Samhain Enchanted Evening

Most people think of Halloween as a time to wear silly, scary or unnecessarily revealing (or all three) costumes and stuff themselves with candy. That might be the mainstream approach — but pagans celebrate the holiday as Samhain, a day that marks the end of the old year and the beginning of a new one. And for the past nineteen years, local Samhain celebrators have cut loose with a Witches’ Ball.

Tuatha, Fort Collins’s premier tribal dance group, will headline this year’s incarnation of the Witches’ Ball; the Orpheus Pagan Choir and Pandora Celtica will also perform. The party includes costume contests, dancing, a marketplace filled with mystical items, and even a midnight Samhain ritual. For the first time, there will be beer and wine for sale — and the traditional psychic fair is moving upstairs, to give querents privacy while they seek the unknown. The ball starts at 6:30 p.m. today and runs until 1 a.m. at the Highland Masonic Center, 3550 Federal Boulevard. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for kids twelve and younger; purchase them in advance at www.denverwitchesball.com (where you’ll also find a full schedule of events), or pay by cash or credit card at the door.
Sat., Oct. 23, 6:30 p.m.-midnight, 2010