Bewitching: Sea Witch haunts Rehoboth

Festival celebrates 25 spooktacular years

The Sea Witch costume parade celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. BY DAN COOK

Rehoboth Chamber of Commerce's Carol Everhart leads the 25th Annual Sea Witch Parade. BY DAN COOK

Carol Everhart was honored by the Sea Witch committee. BY DAN COOK

Super Mario Bros., aka Juan Marquez, marches with the Cape Henlopen High School marching band during the Sea Witch parade. BY DAN COOK

Dogfish Head's parade entry, Ales in Wonderland. BY DAN COOK

Paul Hadfield asks audience members about how many years that they've attended the parade. BY DAN COOK

Bev Lukowski enjoys clowning around in the parade. BY DAN COOK

Grayden Ripanit, 6, controls his puppet sister Ava, 9. BY DAN COOK

Montana Jones, 9, marched as a gumball machine. BY DAN COOK

Twins Tennyson, left, and Teigen Bayles, 1, were cute ducks on a pond. BY DAN COOK

The strangest things were spotted in the parade. BY DAN COOK

Tripp Dankowski, 2, was in a crabby mood at the parade. BY DAN COOK

The circus came to town at the Sea Witch parade. BY DAN COOK

The Incredible Hulk, aka Dan McConnell, pulls the Gotham City float with Superman (Owen Overcash, 3) in tow. BY DAN COOK

BY DAN COOK

Christine Blair asks: Are you a good witch or a bad witch? BY DAN COOK

Oh Lucy...I'm home. Lucy (Mclod Knighton) waves to the crowd. BY DAN COOK

Sarah Podberesky, 5, flies through the parade as Supergirl. BY DAN COOK

Alexis Zhukarev,19 months, waits for the parade to begin. BY DAN COOK

Justin Fisher of Lewes performs as Elton John. BY DAN COOK

The Sea Witch makes her grand entrance to the parade. BY DAN COOK

A couple of creepy specters march in the Sea Witch parade. BY DAN COOK

Happy marriages last forever, as evidenced by this pair at the Sea Witch parade. BY DAN COOK

Space aliens showed up at the parade. BY DAN COOK

Scooby-Doo's Mystery Machine and Shaggy's crew showed up for Sea Witch. BY DAN COOK

It's nothing but a Barrel of Monkeys for this crew at Sea Witch. BY DAN COOK

Anyone have an ark? BY DAN COOK

Just in time for Ghost Busters' 30th anniversary, the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man makes an appearance. BY DAN COOK

The Wilmington College cheerleaders amazed the crowd with this basket toss. BY DAN COOK

Rocky represented Oak Creek Wine & Spirits. BY DAN COOK

Donna West serves up steins from Ocean Wine & Spirits. BY DAN COOK

The crowd kept growing for the 25th Sea Witch Parade. BY DAN COOK

Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, poses with his wife, Janis. BY DAN COOK

Argh! BY DAN COOK

Rich Dougherty leads the string band down Rehoboth Avenue. BY DAN COOK

The Candy Corn Express made children smile for their tasty treats. BY DAN COOK

Strange sightings happened along the parade route. BY DAN COOK

Downtown Rehoboth Beach saw big crowds on a near perfect fall weekend for the 25th annual Sea Witch Festival. BY TJ REDEFER

Paul Albright of Newark does his best Beetlejuice impression at the costume parade. BY NICK ROTH

Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce mascot Smiley the Dolphin waves to the crowd at the front of the parade. BY NICK ROTH

Miss Cheevious aka Donna West of Harbeson dances to The Funsters at the Bandstand. BY NICK ROTH

Guillermo Silveira, a composer from Argentina, wore a colorful headdress in the costume parade. BY NICK ROTH

Jim Dolan played a popcorn vendor in the costume parade. BY NICK ROTH

Lucy was all smiles as she walked the parade route. BY NICK ROTH

Batman villainess Harley Quinn stepped away from Gotham for a leisurely stroll in downtown Rehoboth. BY NICK ROTH

The Empire can try to blend in with the crowd, but that stormtrooper helmets kind of stands out. BY NICK ROTH

