ATHENS-Canebrake Witches Ride, presented by Beautymarx, is a community fundraising event benefitting Athens-Limestone Hospital Foundation’s Pink Elephant Project. This year’s event is scheduled for Sunday, October 24th. Women dress up as good witches, ride on broom cycles (bicycles) and broom carts (golf carts), and fly through the Canebrake neighborhood tossing candy to little goblins (kids) at designated Candy Zones. Last year, Canebrake Witches Ride experienced a 400% growth in participation with 250 witches, 28 business and individual sponsors, and raised more than $20,000 for the Pink Elephant Project. The event committee is working to beat those numbers with a goal of more than 300 witches in 2021. You can register online to participate: https://bit.ly2YDIHgi.
A new addition to this year’s event is the Brew Bash, presented by Kim Ward, Market Group Real Estate. All witches, families, and friends are invited to enjoy a crisp, fall evening at the Brew Bash immediately after the ride. There will be food trucks, DJ, Best Awards, a Monster Mash dance contest for kids, and tons of spooky family fun! Food trucks confirmed include Get Loaded, New South, Happi Pappi, and Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard. There will even be shopping in the Over Yonder Boutique truck.
Registration for the 2021 Canebrake Witches Ride opened on September 10th. Within 24 hours, more than 100 women registered. As of today, there are more than 200 women registered individually or corporate sponsors. The event proudly carries the Canebrake name due to location, but witches from other Athens neighborhoods and surrounding areas were invited to join this year’s event.
The Canebrake Witches Ride started in 2019 after a group of moms in the Canebrake neighborhood brainstormed ideas in their Facebook group on how to create more activities for kids and families that would in turn create a stronger community. One of those ideas was a witches ride, a type of event that recently became popular in other communities.
That brainstorming post launched into an event 30 days later with 50 witches raising roughly $450 for a local nonprofit. In 2020, the Canebrake Witches Ride committee evaluated if it was possible to host the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the event is outdoors providing social distancing opportunities, the committee moved forward.
Because this is an event geared to women and all women share the risk for breast cancer, the committee chose the Pink Elephant Project as the benefitting nonprofit again for 2021. One in eight women will be faced with this horrible disease, and in 2020 an estimated 276,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed. The Athens-Limestone Hospital Foundation raises funds through the Pink Elephant Project to support lowering this statistic and find better methods for detection, care, and increasing the life span. Since early detection is one of the keys for survival, The Canebrake Witches Ride and the Athens-Limestone Hospital Foundation have partnered together to raise funds specifically designated to provide scholarships for mammograms, as well as procure the newest technologies to diagnose it sooner.
About The Pink Elephant Project
The Pink Elephant Project’s purpose is to raise funds as well as awareness in the fight against breast cancer. This fund was established several years ago by the Athens Limestone Hospital Foundation to ensure residents of Limestone County who either have no medical insurance or whose insurance does not cover mammograms would have the opportunity to have this test at no charge. Since then, the fund has grown and now able to purchase equipment and other supplies that are needed for women’s health.
Media Release/Christie Berry
Canebrake Witches Ride Chair
