Witches ‘cackle’ through Ligonier during annual bike brigade fundraiser

Carla Arnone and her fellow witches could be spotted bicycling around downtown Ligonier on Sunday, cackling as they went.

The Ligonier Witches Bike Brigade began in 2016 with 70 people, and now, Arnone, 53, of Ligonier, said it’s grown to more than 1,100 registered participants, with as many as 5,000 people total milling about town.

“It just exploded,” Arnone said.

The event originally began as just a bar crawl, as she works at the bar where the idea started. Owner Pam Goodman was responsible for organizing the group.

As a finale, the witches performed the traditional witch dance, which is of German origin. @TribLIVE

Now, they’ll head to the shuttles for a day at the local restaurants, bars and shops pic.twitter.com/TI8WE3sfWX

— Megan Swift (@mgswift7) October 22, 2023

“It’s not just a bar crawl anymore,” Arnone said. “It’s shopping, it’s getting together. People bringing their kids, bringing their grandmothers. They want to see the dancing.”

The bars are still a big part of the event though, she said.

“Everybody in down, with the exception of a few, are really happy that we’re there because we just bring all these people,” Arnone said.

The bike brigade started out as a group of women and Arnone said they wanted it to stay all-women, but now people bring their husbands, kids and other family members for the day.

“The genie’s out of the bottle,” Arnone said. “It’s hard to put it back.”

Animal rescue fundraiser

The event serves as a fundraiser for the Helping Hearts & Healing Tails Animal Rescue, which divides the proceeds out to other local animal shelters.

In 2020 during the pandemic, Arnone said shelters became overwhelmed with more animals and didn’t have a means to take care of all of them.

“It’s all for a good cause, and it makes us happy,” she said. “We get to go out with our friends.”

Since the event has grown, there is a shuttle that takes the witches to the various participating restaurants, bars and shops in downtown Ligonier.

However, Arnone said there’s still a “small group of diehards” who still ride their bikes, and she’s one of them.

Before the witches were set loose for the day, they gathered at the Loyalhanna Watershed Association field for registration, entertainment and vendors.

Amy Kerr started the Dancing Witches of Westmoreland County group, which performed multiple numbers for the bike brigade — including “Time Warp,” “Thriller” and “I Put a Spell on You.”

The group started as a part of the bike brigade, but this is its second year as its own nonprofit, performing at various events for donations to benefit animal shelters.

Kerr, 50, of Derry, was a Zumba fitness instructor with choreography experience, which has helped her teach the dance to the group’s 100 members.

After the three numbers, the group typically invites any of the bike brigade witches who know the traditional witch dance to perform with them. It’s a song and dance of German origin, Kerr said.

Yvette Tobias is one of the dancers, and she said it’s her favorite part of the event — along with taking pictures of the witches’ elaborate costumes.

Tobias, 58, of Ligonier, and Deneene Krehlik said they love to craft their handmade costumes and dress up every year.

“We love the whole concept for the animals and to get to dress up and be with all our girlfriends,” Tobias said.

Krehlik, 53, of Blairsville, said she takes the whole year to plan her costume. She makes costumes for her kids, so she decided to make her own as well.

Tobias, who’s been coming to the bike brigade since its second year, said her costumes have become “more and more elaborate” every year.

“I pick a color theme, buy a bunch of that color stuff, throw it on a table and just throw it together,” Tobias said.

Kerr said everybody is welcome at the bike brigade, and it’s “always a great time.”

“There’s a great bond that is between the witches,” Kerr said. “We have each other’s backs no matter what.”

(This story has been updated.)