Witchstock Festival
Grab your favorite witch or warlock and fly on over to the Ogden Amphitheater (343 E 25th Street) on Saturday, October 22 for Witchstock from 1-10 p.m. “We are thrilled to welcome back this community favorite for the first time since 2019, and we’ve got a new component we are adding that we are excited about,” said Haille Van Patten, marketing and public relations director for the Ogden Downtown Alliance.
Witchstock is a combination of the Witches’ Tea, the Zombie Crawl, and the Monster Bash Dance Party. New this year, Witchstock will also feature the community-favorite Peculiar Pours Beer Festival, typically held earlier in the month of October. Peculiar Pours is a rally of local breweries bringing their most peculiar flavors, seasonal brews, and test pours; it will be for ages 21+ and ticketed. “The Peculiar Pours isn’t new, per se, the date and location have just changed. The Witches’ Tea party is open to all ages, but also ticketed. The Zombie Crawl and Monster Bash are free, open to the public and all ages,” Van Patten said (more information to follow).
The fun begins with the Witches’ Tea Party, a fundraiser sponsored by the Junior League of Ogden (JLO). JLO is a woman’s organization committed to voluntarism, developing women’s potential, and improving the community. “All proceeds benefit Junior League of Ogden, a program which prepares the next generation of women leaders in our community and offers volunteer opportunities, leadership training, and empowers young women (grades 5-9) to be proactive problem solvers,” said Candice Fink, director of special events for JLO.
Fink says the tea party will be a little different this year because it will be a luncheon. “We will be serving iced tea; however, hot water and tea bags will be available if someone prefers a warmer beverage,” Fink said. Gates will open at 12:30 p.m. at the Ogden Amphitheater for the tea. Each witch or warlock can gather their favorite ingredients from the spellbinding buffet from 1-3 p.m. The buffet will feature wildberry-hibiscus tea provided by Daily Rise, chips and salsa from Sonora Grill, pepperjack chicken skewers from Roosters, a magical fruit display, and vegetarian chili-relleno casserole by Union Grill.
Witches and warlocks can also indulge in the miniature holiday desserts (carrot cake, pumpkin cake, and cheesecake) from Union Grill, 14 varieties of donuts from Mountain Donuts, and root beer floats from Pepsi. “The goal was not to have one restaurant cater the whole thing but to spread it around to the different community restaurants,” Fink said.
There will be a costume contest, so come in your best witchy or warlock outfit. Awards will be given for the best overall costume, the best hat, and the best cackle. During the tea, attendees will be entertained by belly dancers, storytellers, acrobats, stilt walkers, fire dancers, and so much more. There will also be a photography booth this year where you can get a professional picture taken with your coven. “There will be lots of fun and lots of food, and everyone is welcome, witches and warlocks alike,” Fink said.
Tickets are $35 dollars each for first-come, first-serve seating, or $40 for reserved seating (but all tickets must be purchased together). Each attendee will receive a commemorative witch cauldron glass.
Following the tea, the event opens to the public for the Zombie Crawl. Zombies will begin to gather on the Amphitheater Plaza around 6 p.m. “Zombie Crawl is just that — a crawling of the zombies and other monsters alike! Folks show up, meet at the Amphitheater Plaza, and crawl down 25th Street toward Ogden Union Station,” Van Patten said.
After the crawl, zombies, witches, and monsters will gather at the Ogden Amphitheater for the Monster Bash dance party. Monsters can mash and witches can fly to live music, including some Halloween classics. There will be vendors, and beer and other beverages will be available for purchase.
“The best way for folks to stay in the know is to follow the Witchstock Festival 2022 event page on Facebook; that is where we will update the full schedule of events for the evening,” said Van Patten.
