“Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble.” This famous witch chant in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth signals it’s time to cast a spell. Those witches were throwing ingredients into a bubbling cauldron with evil intent but The Witches of Lake Zumbro danced through local bars Halloween week with a much better purpose. The group, along with others who came in costumes, entertained at the Bellechester Tavern on Saturday, November 1st.
“I love Halloween, it’s my favorite holiday,” said Andrea Lodermeier, winner of both the October 31st and November 1st contests hosted by the Bellechester Tavern. Fans of the Hellraiser movie franchise would easily recognize Andrea’s Pinhead creation. She picked the character based on its popularity and scary, evil look. Her love of horror movies lies mainly with the makeup and special effects and she enjoys executing that in her costumes. Her black overcoat and vest were thrift store finds she refashioned adding safety pins and chains. Her head was covered with a skullcap and “pins”. The pins were actually silver plastic sticks from cotton swabs. She removed all of the cotton and used Spirit Gum, a professional-grade glue used in theatrical makeup, to adhere them to the skullcap and the makeup-covered skin of her face. The process took about 2½ hours and earned her the $75 costume contest prize.
The Witches of Lake Zumbro danced their way into the tavern at 7 pm. The group is based in Mazeppa and performed “The Witches Dance” to a near-capacity crowd. With music playing and broomsticks tapping, the witches cackled and solicited donations for the Lake Zumbro Improvement Association.
The Bellechester Tavern and Goodhue’s 2nd Street Pub were two of five bars that hosted the group on November 1st. The group travels by bus and performed at 17 places between October 24th and November 1st. Starting in the Rochester area, their tour included a childrens’ Halloween party at the VFW on Oct 31. Other area establishments included Tilly’s, The Pondy, Mac’s Park Place, Rock Bottom, Buck Wild, and the Neptune.
What began as a few ladies having fun has grown to a group of more than 20 with a mission. Seeing an opportunity to raise funds for the Lake Zumbro Improvement Association, the group collects free-will donations at each stop. This year’s effort raised over $2,000.00. The money is used for projects such as caring for the recreational areas and cleaning up the riverbank. All of the broomsticks are made from driftwood collected around Lake Zumbro.
Each participant creates their own witch costumes that include hats, capes, scarves and jewelry. Six new witches picked up brooms this year and they expect a total of up to 30 witches next year. Signup begins in mid-September and practices are planned for Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The group is led by Sally Trom who can be reached at 507-250-7211. See photos and video on their Witches of Lake Zumbro Facebook page.