Lego Superman and the Justice League were in attendance. BY NICK ROTH

Finnley Huovinen of Ocean View was the admiral of the aircraft carrier. Finnley was one of the costume parade winners. BY NICK ROTH

Dogs were on the heels of the giant fire hydrant Cohen Davis, 15, of Seaford. BY NICK ROTH

Clowning For Joy clowns Phineas T. Happy aka Ron Steen and Specs aka Bill Martin entertain the crowd with bad pun Halloween jokes. BY NICK ROTH

Ricky Ricardo waves to the crowd during the Lucy and Ricky show at the Convention Center Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

Lucy and Ricky entertained Sea Witch visitors at two shows at the Convention Center Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

The Funsters lead guitarist Keith Mack, right, plays alongside his brother Greg Mack. BY NICK ROTH

The Funsters played to a big crowd at the Bandstand Oct. 26. Shown are (l-r) Grier White, Jon Fletcher and Ken Tonge. BY NICK ROTH

The Funsters lead vocalist Sherman Ward goes for it during his performance at the Bandstand Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

Aboard the Scurvy Dawg are Daisy and Precious with owner Arden Townsend of Southampton, N.J. BY NICK ROTH

Recreating the Wizard of Oz are Donna Combs of Nottingham, Pa., as the Wicked Witch; Ron Combs as the Scarecrow; Ginny Stanley as Dorothy; and Ken Weaverling as the Wizard. They are accompanied by Milo and Cooper as flying monkeys and Toto as Toto. BY NICK ROTH

Milo is pulling off the flying monkey costume. BY NICK ROTH

Princess Olivia plays the part well. BY NICK ROTH

Abby showed off her wings with owner Sharon Dianetz of Orlando, Fla., in tow. BY NICK ROTH

Dusty Lamb looks ready to take off in the pet parade Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

Locals Josh Lofland and Erika Parlett dressed up with Tiva to create a farm-themed float. BY NICK ROTH

Shannon Lambert, Kelsie Lambert and Chloe recreated Frozen for the costumed pet parade Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

Thor aka Rune Walker relaxes with "Thorgies" Roxxie and Boomer. Thor and Thorgies were one of the judge's winners in the dog costume parade. BY NICK ROTH

The Dewey Business Partnership kicked off the Sea Witch Festival by hosting trick or treat Oct. 24. Here, Jason Wilson of Ally Oop shows what happens to ghouls, including Jesse Baylor of Millsboro, trying to take his candy. BY CHRIS FLOOD

The Jolly Witch (aka Christine D.L. Hastings of the Jolley Trolley) was more than happy to provide rides from Dewey to Rehoboth. BY CHRIS FLOOD

Mathew McKaskio of Lewes provides knight Henry Baer of New Jersey with a cake pop from Baked. BY CHRIS FLOOD

It wouldn't be an event in Dewey without some adult fun. The Starboard hosted a costumed beer pong contest and Scott Rogers of Millsboro took full advantage of the opportunity to letter his inner diva shine. BY CHRIS FLOOD

Axl Rose (Brian Murphy) and Slash (Tyler Brock) of Guns 'N Roses made a special appearance at the Starboard. BY CHRIS FLOOD

October 31, 2014

Event Date:

The Sea Witch costume parade celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. BY DAN COOK

Rehoboth Chamber of Commerce's Carol Everhart leads the 25th Annual Sea Witch Parade. BY DAN COOK

Carol Everhart was honored by the Sea Witch committee. BY DAN COOK

Super Mario Bros., aka Juan Marquez, marches with the Cape Henlopen High School marching band during the Sea Witch parade. BY DAN COOK

Dogfish Head's parade entry, Ales in Wonderland. BY DAN COOK

Paul Hadfield asks audience members about how many years that they've attended the parade. BY DAN COOK

Bev Lukowski enjoys clowning around in the parade. BY DAN COOK

Grayden Ripanit, 6, controls his puppet sister Ava, 9. BY DAN COOK

Montana Jones, 9, marched as a gumball machine. BY DAN COOK

Twins Tennyson, left, and Teigen Bayles, 1, were cute ducks on a pond. BY DAN COOK

