This Year's Poem

Here it is! Our “Wordsmith Witch” has done it again! Our lovely Wordsmith Witch Jane Ratcliff has penned another brilliant poem about the Witches of Delray. Brilliant Janie! You’re not just a good witch, you’re one of the best!!!

One More Day!

Are you getting excited witches? Ha! I know the answer to that!

I’m sure you are putting the final touches on your brooms and costumes tonight so don’t forget to tie decorations down tight and make sure nothing you are wearing or decorating with can get caught in the bike. We’re forecast for slightly windy conditions so make sure that hat is secured.

The Delray Beach Bike Club will be escorting our ride this year!  While it’s important we have our witchy fun…there is a time and a place. And we must set a good example of bicycle safety for our community. Delray Beach Bike Club are the authorities on safe biking practices in Delray Beach and we can’t think of a better group to help us cast our spell! Check out their website and sweet escort vehicle at www.delraybeachbikeclub.com

Only one more sleeps witches…till we fly!

Fundraiser Results

The 2015 Witches Brew Fundraiser at Tim Finnegans was a huge success. The fundraiser alone raised $2,096!!! Compared to last year’s $647, we have raised over three times as much as last year and we still have riders to register! Brilliant hearts these witches! Gracious and generous!

Last year we had 22 riders pre-register with 23 riders registering the day of the ride. (45 total registered but only 40 rode). This year we’ve already pre-registered 48 and we could expect another 40 or so registering the day of the ride. The coven is growing in leaps and bounds!!

Which witch are you?

What are you feelin this year witches?  Is your broom tricked out with all the bells and whistles?  Is your costume a show stopping spell caster?  Can you raise the dead with the best cackle of the coven?

Whatever your poison, show your spirit at the Delray Beach Green Market after our ride and compete for the best bling you’ll wear all season!

We’ve brought in Delray’s highest authorities of witch style and spirit! And we are proud to announce this year’s panel of judges. Joining us for the first time:

• Terra Spero of Real Time Marketing Group
• Melissa Carter of Delray Beach Center for the Arts
• Amanda Perna of The House of Perna

These lovely witches know style…they know safety….and they know shenanigans!  So pull out your witchy best, and let’s see what kind of bedlam we can create!

We will also have Delray Beach photographer James Greene on hand to capture all the fun! So come out for this year’s ride, support the Achievement Centers for Children & Families and find out if you’re a good witch or a bad ass witch!

Witches and the Delray Bike Club

Greetings my pretties! I have some super exciting news!!!!
As our coven continues to grow every year, we have more fun but we also face new challenges with keeping the ride safe, for us and our community.

We are very excited to announce the Delray Beach Bicycle Club’s support vehicle will be escorting us on this year’s ride! If you’re not familiar with the Delray Beach Bicycle Club, they’re dedicated to helping the community develop the proper skills for bicycle safety and fitness. Together with Human
 Powered Delray, they share a goal to it make it safer, easier and more fun to walk and bike in Delray. The efforts of these groups include community bicycle safety education for both bicyclists and motorist, community bike rides, and working with local and regional officials to improve safe biking and pedestrian-friendly roadways and paths in Delray Beach.

The Witches of Delray represent our community and should do her proud by setting a stellar example of safe, responsible bicycling practices. This wonderful partnership will help ensure we
do just that and have the safest and most fun flight yet!

Please take a moment to visit their web sites http://delraybeachbikeclub.com and http://humanpowereddelray.org to learn more about their missions and efforts. Consider joining or donating to help make Delray a safer community bicycling.

Thank you Patrick Halliday, Delray Beach Bike Club and Human Powered Delray for your tireless efforts for our community and your help and support with our 2015 Witch Ride!
Stay tuned for all the details!

This Year's 2015 Route Schedule

7:45 AM: Plan on arriving at the “Railroad” lot behind Johnny Browns at 7:45 AM, Saturday, October 31^st, 2015.  Even if you’ve pre-registered, plan on arriving early as you’ll need to pick up your wristband.  The Flying Monkey will be on hand to air up tires and assist with bicycle issues.  Photographers will be on hand to capture rider photos.

8:30 AM: Group photos.  (Delray Beach professional photographer James Greene)

8:45 AM: The ride begins! In order to time our ride to avoid the Atlantic drawbridge opening, we will start the ride at 8:45 AM.  We don’t want to be late to the Green Market.  There will be a brief restroom stop at the public restrooms at the corner of Atlantic and A1A.  There are also public restrooms at the Green Market at the base of the parking garage.

9:45 AM – 10:00 AM: (approximate) Arrive at the green market for group photo, contest judging.

10:30 AM:  Official contest Judging hosted by CBS12 Anchor Suzanne Boyd.

