Witches spook Dana Point Harbor and more costume fun is coming to coast
There’s something spooky brewing in Orange County’s waters.
Halloween might be fun for the trick-or-treaters who score bags of candy, but it’s also become a growing tradition to have costume festivities out on the water.
Kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders in the Dana Point Harbor on Saturday, Oct. 23, got an early start to the quasi-holiday by getting decked out as witches to cruise around to the delight of boaters and spectators on the sand at Baby Beach.
The kayakers, part of a group called Ladies of OC Beaches, first started doing the witch tour of the harbor a few years ago, a gathering that has grown each year.
Most of them launch from Pure Watersports and lap the harbor for about an hour, some years the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol joins the fun by following the group with Halloween music blaring and water spouting out from its boat.
“Our group normally goes kayaking in the morning. One year we just thought, ‘Why don’t we just all wear witches hats?’ It just grew from there,” said the organizer, Monique Cassis. “We have so many people waiving at us and taking photos. A lot of people hang out there anyways and it wasn’t something they expected to see.
“We definitely need something like that,” she added. “Things to uplift people’s spirits.”
There are more beach gatherings that will be happening this week that make for great photo ops to show how So Cal marks Halloween on the coast.
The longest running costumed surfing event happens at Blackies in Newport Beach, now going on 18 years. It used to be put on by the Blackies Classic Longboard Association, with awards handed out to participants and judges on the sand. While the group hasn’t been active the past few years, the event still lives on organically.
The sight is a showstopper for spectators on the sand who hoot and holler as most of the soaked surfers’ costumes get thrashed quickly in the surf.
The Newport Beach event brings upward 100 surfers dressed in costume, with more lining the sand snapping photos. It always happens the Saturday before Halloween, this year on Oct. 30. Get there early, parking is scarce and surfers start hitting the water as early as 7 a.m. and don’t last long in the waves.
Also on Saturday at Dana Point’s Baby Beach, the Harbor Hoot and Mama C’s Costume Paddle will be going on for a day of fun. Costumes aren’t required and the Hoot has several events planned, see its website for its schedule at danapointharborhoot.com. The costume paddle starts at noon.
On Halloween morning, starting at 8 a.m., the Wahine Kai Women’s Surf Club gathers to catch waves in costume at Bolsa Chica State Beach Tower 20. Everyone is welcome.
Wahine Kai President Cathy Young remembers when members just met on the beach and pulled costumes out of a bag before heading out to surf.
“Over the years, the Halloween surf session has become a contest and a favorite among the members of Wahine Kai,” she said. “We give out cute trophies for those who have the best costume, the most fun, the best wipe out, as well as a few other awards.”
This post first appeared on ocregister.com
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