Eight-year-old Avery Hoekman called it, “the best thing to happen in Clarendon Hills this year.”
Hearing that certainly would put smiles on the faces of the approximately 100 moms from the village who participated Friday in the village’s first Witches Ride, for which they dressed up as witches and rode bicycles around the north side of town to throw candy to children waiting outside of their homes.
When it was over, the moms had put in a good workout, too, with about 8 miles on their journey, which lasted just over one hour.
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“It brought some well-needed happiness at a time like this, which has been very difficult for everyone,” participating mom Sandy Marek said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. “It was just wonderful to spread so much happiness for the kids and moms.”
The idea for the Clarendon Hills Witches Ride was initiated by Jeanne Sullivan, who had heard from a friend about a similar event in Alabama. To gauge if there was any interest, Sullivan posted her idea the first week of October on a Clarendon Hills moms Facebook page.
“I thought it would be me and 10 friends I guilted into coming,” she said. “The response was incredible and says a lot about our community. I also think that people are craving any interaction right now, and his was a safe way to get out there and do something really positive and fun.”
Participating moms, and a few grandmothers, wore masks and gloves, along with their witches costumes, and let their bicycles play the role of brooms, as they rode around town. Sullivan said the ride was limited to the part of the village north of the railroad tracks because covering all of Clarendon Hills would have been too difficult. She hopes to have the area south of the tracks included next year in another ride.
Tyler DeMartino, 11, said he was very grateful to the moms who participated.
“It was really very kind of them,” he said. “I got lots of different king-size candy. It was much better than I expected.”
Tyler’s sister, Gianna, 8, agreed with her brother.
“It was really fun, and I liked seeing a lot of my friends’ mothers,” she said.
Marek said the ride provide some much-needed socialization for the participating moms.
“I think everyone really enjoyed it,” she said. “We even told people under quarantine to send their address so that we could throw full-size candy outside of their houses for them to have.”
Marek said the response to the mom’s riding around town and throwing candy was outstanding, and it’s likely that 2021 will see another Witches Ride.
“I think it will grow,” she said. “It was amazing for the first year, and it would be so much fun to do it again next year and hopefully be able to have an after party, maybe downtown, that could be a great community event, like Daisy Days.”