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Fourth annual Witches Brew paddle event promises to be wicked good fun
Carrie Conway is the first to admit that she’s a bit of a “fair-weather” paddle boarder.
“I know that it is very much possible to be out on the water year-round — but I’m a bit of a wimp,” Conway said with a laugh.
But Conway seems to have more guts than she gives herself credit for. She is the founder of Gig Harbor’s Witches Brew paddle event, which has taken place rain or shine around Halloween. This year’s Witches Brew is Oct. 24, with paddlers meeting at the Gig Harbor Boat Launch. Deadmans Island Kayak and SUP (stand-up paddleboard) can provide the crafts and paddles, or attendees may bring their own.
Seeing the Harbor from the harbor
Conway discovered the sport after moving to Gig Harbor four years ago with her family. She couldn’t have imagined herself paddle boarding in anything but the nice weather she was treated to her first summer here.
The 2025 Witches Brew. Photo courtesy of Carrie Conway
“There’s just such a different perspective and viewpoint when you’re actually out in our harbor versus looking at it from land. There’s something just so peaceful about it. … It’s a gorgeous place to live and a gorgeous place to be,” Conway said. “I would do it with friends, do it with family and have a great time. So I just became an avid paddle boarder just by way of being here and being in Gig Harbor. … I actually get a little bit sad when the season ends.”
So sad, in fact, that when her first paddle boarding season ended four years ago, Conway decided to try to extend it.
“I had started seeing all of these various witches paddling events popping up all over the country and just thought, ‘This is wild that Gig Harbor doesn’t have this. I can’t fathom how this hasn’t been created in Gig Harbor. It’s such a fun idea,’” she recalled. “It really came from me wanting to just selfishly get back out on the water even more and extend the season.”
Thus was the first Gig Harbor Witches Brew paddle boarding event born.
Getting witchier and witchier
Conway didn’t expect anyone to show up that first year.
“The first year was a little overcast, a little bit rainy, and I was like, ‘Myself and my husband — who I’m dragging out here — are the only ones going to show up,” Conway said. “The first year I would say we probably had about 40 or so people out there. … I was really surprised even at that. I was very proud of that, very excited.”
The event has grown exponentially. Conway counted about 220 people last year.
Photo courtesy of Carrie Conway
Conway said she invited Guinness World Records to the event, because she was sure they could make some kind of attendee record splash. She got a denial — “but that doesn’t deter me very often so I’m hopeful.” She pointed to the fact that 4,500 people have so far responded to the event on Facebook. While that doesn’t indicate attendance, she said, that is still a notable number of people.
“Think how cool that would be if we could set a Guinness Book of World Records here,” she said. She hopes that this year’s attendance numbers might perhaps entice Guinness World Records out here next year.
Conway said that she has been floored by the effort people have put into the event. Many decorate their boats or boards and arrive in costume. Conway’s costume?
“Obviously, a witch! Gotta do it,” Conway said. “The greatest thing about this is it’s usually a little bit rainy and the witch hat brim is the perfect solution. … The brim of the witch hat is pretty clutch, so you’re not absolutely soaking wet.”
She’s also discovered that neoprene booties are the best way to avoid frozen tootsies post-paddle.
Food bank donations
Because her son wanted to eat candy during the event, two years ago, Conway started filling up a cauldron full of Halloween candy to pass out to event attendees. The year before, she also added a food donation element, wherein attendees are invited to donate items that will go to Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank.
Witches on the water in 2025. Photo courtesy of Carrie Conway
“We might as well make a little bit of an impact while we can overall, if we’re bringing this many people together. It just feels totally right to have some type of greater good established,” Conway said. “I get a ton of bins. I usually decorate them like little cauldrons, and we just ask people [to] please consider bringing some type of non-perishable food or make a monetary donation and support the food bank. It’s so great to be able to give back a little bit, especially this is right around the holiday season. It’s just you know it’s another way to feel good about having fun and getting out there.”
And that’s the key for Conway: fun. Though no one has directly told her that the event inspired them to start doing stand-up paddle boarding or kayaking, Conway hopes that everyone who attends has a good time.
“I want people just to come out for the fun of it. I just feel like there is a lack of free, ‘do it for the fun of it’-type elements in our world today and I hope this is one that people enjoy,” she said.
Witches on the water
The Witches Brew paddle event takes place on Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. The event lasts for three hours. Attendees will meet at the Gig Harbor Boat Launch, 8723 Randall Dr., and may either rent a craft from Deadmans Island Kayak and SUP for $40 for the full three hours, or bring their own vessels. The group will go out to the Gig Harbor Lighthouse and back. Attendees are invited to bring non-perishable food items or monetary donations for FISH Food Bank and candy to pass out to spectators. More information can be found here.