Rather than howling at the moon, these whimsical witches
rise early Halloween morning to ride their broomsticks
(bicycles) for fun and a good cause.
Andie DeVoe, Alpha Witch, surrounded by fellow witches waving and casting spells
upon passing cars last year at Tim Finnegans in Delray Beach.
File photo/The Coastal Star
Andie DeVoe first dressed as a witch for Halloween in 1981.
Photo provided
By Mary Thurwachter
A mere mortal who happens upon the Witches of Delray during the coven’s annual Halloween morning ride typically does a double take. He wonders, was that a gaggle of glittery hags he just saw flying down the street on bicycles?
You bet your eye of newt it was! Attempts to suppress smiles are futile. It’s best, onlookers find, to simply go with the flow, honk a horn if in a car, or cackle to greet the spirited gals in pointy hats.
This Halloween will be the fourth ride for the Witches of Delray, says Alpha Witch Andie DeVoe, one of the original members. The group’s founder was Lori Klinger, a friend of DeVoe’s who had been involved with the Witches of South Walton in Florida’s Panhandle before moving to Delray Beach.
But when Klinger moved to Texas after the first year, DeVoe became the Alpha Witch, the one who leads the others.
In the past, the Witches pedaled past Delray Beach schools, but this year, with Halloween on Saturday, the five-mile route will be Delray downtown/Atlantic Avenue focused.
Each “witch” pays $20 to ride and the money goes to the Achievement Centers for Children and Families of Delray Beach.
“A lot of our witches love the Achievement Center,” says DeVoe, a massage therapist who specializes in craniosacral work. “We like to help people locally.”
A Witches Brew happy hour fundraiser (with a raffle and silent auction) precedes the Oct. 31 ride at Tim Finnegans Irish Pub on Oct. 23. Last year the group raised $1,500 between the brew and the ride.
“The Witch Ride is so very dear to my little black Alpha Witch heart,” says DeVoe, 44, who first dressed as a witch for Halloween when she was 10. “The community of creative women that we have created in our ‘coven’ are brilliant, passionate women who love to give back to their community!”
Every year the number of witches has doubled, DeVoe says. “We started with 10 and had 40 last year.”
Last year, she mounted a GoPro on the back of a bike helmet (which has a pointy witch’s hat attached to it). The video can be viewed at www.witchesofdelray.com.
“I wrecked on George Bush Boulevard,” she says. “I was wearing a big pink tutu and I scraped my knee, but got back on the bike and kept riding.”
Bikes and witches are colorfully costumed.
“We’re very whimsical witches,” DeVoe says. “I tell ‘my pretties’ to not to dress too scary or too sexy. We don’t stop for wardrobe malfunctions.” But the witches do leave a trail of purple and green glitter and a few feathers, to boot.
Almost everyone seems to get a kick out of the witches ride. Although there was that time when a nun chased them off school property, DeVoe recalls.
She never thought of herself as witch-obsessed — although “I have a lot of kitchen witches (homemade witch dolls to ward off bad spirits),” she admits.
The Alpha Witch says her main squeeze, (aka her husband Michael), is “the wind beneath my cape.” He drives with a bike rack behind the cackling pedalers.
“We have to be ready in case a witch goes down,” she says. But other than her own wipe-out on George Bush Boulevard last year, that hasn’t been a problem.
IF YOU GO A-WITCHING
Witches of Delray Ride
Begins at 9 a.m. Oct. 31 at the railroad parking lot behind Johnnie Brown’s, 301 E. Atlantic Ave. (Witches congregate at 8 a.m.) Ride ends at the Green Market, where prizes will be awarded for the best costume, broom (bike) and cackle.
Witches Brew happy hour fundraiser: (with a raffle and silent auction) is from 4 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Oct. 23, at Tim Finnegans Irish Pub, 2885 S. Federal Highway.
Cost: $20 per person to ride
Proceeds: Benefit Achievement Centers for Children and Families
Info: witchesofdelray.com or facebook.com/WitchesOfDelray/
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