The strangest things were spotted in the parade. BY DAN COOK

Tripp Dankowski, 2, was in a crabby mood at the parade. BY DAN COOK

The circus came to town at the Sea Witch parade. BY DAN COOK

The Incredible Hulk, aka Dan McConnell, pulls the Gotham City float with Superman (Owen Overcash, 3) in tow. BY DAN COOK

BY DAN COOK

Christine Blair asks: Are you a good witch or a bad witch? BY DAN COOK

Oh Lucy...I'm home. Lucy (Mclod Knighton) waves to the crowd. BY DAN COOK

Sarah Podberesky, 5, flies through the parade as Supergirl. BY DAN COOK

Alexis Zhukarev,19 months, waits for the parade to begin. BY DAN COOK

Justin Fisher of Lewes performs as Elton John. BY DAN COOK

The Sea Witch makes her grand entrance to the parade. BY DAN COOK

A couple of creepy specters march in the Sea Witch parade. BY DAN COOK

Happy marriages last forever, as evidenced by this pair at the Sea Witch parade. BY DAN COOK

Space aliens showed up at the parade. BY DAN COOK

Scooby-Doo's Mystery Machine and Shaggy's crew showed up for Sea Witch. BY DAN COOK

It's nothing but a Barrel of Monkeys for this crew at Sea Witch. BY DAN COOK

Anyone have an ark? BY DAN COOK

Just in time for Ghost Busters' 30th anniversary, the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man makes an appearance. BY DAN COOK

The Wilmington College cheerleaders amazed the crowd with this basket toss. BY DAN COOK

Rocky represented Oak Creek Wine & Spirits. BY DAN COOK

Donna West serves up steins from Ocean Wine & Spirits. BY DAN COOK

The crowd kept growing for the 25th Sea Witch Parade. BY DAN COOK

Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, poses with his wife, Janis. BY DAN COOK

Argh! BY DAN COOK

Rich Dougherty leads the string band down Rehoboth Avenue. BY DAN COOK

The Candy Corn Express made children smile for their tasty treats. BY DAN COOK

Strange sightings happened along the parade route. BY DAN COOK

Downtown Rehoboth Beach saw big crowds on a near perfect fall weekend for the 25th annual Sea Witch Festival. BY TJ REDEFER

Paul Albright of Newark does his best Beetlejuice impression at the costume parade. BY NICK ROTH

Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce mascot Smiley the Dolphin waves to the crowd at the front of the parade. BY NICK ROTH

Miss Cheevious aka Donna West of Harbeson dances to The Funsters at the Bandstand. BY NICK ROTH

Guillermo Silveira, a composer from Argentina, wore a colorful headdress in the costume parade. BY NICK ROTH

Jim Dolan played a popcorn vendor in the costume parade. BY NICK ROTH

Lucy was all smiles as she walked the parade route. BY NICK ROTH

Batman villainess Harley Quinn stepped away from Gotham for a leisurely stroll in downtown Rehoboth. BY NICK ROTH

The Empire can try to blend in with the crowd, but that stormtrooper helmets kind of stands out. BY NICK ROTH

Lego Superman and the Justice League were in attendance. BY NICK ROTH

Finnley Huovinen of Ocean View was the admiral of the aircraft carrier. Finnley was one of the costume parade winners. BY NICK ROTH

Dogs were on the heels of the giant fire hydrant Cohen Davis, 15, of Seaford. BY NICK ROTH

Clowning For Joy clowns Phineas T. Happy aka Ron Steen and Specs aka Bill Martin entertain the crowd with bad pun Halloween jokes. BY NICK ROTH

Ricky Ricardo waves to the crowd during the Lucy and Ricky show at the Convention Center Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

Lucy and Ricky entertained Sea Witch visitors at two shows at the Convention Center Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

The Funsters lead guitarist Keith Mack, right, plays alongside his brother Greg Mack. BY NICK ROTH

The Funsters played to a big crowd at the Bandstand Oct. 26. Shown are (l-r) Grier White, Jon Fletcher and Ken Tonge. BY NICK ROTH

The Funsters lead vocalist Sherman Ward goes for it during his performance at the Bandstand Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

Aboard the Scurvy Dawg are Daisy and Precious with owner Arden Townsend of Southampton, N.J. BY NICK ROTH