(Note – To maintain schedule, the Alpha witch my elect to shorten the route to stay on time for the arrival at the Green market)

This Year's 2015 Rider Rules

Witch Ride Rules

• Bicycles only. No scooters, golf carts, or roller blades.
• Riders must be 18 years of age.  Riders 14 years and up may ride if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.  By law, riders under the age of 16 MUST wear a helmet and will be turned away if not wearing a helmet.
• Only one rider per bike. No children in child bicycle seats or carriers will be permitted.  No pets.
• You must wear your official wrist band to participate. Wristbands will be provided the morning of the ride.
• Please keep costumes family-friendly.  Nothing too revealing or too scary.   We will be seen by lots of children.  If your costume is inappropriate you will be asked to leave.
• Helmets are encouraged, but not required. Alpha will wear one to set a good example.
• Be courteous and aware of vehicle traffic. We want to be safe and we don’t want to irritate drivers.  Remember, we are representatives of our community and the Witches of Delray.
• By law, bicycles must follow all motor vehicle laws and regulations meaning we will stop for red lights and stop signs. Make sure you read and understand the “Bicycle Safety” section below.
• Due to the size of our group, we expect to get separated into two or more groups at red lights. DO NOT RUN A RED LIGHT.  As a rider, it is your responsibility to observe traffic laws.  If the light changes and you cannot make it through the light, stop and catch up with the rest of the group at one of the ride catch-up points.
• This is not a race. Do not pass the Alpha witch.
• Do not hand out candy. There will be trick-or-treating at the Green Market where we can hand out candy.

Bicycle Safety

• Do not use phones or cameras while riding. The road, other riders, cars, etc. should have your full attention.
• If you have a light for your bicycle, please plan on using it. A light, even during daylight hours increases your visibility and reduces the risk of an accident.
• Understand the rules of the road. When riding on the street, you are considered a “vehicle” in the state of Florida and therefore must adhere to all traffic rules as though you were an automobile.  This includes driving on the correct side of the road, executing turns from the correct lane, and stopping at all stop signs and red lights and observing all traffic laws.
• Understand the rules of riding on the sidewalk. When riding on a sidewalk, you have the same responsibilities as a pedestrian.  Bicycles must always yield to pedestrians and give audible warning before passing.  When riding on sidewalks the pace should be slower as cars and pedestrians may not be expecting you.  You should obey all crosswalk rules and observe traffic / crosswalk signals when crossing.
• When riding on the road, remain as far to the right as is safe and beware of road debris to the right, parked cars or car doors opening. If cars cannot safely pass you, take more of the roadway to discourage unsafe passing.  As a vehicle, you have the same right to road as cars.
• When a bicycle lane is present it should be used.
• Riders should ride no more than two abreast. Riding more than two abreast is illegal.
• Do not follow other riders too closely. Riders may have to stop quickly due to unexpected road hazards and you will need time to safely stop.

For more bicycle safety information visit “Human Powered Delray” at http://humanpowereddelray.org

"Witches Brew" Tomorrow (Friday Oct 23, 2015)

Happy almost weekend witches!

This Friday night October 23^rd, come out and kick back with the coven at Tim Finnegans Irish Pub as we prepare for our 4th Annual Witches of Delray bike ride for charity.  It’s our Happy Hour Witches Brew fundraiser to benefit The Achievement Centers for Children & Families and this is not a party to be missed!  Festivities include silent auction, 50/50 raffle, register to ride and more!

Music by Spider Cherry band and the Fireball girls will be on hand sampling Fireball whiskey.  Wordsmith Witch Jane Ratcliff has already penned our poem for this year’s ride and she will be reading it for the first time tomorrow night!  Lots of fun to be had witches and it’s yours for the taking!  Remember to invite your friends and if they want to get witchy without the ride, encourage them to dress up. The more witches the more witches I always say… More is more!  See you at the pub witches! This Alpha can’t wait!

Find us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/witchesofdelray
On Instagram, follow and use the hashtag ‪#witchesofdelray for all your witchy photos.

Witches Brew Details - Friday October 23rd

Hello Witches.  Our “Witches Brew” and fundraiser benefiting the Achievement Center for Children and Families is less than one week away.  Please join the coven at Tim Finnegan’s Irish Pub on Friday, October 23^rd, 2015, from 4 to 8:30 PM where you can …

• Sign up to ride and pre-pay your rider donation fee ($20) When you sign up at the fundraiser you automatically get entered in a drawing to win a bicycle mount bubble machine!
• Bid on silent auction, participate in a 50/50 raffle and win other prizes.
• Meet your fellow witches.
• Discuss bike decorating tips, costume tips
• Get a copy of the route map
• Participate in group photos.
• Enjoy food and drink specials with the coven.
• Shop a special traveling “Boo-tique” of recycled witch ware! If you don’t have your costume yet this is a one stop witch shop!

