Pictured here on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Mirror Lake in Lake Placid are some local women dressed as witches on standup paddleboards. (Photo provided)

LAKE PLACID – It’s not every day that a coven of witches crashes a wedding.

But that’s what happened last year during the inaugural Lake Placid witch paddle, a spontaneous event that brings together locals for a pre-Halloween party on Mirror Lake.

Shelley Reynolds, Trish Friedlander and three of their friends – spurred on by a social media post from Reynolds’ cousin, who is behind the Standup Paddleboard Witch Paddle in Oregon – donned witches costumes over wetsuits last October and took to Mirror Lake on paddleboards. They weren’t raising money for anything, weren’t promoting any cause – they were just looking for a good time.

“We were making quite a racket with our cackling,” said Friedlander. “We paddled by the Golden Arrow. We didn’t realize there was a wedding.”

“Because we were cackling and laughing so loud, we couldn’t hear the wedding planner calling out to us, saying that they’re trying to have a wedding,” Reynolds said.

Pictured here on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Mirror Lake, from left, are Gail Rogers, Karen Delaney, Laura Eldred, Kim Kaplanis, Shelley Reynolds, Trish Friedlander, Lisa Vespa Reid, Sherry Hesseltine and Beth Hesseltine. (Photo provided)

The women had so much fun last year that they brought the event back again this year, holding the event on Tuesday, Oct. 15. They put the event on Facebook around 48 hours ahead of time and opened it up to the public. Their group doubled in size.

The roving pack of witches paddled – and kayaked – around Mirror Lake. They stopped near Mid’s Park, the Cottage and the Golden Arrow. And they didn’t interrupt any weddings this time.

“It’s just a fun thing to do in October in Lake Placid,” Friedlander said. “Adults in hotel rooms came out and waved to us. Some of them (at the Cottage) asked us to come to the shore so they could take pictures with us.”

“We tried to get people over at the Cottage to buy us a drink, but they seemed to think we were joking,” Reynolds said. “We were like, no, trick-or-treat, we’d like a drink.”

This year, the group brought candy with them. Because of the short-notice nature of the event, there weren’t a lot of kids by the lake, though there were a few at the beach, according to Friedlander. But there were plenty of happy adults getting candy, she said.

“That added a fun element to it,” Reynolds said.

Friedlander said her favorite part of the event, both this year and last year, was the element of surprise.

“I loved seeing the people that didn’t know anything about it do a double-take,” she said. ” Like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a bunch of witches paddle boarding on Mirror Lake.'”

There are plans to bring the event back next year. Reynolds said the event date will be decided a few days in advance.

“We’re hoping to do it every year with an emphasis on it just being a fun thing,” she said.

“Anyone is welcome to join the coven,” Friedlander said.