A thick layer of duckweed coats the water, stirred by the rhythmic rowing of kayakers and paddle boarders. Morning light streams through tall trees, illuminating a bobbing cluster of pointy black hats accompanied by quiet conversation and echoing cackles.
It’s 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, and a group of women dressed as witches gather near the docked historic Canal Boat Landing Monticello III in Coshocton. This event, “Witch, Please,” is the product of Jessie Tubbs’ imagination.
Last fall, Tubbs, mayor of West Lafayette, gathered friends and kayaked down the river dressed as witches for the first time.
“The fog was coming off, the leaves were changing,” Tubbs said. “It was a great way to connect with nature, with a handful of girls – there were 15 of us – it was magical.”
As a mother of four girls and the first female mayor of the village of West Lafayette, Tubbs knows the importance of having spaces where women can connect and support each other.
“I feel like I’m constantly being burned at the stake, and I feel like having that coven of women floating with me made it feel less overwhelming,” Tubbs said.
This year, the event gained traction as a fundraiser for the Johnson-Humrickhouse’s Friends of the Museum Board. About 20 women gathered to float down the river together, craft broomsticks, read tarot and eat “sandwitches.”
“There are so many beautiful pieces of West Lafayette and Coshocton County that are overlooked because, well, they’re right here and we see them all the time so we don’t see them at all for what they are,” Tubbs said. “I think activities like ‘Witch, Please’ take those of us that are stuck in our mundane world, put a witch hat on and we float the river.”
Mia Fischel writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.