HATTIESBURG, Mississippi: Mount your broom-cycle (bicycle) and beckon the Halloween season with the 2018 Witches Ride benefitting the food pantries and soup kitchens Extra Table serves in the Jackson Metro Area. Join the coven of comrades – men and women, alike – on a quick 1-mile flight (bike ride) as they cast a spell of giving and gratitude through the Fondren District during October’s Fondren After Five, October 4. Broom-cycle in the shop? No worries! Walkers welcome, too!
“The procession of festively dresses ‘witches’ has one aim —fundraising for food, and of course, it will be loads of fun,” Martha Allen, Executive Director of Extra Table noted.
Extra Table is a non-profit organization with a mission to supply healthy food in bulk, from partner Sysco, to Mississippi food pantries and soup kitchens so that our hungry neighbors can have nutritious, shelf-stable meals. Extra Table was founded in 2009 by Chef Robert St. John. Today Extra Table partners with 32 food pantries and soup kitchens in 29 counties in Mississippi. In 2017, Extra Table shipped over 130 tons of food across the state in order to feed our hungry neighbors.
Allen says, “Put on your socks with stripes, a green nose, some glitz and glam and to insure you are a ‘witch,’ grab a big black hat! Dress up or down; have feathers all around. Make sure you have air in your bike tires (broom) so you will have wind in your sails.”
Along with the usual fun of Fondren After Five and the Extra Table’s Witches Ride come the Barks & Boos Pet Costume Showcase hosted by Dr. Carley Langston of Mannsdale Animal Clinic. Sysco’s Nourishing Neighbors program will be presenting a 25th Anniversary FREE screening of the 1993 classic Hocus Pocus as the sun sets and stars light up the Fondren sky. Painted, pierced, carved or covered in candy…Hal & Mal’s will host an Enchanted Pumpkin Patch giving awards away in several categories for the best decorated pumpkins. Several Fondren District Restaurants will be donating proceeds from the evening’s food sales to Extra Table and offering really great specials to participating customers and Fondren After Five attendees. Mark your calendar to not miss the magic.
Pat O’Brien, an Extra Table Community Board Member states, “Extra Table’s Witches Ride is an opportunity for the Jackson-Metro area to welcome the shorter days and cooler weather, celebrating the fall and all things Halloween. Fondren is happening – more beautiful than ever. And, one broom at a time, we’re hoping to make a difference.”
Day of registration starts at 5:00 pm October 4th on Duling Avenue in Fondren. Online registration can be completed by visiting www.ExtraTable.org. For more registration information, follow Extra Table on social media, visit www.ExtraTable.org or call 601-264-0672. 100% of the proceeds from this event will go toward purchasing food.
REGISTER HEREEvening Timeline
5:00 Check In and Registration starts for ALL activities
(Witches TBD, Pets & Pumpkins in front of Duling Hall)
5:15 Pets Line up
5:30 Barks & Boos Pet Costume Showcase Walk (in front of Duling Hall)
6:00 Judging for Enchanted Pumpkins
6:15 Barks & Boos Pet Costume Showcase Winner Announced (Duling Avenue street stage)
Enchanted Pumpkins Winners Announced (Duling Avenue street stage)
6:30 We witches, We fly! (Fondren Church Parking lot ending on Duling Avenue street stage)
7:00 Sysco’s Nourishing Neighbors presents Hocus Pocus Movie (location TBD)
Registration Fees
Witches Ride, $20
Pet Parade, $10
Pumpkin Decorating Contest, $5
Movie, FREE
