WitchFest brings out the Halloween spirit in Charles City shoppers

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

A brisk wind out of the north on a chilly fall morning is nothing new for “Witchy Malene.”

It’s just another element that Mother Nature can throw at her while greeting shoppers Saturday morning in downtown Charles City during WitchFest.

“It’s the nice spookiness horror of the WitchFest — you just got to hold on to your hat,” said Amy Chatfield, aka Witchy Malene.

Chatfield, who works at Rustic Corner, has been a part of WitchFest for several years now. She participated in the Charles City Chamber of Commerce event with Otto’s Oasis a couple of years back.

“WitchFest, the idea is to go out and have a good time and to go to all the different stores in Charles City wearing pointy hats,” said Chatfield. “It’s just an excuse to go out and have fun — especially with the winter coming up.”

Shoppers lined up outside the Chamber offices a good 30 minutes before the doors opened at 9 a.m. to receive a “Shop Charles City” mug that included a special gift and exclusive shopping offers at the many participating stores in town. The first 100 shoppers in line received the gifts.

No one beat David Lutz to the first spot in line.

“A lot of times I’ll come down and I’ll be maybe second or third, or something like that,” said Lutz.

Lutz said he enjoyed a breakfast at the VFW before making his way over to Main street at 8 a.m. to stand in line and get ready for his shopping day to start.  

“I sat in the car there for a little bit,” he said.

Lutz, like others, braved the wind on Saturday. Gusts at times packed a punch, sending the fall leaves flying into the sky.

That brisk wind was something “Witchy Malene” could have utilized in whisking herself around town. The problem was her normal broom was out of commission for the day.

“I usually like to use my Broom 2000, but sometimes I have to downgrade to the 150,” said Chatfield. “Sometimes even the new flashy stuff doesn’t always work.”

Micaela Stillions didn’t mind the weather. Last year folks who participated in the event had to deal with rain and brought their umbrellas to WitchFest.

“It’s windy and it’s chilly. It’s not too bad,” said Stillions, who like last year was also one of the first people in line to begin a fun-filled day shopping all over town.

Stillions said she also makes sure she hits up other holiday-themed Charles City Chamber events like ElfFest before Christmas and ChickFest in the spring.

“We stop at almost every store and go in and look around,” said Stillions. “We spend almost all morning shopping through Charles City.”

Stores that participated in the WitchFest 2018 were Schueth Ace Hardware, Darbe and Co., Mara, Lidd and Cordray, The American Legion Auxiliary, Otto’s Oasis, LulaRoe Rachel Adam, Charles City Electronics, Hy-Vee, The Rustic Corner, Birdies and Bo’s, Unique Country Store and Jacie Garden, an independent Scentsy consultant.

“Witchy Melane” also gave a brief instructional on what is exactly the difference between a curse and a spell – in case any shoppers were worried about the inner workings of such powerful forces.

“A spell tends to be something positive. A curse tends to be something negative,” smiled Chatfield. “A spell could be wishing something wonderful for a person – good fortune, finding one’s true love. A curse would be the opposite of that.”

With the wind whipping around the way it was on Saturday, the big question was how far did “Witchy Malene” have to ride her broom and just where was her home?

“Well, “Witchy Malene,” I would say she’s more from like the other side of town, if you know what I mean,” laughed Chatfield.