On its fifth month since its debut, Witch Walk is back at it again with a fun and spooky night filled with fun activities for the whole family on Oct. 19. The event held costume contests for children, pets and adults along with an after-party, where everyone was welcome to attend.
This witch-themed art walk in downtown Santa Ana, hosted by Hype Priestess, also known as Lacey Conine, brings small businesses and vendors together to provide metaphysical/spiritual products and services every third Saturday of every month.
Grupo Folklorico Tzicuri from el Centro Cultural de Mexico, located in Santa Ana, did an opening ceremony wishing everyone an exciting day.
Booths were set up along a small street in a scenic part of Santa Ana that has numerous restaurants, lounges, bars and colorful shops.
From blessed herb sachets to tarot card sessions, attendees could walk around and get to know vendors and learn about their businesses.
Some of their products consisted of original artwork, incense, crystals, candles, holistic medicine and so much more.
Vendors also provided services such as healing cleanses, psychic readings and therapeutic consultations on the spot.
Later that night, costume contests were held every hour since 7 p.m. for children, pets and adults. People were thrilled to see their loved ones in costumes for everyone to see.
Witch Walk has gained much social attraction from all over Southern California, attendees and vendors were eager to hear that there was finally a place where witches and POC are represented and have the opportunity to showcase their business.
One of the vendors, Jesrill Velasco, 25, from Chino Hills, showcased her artwork at Witch Walk.
“I studied graphic design and women’s studies, so this year I started creating and selling more art,” Velasco said.
Velasco adds, “I found out about Witch Walk from a website, so I contacted Lacey and she loved my artwork. Ever since then, I’ve been a part of Witch Walk since the first month which was in June.
“I really like that most of the vendors are either women, people of color or a queer person and anyone can dress up even if it’s not Halloween,” Velasco continued, “Everyone here is really friendly.”
Jocelyn Rodriguez, 24, and Santa Ana local, said, “Witch Walk is pretty cool, it’s nice to see that something so different is being represented in my community and I’m thrilled that I had the chance to come through with my friends.”
Rodriguez enthusiastically added she bought herself an art piece from Jesrill.
Another vendor, Lupe Marquina, 21, a Santa Ana native is an artist and an illustrator and has been vending her art since March of this year.
“I found out about Witch Walk on my explore page on Instagram, they were looking for vendors so I reached out and well, here I am,” Marquina stated.
“My favorite part of Witch Walk is that I get to meet new people and I really like connecting with people because they will find something that they can relate to my artwork,” Marquina said.
“You don’t see a lot of these kinds of events, people feel like witches are something to be feared so having this community is like taking back that word,” Marquina added.
Those who’d like to catch these spooky vendors and more on the next Witch Walk, can attend on Nov. 16 and Dec. 21.
