Morro Bay harbor will again be bewitched when the 8th Annual Witch’s Paddle takes to the water in a Halloween treat for the community.
The Morro Bay Witch’s Paddle is set for 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29. Meet at Coleman Beach if you plan to join the wickedness and help raise money for the Food Bank Coalition of SLO County.
And in case you were wondering why witches are often shown with green skin and flying on broomsticks, blame that on the “Wizard of Oz.” It seems the producers of that first great Technicolor blockbuster, released in 1939, chose to paint Wicked Witch of the West portrayer, Margaret Hamilton’s face green because of how well it showed up on color film, in what was a brand new process in filmmaking.
In the 1900 book, “The Wizard of Oz,” by L. Frank Baum, the Wicked Witch’s skin color plays no part. It has however helped give children nightmares since the release of the film, and now is the standard for Halloween witch costumes.
Shown here are some of the paddle boarders from past events.