Bitchcraft Louisville & Windigo Fest Markets
We're only halfway through October, and what a month it's been!
On October 1st we made our way down to Louisville, Kentucky for Bitchcraft, a curated magickal market for witchy businesses. Never having vended outside of Wisconsin before, we had no idea how we were going to be received. We needn't have worried, however, as we went over like a house on fire! All of our booth neighbors were incredibly rad people as well, and the entire market was just a great time. We look forward to doing this one again next year!
Then we headed back to Wisconsin for Windigo Fest in Manitowoc, Wisconsin October 6-8. This one is one of our favorite annual markets, and the overall vibe is something that just can't be replicated. It takes place at the Manitowoc County Fairgrounds and it's just laid out so darn well. Outside there's stilt-walking windigo and other costumed performers, live music, Halloween-themed events, and a row of food trucks -- but inside the main building is where the real magic begins. Inside the lights are dimmed, and a vendor village comprised of Halloween and horror-themed vendors, each in costume and providing their own illumination. Behind the vendor village is an indoor stage with a rotating lineup of speakers, belly-dancers, burlesque, freak show and meet-and-greets with horror actors and TV ghost hunters went on throughout the weekend.
Windigo Fest felt more than a little bit like coming home for us, as we've had many of the same booth neighbors as previous years. Once you've spent three very long days with the same neighbors twice over, you tend to get pretty close! Unfortunately, we've heard that 2023 will be the last year for Windigo Fest under the current management, with no concrete plans for a 2024 fest. We hope someone else takes over and keeps the magic happening. While we here at Bleak Boutique find that news to be bittersweet, we are still looking forward to the remainder of our 2023 markets. It's turning out to be quite a busy Q4 for us mild-mannered purveyors of haunted housewares!