In Beaver Dam's Casket Races This Year, Older Teams Get a Head Start

In past years, the fastest casket down South Spring Street came from whoever had the quickest four pushers. On October 31, 2026, age will count too. The Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce rewrote the rules for the 5th Annual Beaver Dam Casket Races, and each change points the same way. The race is reaching for teams that have never lined up on South Spring Street, from groups of coworkers who have never built anything to a family willing to put Grandma in the casket for the whole run.

How much the head start is worth

On the Visit Beaver Dam casket race page, the new rule is called the Team Age Advantage. A team adds up the ages of all five members, the four pushers and the rider. The higher the total, the farther down the course the team starts. Teams under 150 combined years get no head start. Teams between 150 and 179 start 5 yards ahead. The largest head start, 25 yards, goes to teams totaling 300 years or more.

Those numbers mean more once you know the length of the track. The Chamber's race listing puts the course at 365 feet on South Spring Street. It runs from the speed bump by the Mobil station at Washington Street to the speed bump near Henry Street by Ooga Brewing Co. A 25-yard head start is 75 feet, about a fifth of the course. The smallest bracket, 5 yards, comes to 15 feet, roughly 4 percent. A team of five racers averaging 60 years old reaches the 300 mark and starts a fifth of the way to Ooga Brewing.

The organizers also closed the obvious loophole:

"Yes, the rider's age counts, but there's a catch: the rider must remain in the casket for the entire race. No recruiting Grandma for the math and making her get out at the starting line. The older your team is, the less distance you have to die for."

The page gives the reason plainly: the head start exists "to encourage racers of all ages to join."

The other changes have the same goal

Building a racing casket was always the first hurdle, and the Chamber is lowering it this year. Northwoods Casket Company and Casket Builder Supply have donated a limited number of free casket kits for new racers. They go first come, first served to teams that register and pay the $50 deposit. To ask about one, write to the Chamber at [email protected]. Participants can also buy kits, shells and other parts from Casket Builder Supply at a 50 percent discount.

The entry fee works much like a deposit. Teams pay $50 and get $30 back if they take part in every required event, including the opening procession and the races. A team that shows up and races pays $20 in the end. A first-time team with a donated kit can be in the race for that $20 plus helmets and closed-toe shoes.

The prize money is still there for the fast teams. The top four finishers take home $1,000, $500, $250 and $100. Two new matchups added this year give more teams something to race for:

• The Undertaker's Award. One team can challenge the champion for bragging rights.
• Race to the Afterlife. The winner of the Inflatable Race takes on the second-place casket team in a final showdown.

The People's Choice Award doesn't depend on speed at all. Spectators buy $1 votes. Half of the money goes to the winning team and half to Scouts BSA Troops 724B and 6724G. A casket that fails inspection can still join the Grand Procession and compete for People's Choice. It just can't race.

What a team needs before October 31

Opening the race to more people hasn't loosened the safety rules. According to the Chamber's registration and rules listing, every team needs:

1. Four pushers and one rider, all at least 14 years old.
2. A helmet for the rider and closed-toe shoes for the pushers.
3. A casket built to look like a coffin, at least 22 inches wide and no more than 4 feet wide including wheels, and between 5 and 8 feet long.
4. Four attached wheels at least 3 inches in diameter, with people as the only source of power.
5. A passed inspection before race time.

The Fall Downtown Fest page marks the 2026 rules and specifications document "NEW RULES!" Returning teams with caskets from earlier years should check their builds against it before race day. The published race information doesn't list a 2026 registration deadline. The free kits are limited, though, and that is the reason to sign up early.

Five years on a rebuilt street

The races are newer than the festival around them. The Daily Dodge reported in 2022 that Fall Downtown Fest, then in its fifth year, held its first-ever casket races on the newly reconstructed South Spring Street. The race has run every year on that same stretch since. WiscNews covered the third race, which K&B Tree and Lawn Care won.

Registration runs through the Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, and the race waiver names both the Chamber and Downtown Beaver Dam Inc.

How the weekend lines up

The races are the centerpiece of a two-day Fall Downtown Fest, October 30 and 31.

Friday's parade is about lights. The festival page asks participants to light up costumes, UTVs, ATVs, bikes, wagons and strollers, and parade entrants must register. Individuals enter free, and groups pay $10. The judging categories are Favorite Dog Costume and Festive Lights, and first-place prizes include $50 Chamber checks and a dog-gift basket. The Chamber's calendar lists the evening ending at 7:30 p.m.

Anyone can join the Witches Dance, and no pre-registration is required. Rehearsals are in the Dance Now! Studios parking lot at 344 Rosendale St. from 6 to 6:30 p.m. The October 6 session is past, but two rehearsals remain, on October 14 and October 22.

A few details are still open. The festival page's full schedule and list of trick-or-treat stops are marked "coming soon," and those links still go to the 2025 versions. Citywide trick-or-treat hours for 2026 haven't been announced, and no 2026 street-closure notice has been posted.

Downtown before and after the races

Downtown has a Halloween-season event two weeks earlier. Mystery & Mayhem Weekend, presented by Hometown Whodunit and the Beaver Dam Chamber & Visitor Center, is an interactive murder-mystery investigation on October 16 and 17. Clue gathering runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The Coroner's Report is at noon Saturday, and the Final Reveal is at 5 p.m. at Wayland Academy, 101 N. University Ave. Tickets are $15 through October 10 and $20 starting October 11, and all ages are welcome.

Among the holiday events on Visit Beaver Dam's calendar, Rotary Lights at Swan Park runs from November 27 through January 4, 2027.

Combined ages are a fun thing to count up around a kitchen table. If your team is curious how far 300 years moves the starting line, or you'd just like someone to cheer with near Ooga Brewing on the 31st, Desiree and Eileen at Green Lake Properties would be glad to hear from you.