Milo is pulling off the flying monkey costume. BY NICK ROTH

Princess Olivia plays the part well. BY NICK ROTH

Abby showed off her wings with owner Sharon Dianetz of Orlando, Fla., in tow. BY NICK ROTH

Dusty Lamb looks ready to take off in the pet parade Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

Locals Josh Lofland and Erika Parlett dressed up with Tiva to create a farm-themed float. BY NICK ROTH

Shannon Lambert, Kelsie Lambert and Chloe recreated Frozen for the costumed pet parade Oct. 26. BY NICK ROTH

Thor aka Rune Walker relaxes with "Thorgies" Roxxie and Boomer. Thor and Thorgies were one of the judge's winners in the dog costume parade. BY NICK ROTH

The Jolly Witch (aka Christine D.L. Hastings of the Jolley Trolley) was more than happy to provide rides from Dewey to Rehoboth. BY CHRIS FLOOD

Mathew McKaskio of Lewes provides knight Henry Baer of New Jersey with a cake pop from Baked. BY CHRIS FLOOD

Axl Rose (Brian Murphy) and Slash (Tyler Brock) of Guns 'N Roses made a special appearance at the Starboard. BY CHRIS FLOOD

The walking dead brought downtown Rehoboth Beach to back to life, as zombies, ghosts and ghoulish creatures wandered the streets as part of the Sea Witch Festival Oct. 24-26.

Celebrating its silver anniversary, the event has never been more popular, festival founder Carol Everhart said.

“It was a jaw dropper,” said Everhart, the president and CEO of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce. The event typically draws about 175,000 people over its three days, but, Everhart said, indications point to a significant increase this year. She said hotel occupancy rivaled Fourth of July weekend.

Sea Witch weekend's marquee event is the ever-growing costume parade. Set for the middle of the day, the parade draws thousands of people from near and far. Those who participate head east down Rehoboth Avenue to the Bandstand and back, with spectators lining the streets the entire way. One of those spectators at this year's event was Newark resident Paul Albright. The oldest of five siblings has attended the parade with his family the last three years, and despite not participating in parade, he still dresses up in costume – this year as Beetlejuice.

“I love the atmosphere,” he said. “And you get to see a lot of variety in people's costumes. It's a good opportunity for the kids to see a parade and be apart of the whole Halloween atmosphere.”

Creativity is always on display at Sea Witch, with many people building their costumes from scratch. Others, like the Fisher family from Lewes, take it a step farther and build their own float. This year the Fishers constructed a piano and displayed it on a decorated platform for their son, Justin, who sang Elton John tunes the length of the parade route.

“I like playing for all the people, and seeing them enjoy it just makes my day,” said Justin, a student at the Cab Calloway School for the Arts in Wilmington.

The family spent about 40 hours building the float, then Justin recorded the drums, bass and backing keys and vocals. At the parade, he sang live.

It was just the latest creation from the Fishers, who in previous years have won awards for their various themes – Blue Man Group, KISS, Yellow Submarine. They won their eighth ribbon for this year's float.

“We don't do it for [the awards], but if we win a trophy it's a plus,” said Nikky Fisher, the matriarch of the family.

Everhart said Saturday saw one of the biggest increases in visitors, with 15,000 to 20,000 more people in town enjoying the parade, children's beach games, a broom-tossing contest and many other activities.

On Sunday, Arden Townsend traveled from Southampton, N.J., with her two dogs Daisy and Precious to compete in the dog parade. She said she often takes her pups to dog-related events in New Jersey, but this is the first time she'd been to Sea Witch. She and her husband decorated a stroller to look like a pirate ship, and named it The Scurvy Dawg.

“It took us a couple hours to get everything totally built,” she said.

Their hard work paid off as they caught the many spectators who lined the Boardwalk from the Henlopen Hotel to the Bandstand. They also impressed the judges and were named one of the parade winners.

Everhart said the event is thriving and continuing to grow. What started out as a eight-hour, $5,000 event in 1989, has grown to a three-day, $100,000 celebration of Halloween. She looks forward to producing a better event next year.

“Our job isn't to make [money] for the chamber; our job is to create something to bring people to town and give back to the community,” she said. “That's our goal, and we hit it this year.”