If you’re not familiar with Tim Finnegan’s Irish Pub, it is one of the few authentic Irish Pubs in South Florida and they absolutely LOVE Halloween.  Master Carver and Head Chef Jorge Andre will be creating a special “Witches of Delray” pumpkin for our event.  Parking is plentiful and there is plenty of space for us.  There will be live entertainment from Spider Cherry during our event and the “Fireball” witches will be on-hand to sample “Fireball whiskey.” Who doesn’t want a little Fireball in their cauldron?!

The community really loves the witches and their generosity knows no bounds!  Prize/auction donations are flowing and include:

• Gift baskets
• Jewelry
• Dining gift certificates from several area restaurants
• Great selection of Halloween decorations
• Witch-themed DVD movies
• Massage therapy
• Foot massage
• Theatre tickets
• 2500 PSI Power washer
• Clothing
• Local art
• Professional photography portrait session
• Yoga/fitness gift certificates

The Witches Brew is a frightfully good time and we hope you won’t miss it!   If you can’t make it, you can still sign up to ride HERE or sign up on the morning of the ride. Only 14 more days till our Wicked and wonderful flight witches! See you at the pub!

The 2015 Route

Here we go witches! The official 2015 route is set!

This year’s route starts at the “Railroad Lot” behind Johnny Brown’s. The railroad lot offers free parking for 8 hours. Please plan on arriving no later than 7:45 AM as the lot is expected to fill up quickly because of all the downtown activities scheduled for Halloween. Alternate parking is available in surrounding city lots. Riders must arrive no later than 7:45 AM for registration and photos. Witches will line up and ride at 8:45 AM sharp. We are timing our arrival at the Green Market for our contest and don’t want to keep our judges waiting!!!

More details to follow witches! Keep your eye of newt out!

Alpha Witch

(Click the image above for a full size printable PDF file)

This Year's Award "Flair"

Check out the “flair” you could win this year Witches!

As the Witches of Delray embark on our 4th annual Witch Ride to benefit the Achievement Centers for Children & Families, we are so excited to announce we will be holding a contest and offering awards for:

• Best Costume
• Best Broom (bike)
• Best Witch Cackle
  

Our ride ends at the Delray Beach Green Market for their reopening “Spooktacular” where we will be holding our contest with a panel of impartial judges. No spell casting witches! Let’s play fair!
Details of the route and fundraiser will be flying at you this week so stay tuned!

2015 Flyers Available

Greetings My Pretties!!!

It’s that time of year again and we are gearing up for our 2015 Witches of Delray bike ride to benefit the Achievement Center of Delray Beach. Enclosed are downloadable, printable flyers for you to print post and share to promote our Witches Brew kickoff fundraiser at Tim Finnegan’s Irish Pub and our Halloween morning ride through downtown. More details are coming soon so stay tuned! We will be announcing our route and start times for the ride in the next few days.

We are still gathering items/donations for our Witches Brew, so if you or someone you know has something you think would make a great donation please have them contact me Alpha Witch at alpha@witchesofdelray.org

Have a wonderful week witches! We’ll chat soon!

Xo
Alpha

Download, print and share both flyers.

(click each flyer below for a full size PDF file)

Call To Brooms

Greetings My Pretties!

It’s that time of year again!  In just 57 days we ride!

As our flight grows near, I have some questions for you to ponder lovely witches.

Are you passionate about bike riding and want to inspire others to share in your passion? Are you awesome at fundraising and would love to share your experience and knowledge with the witches? Do you really love this event and getting spooky on Halloween?  This could be your year!

It’s time for a “call to brooms.”  Our ride grows bigger every year.  Riding on a Saturday gives many more witches the chance to join in the fun, so this year could be record breaking!

We are in need of an “inner council” of witches to help Alpha directly with some of the more detailed behind the scenes operations. Some of these volunteer opportunities include planning and execution of the ride, planning and execution of the fundraiser. i.e.:  Silent auction and raffle.  Or, if you or someone you know has a service, product or item that you think would be perfect for our fundraiser please contact me via the “Contact” page of this web site.

These opportunities are available and more!

In the following weeks I’ll be sharing more information with you including last year’s survey results and details of this year’s ride.  If you’re not already on our mailing list, sign up on this web site to make sure you stay up on all the details.

We all know the Witches of Delray are some of the most passionate, creative and giving witches around, and when they put their hats together big things happen! I can’t wait to see what this year’s flight brings!

XO,
Alpha

Web: http://WitchesOfDelray.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/witchesofdelray