On October 13th and 14th, I had the pleasure of attending Witchcraft, a Halloween themed beer festival at Paradise Lake Campground in Hammonton, NJ.
Witchcraft featured many breweries including Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Pinelands Brewing Company, Mud Hen, Connecticut Valley Brewing, Angry Orchard, and many more. Along with the beer tastings, there were many sights to see such as chainsaw carving by Chainsaw Jenna, magic shows with Lindsay Noel, a haunted castle from Ocean Casino, séances and fortune telling.
The festival kicked off at 7pm, with costumed guests parading through the entrance. DJ Dave Mass started the dance party from the stage as people were welcomed by food trucks near the entrance gate. Food trucks included Vagabond, Jay’s Crab Shack, Donut NV, and many more. The guests wandered the festival grounds stopping at the beer stands for tastings from their favorite or soon to be favorite breweries. Fire performers Helios and Lilith took the stage and mesmerized the crowd with their performances. Over in the grounds the silent disco was partying all night. Lindsay Noel was performing a very funny magic show where crowd participation was all part of the show. Chainsaw Jenna was carving away fantastic wooden sculptures. Back at the main stage the drag performances had begun featuring Tastie, Morrigan Von Haunt, and E. Licksher. Soon after the drag performances was the Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest where 4 contestants were given 5 minutes to down a pumpkin pie. These people came to win, shoving their faces into a pan of pie with no break but in the end one became victorious and won their prize. Soon after the Pumpkin Pie contest was the Costume Contest. There were multiple categories to enter including Killer Looks, Duos/Couples, and Group. The contestants would come on stage and be judged by a panel. Some of the costumes seen were The Sanderson Sisters, American Psycho, Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompas, Macho Man and Hulk Hogan, and Adventure Time. One couple was even dressed as the characters on the Witchcraft poster. After the Costume Contest there were more Drag Performances and Fire Performances to close out the night.
There was a bit of rain on Night Two but that sure didn’t stop anyone from having a great time. Half way through the night one nice couple actually gave me a poncho, for which I was very thankful.
Jon Henderson and his crew at good Time Tricycle absolutely know how to throw an awesome festival. If they are having an event I highly suggest checking it out, I know you will have a great time. I honestly can’t wait for Witchcraft 2024.
