Last night, October 5, downtown Livermore came to life as hundreds of witches took to the streets in search of fun, food, and a little bit of shopping. This was, of course, during the Witches Night Out event, which takes place every year in downtown Livermore. Patrons are invited to deck out in witches’ attire while they stroll around downtown Livermore, where tons of restaurants and shops offer special discounts and deals for the duration of the event.

The event began with the crowning of the winners for the Witches Night Out Hat Contest, which was announced via Instagram. Karyn Kleinman, rocking a harvest-themed hat, won first place, with Morgan Contreras taking second and Marley Burggraf coming in third place.

“I sewed this hat myself,” said Kleinman, “I chose a wine harvest theme for this creation. The hat features corks from local Livermore wineries, grapes and natural elements like oak branches and moss and a cork band.” 

For the rest of the night, participants were free to mill around as they pleased, shopping, drinking, and eating all throughout the night. Photo booths were scattered around downtown, in Livermorium Plaza, in front of Demitri’s and First Street Yogurt, allowing attendees to snap group photos with Halloween-themed backdrops.

Crystal Albert is a veteran Witches Night Out attendee and says her favorite part of the event is, “Getting my friends to come downtown and walk around and have dinner. We went to the Last Word, they had a DJ, so we got music and dinner.”

The music did not stop there, though. Local singer Angie Maserati performed live music in front of Demitri’s nearly all night long. Maserati’s beautiful voice and wonderful band kept the energy high throughout the night.

Maserati has an inspiring story, she said, “ I have been singing for as long as I can remember, but professionally for about 20 years, where I actually get paid. I did covers for the longest time, and then I took a trip to New York, where the dreams are just in the streets, and they’re just everywhere, and I remembered me, I remembered the dream and I started writing my originals.”

Witches Night Out is not only fun for the attendees, but for local businesses as well. Many businesses offer exclusive deals for the event, and see a huge rise in sales for the night.

Gabrielle from Therapy Stores said, “I have been working for therapy for almost a year and a half. We have been part of Witches Night Out for at least a few years. Definitely a lot of fun tonight, a lot of activity, very, very busy. It’s nice to see everyone come out with their hats on, and we like little things like this because it gives a bunch of our stores recognition, especially for people who don’t necessarily come out to this store.” 

Overall, Witches Night Out is a wonderful experience for anyone. Whether you go alone or with friends, you are certain to find something to eat, lots to drink, and plenty of knick knacks or clothing to buy. Witches Night Out has been part of Livermore for many years and, it seems, will not be going away any time soon. It is a positively bewitching experience that no one should miss out on.