BUCHANAN — He is half-goat, half-demon, and on Friday, Dec. 6, he will be all the fun in Buchanan.

Folklore figure Krampus, cloven hooves and malicious grin all, will be the cause for festivities at the second annual Krampus Karousal (pronounced kuh-rowse-uhl), a parade and party hosted by Buchanan Art Center, 117 W. Front St., from 8 to 11 p.m. La Grotesquerie — a South Bend-based oddities and taxidermy art business — will co-host.

To understand the event, one needs to know Krampus.

He is an anthropomorphic figure in some central European folklore that serves as a companion and foil to St. Nicholas. While St. Nick gives gifts to good children, Krampus punishes the bad. Sometimes, he is seen holding a bundle of birch branches to swat children with. Other times, he carries a bag to carry children away to be eaten or to the underworld.

“I’ve personally always just loved Krampus because it’s always a darker story and outside the traditional holiday — you know, the sweet, sweet stuff you see all the time,” said Krampus Karousal organizer Karen Nemes. “It’s a little bit more fun.

She said with a laugh that the folklore is not to promote punishing children, but to give a nod to the colder, darker aspects of winter and to teach a lesson in good behavior.

Her event also brings a tradition some European towns have across the Atlantic. Some places host Krampus celebrations. People dress up as Krampus and parade down the streets.

People will do the same Friday in Buchanan. After a proclamation of the evening, participants will walk down Front Street from Buchanan Common to the Buchanan Art Center in Krampus outfits, singing eerie carols.

Then, ticketholders 18 and over can enter the art center for a party. There will be a costume contest, a trivia contest, food, drink — alcoholic and non-alcoholic — and themed art activities, such as a chance to recreate Krampus’ bundle of famed birch branches.

“It can be as crazy as folks want to make it,” Nemes said.

Like last year, Nemes plans to dress up and participate. It offers a break from her normal routine of taxidermy.

Nemes is the woman behind La Grotesquerie. Many days, she is skinning ethically sourced animals, using them to create art forms and winning taxidermy awards across the U.S. with them.

For instance, she believes to own the only porculope, a stuffed porcupine with antlers added on.

“You’ll see a 40-something lady on the side of the road picking up a raccoon in a trash bag, and that’s probably me,” she said.

For the second holiday season in a row, however, she has shifted gears, focusing on celebrating the Krampus legend. While some east coast cities celebrate Krampus with a festival just as some European places do, she said the Midwest is lacking. The closest Krampus event of substantial size she has found is in Bloomington, Indiana, more than 200 miles away.

She hopes her event in Buchanan will change the celebratory landscape of the Krampus legend. Last year, she watched the surprised expressions of Buchanan residents as they watched a procession of Krampus Karousal-goers walk down Front Street.

Few people in the area are familiar with Krampus in the holiday Parthenon, she said, and their expressions showed it. She hopes residents’ curiosity will get the best of them, and they will come to participate in the festivities Friday night, something she calls “a Halloween lover’s Christmas event.”

“It would be great if Buchanan could be known for something like this, something out of the ordinary,” Nemes said.

Tickets for the art center party can be purchased for $8 at buchananartcenter.corsizio.com. Joining in the parade is free.