By Paige Nash
Despite the negativity surrounding the upcoming and inaugural Witches Ride of Minden, brooms will fly today (Thursday) in downtown Minden. Registration will begin at 4 p.m., at Miller Quarters Park. Witches will begin lining up at 5:30 p.m. and the ride is set to take off at 6 p.m.
With the enormous amount of response and ticket sales, the group has decided to add a “Witching Hour” to the event.
“We added this amenity, to promote riders and parade goers to support the local businesses that are official ‘brew’ stops,” said event organizer Sarah Watson Overall.
So far, Smokin J’s, Say Baby, Under Dawgs, Parish Design and Red Blooms have been confirmed as brew stops that will be offering specials, with more expected to be added.
Following the ride, a block party will be held at Miller Quarters Park, where all who attend will have the opportunity to enjoy food and spirits, spooky tunes played by an official DJ, and a Halloween movie playing on a big screen.
Vendors will be set up within the park selling Halloween themed items.
“We will have custom tea towels and artwork provided by Birdie Lu Designs, official Witches Ride t-shirts, custom notepads by Designs by Kelly Avery for sale and more,” said Overall. “All proceeds will be donated to the charities of choice.”
They will also be raffling off items such as Julie Vos Earrings, Copper Whisk Cookbooks, a pampered chef deluxe mixer, a purple Yeti cooler provided by Webster Parish Tourism and pottery barn champagne glasses with an official custom bottle of Veuve Clicquot. Raffle tickets will be sold for $5 each and can be purchased at the block party.
The charities benefiting from the Witches Ride of Minden will be Miller Quarters Park and the We’re Here, We Care Minden Foundation.
“We will not know the exact amount at the time of the event due to us leaving ticket sales open until ride time,” said Overall. “We will announce the amount raised and donated at a later date.”
Tickets can still be purchased here https://linktr.ee/witchesrideminden or before the event.
According to Overall, the buzz surrounding the event has already generated over 250 tickets sold for the ride and block party. “We are overwhelmed by the excitement of this event and thank the community for its support. The committee that has planned this event has worked hard for months to ensure its success,” she said. “We have even had other surrounding communities and organizations reach out inquiring about how to get it going in their community.”
Event organizers encourage everyone who plans to attend whether you are riding or spectating, to dress in their best Halloween attire, support local businesses and have some innocent fun while raising money that will benefit the entire community.
