters can cruise the decorated docks, but the Boo Slough land stop at Lakeside Park in Pell City offers carnival games, photo booths, food trucks, giveaways and a prize drawing for visitors who arrive by car.
What do the decorated docks compete for?
Registered piers display an assigned number for judging, and the dock decorating contest awards trophies for first, second and third place. Boats have their own decorating contest, with registration required and judging held at Lakeside Park.
Which charity does the celebration support?
The event supports the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association and its lighted-buoy programme for boating safety. Published layers credit it with funding new hazard buoys, though the exact amounts differ between sources and are left unmerged in the history above.
Has a rain date ever been part of the plan?
Yes. The 2025 edition, held on Sunday, October 5 from noon to 4 p.m., carried a published rain date of October 12 at the same hours, so checking the forecast and any announced fallback date is wise.
What to Expect From the Next St. Clair County Alabama Boo Bash on Logan Martin Festival
How often is St. Clair County Alabama Boo Bash on Logan Martin Festival held?
The bash returns each autumn as an annual Halloween-season event, and dated editions are on record for 2024, 2025 and 2026, each falling on an October Saturday or Sunday afternoon on Logan Martin Lake.
When is the next St. Clair County Alabama Boo Bash on Logan Martin Festival?
Following the established pattern, the next edition would be expected in October, in the same early-to-mid-month afternoon slot the recent editions have used. The exact date and hours for the coming year rest with the organisers’ announcement, since the published window has shifted between editions.
Will the dates change?
They might. The day of the week and the afternoon hours have already varied across editions, and one year published a rain date, so treat any early listing as provisional and confirm the final schedule closer to October.
Boo Bash on Logan Martin began with a handful of decorated docks and a good idea: let the lake itself host Halloween. A few short years later it fills Logan Martin Lake with costumed boaters, packs a Pell City park with games and food trucks, and pays for the lighted buoys that keep night-time boaters safe. However the numbering of its editions is finally settled, its course is clear, and October on the lake will not be quiet again.
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