My name is Lisa Ellingwood, and my pronouns are she/her. I am an artist and a theatrical witch with the Black Hats Society of Irvington, a nonprofit that gives all its proceeds to local charities. This year, we are supporting Irvington Counseling Collective.
Day One
9 a.m. Still reveling over last night. It was First Friday at Tube Factory Artspace in my neighborhood, Garfield Park, and they were having another round of community mural painting. This was my second time working on a mural that will go on the side of the Safeway at Raymond and Shelby. It’s also the third community mural my partner James and I have worked on so far this year.
It is so therapeutic to paint, whether in silence or chatting with a stranger next to you. My friend and fellow Black Hats Society member Anna met up with me to paint for a while, and we checked out more art exhibits in the different buildings.
We ran into another Black Hats member, Teresa, and walked down the street to check out the grand opening of Harlot Apothecary. What a fun little spot! It is just so cool to see this part of Shelby Street thriving and doing so well.
10 a.m. I have a busy day planned! I just love taking advantage and maximizing a beautiful Saturday.
I enjoy checking out the local art markets. One of my favorites is the Indianapolis Oddities Artist Market hosted by The Black Cat Curio. We get there early, as it can easily get crowded and have a line out the door.
There are so many cool things to look at, great people to talk to, and fun art and trinkets to buy. I buy myself a cute, embroidered witch bag by Enchanted Playground. ‘Tis the season of the spooky, and I obviously love me some witchy garb.
11 a.m. Since we are out on the eastside, we stop by a yard sale that one of my fellow Black Hats members posted about on social media.
Lately, I have been trying to do most of my shopping at thrift stores or secondhand shops. I find some cute Halloween signs and James finds a microscope; both are necessities of course.
11:30 a.m. Next task: Return to the vinyl lending library that we discovered during the Feast of Lanterns.
James has some vinyl to return along with some to donate. And of course, he always loves to check out any new items. His score for the day is a Deerhoof record.
We also get to chat with the owner, as he is outside doing some yardwork. We find out through a bit of conversation that he knows one of the Black Hats members — they used to go to school together as kids. Such a small world.
12:30 p.m. We head to Garfield Park to attend Central Indiana Pagan Pride Day. My belly dancing teacher’s Indy Swords & Shimmies troupe performs at 1 p.m. and we want to check out some of the vendor booths as well.
1 p.m. Indy Swords & Shimmies is an improvisational, FatChanceBellyDance-style troupe led by Jeana Jorgensen and the performance today is phenomenal! Drums, zills, swords, baskets and shimmies, oh my!
All of the dancing fun! I recognize some of the cues in the improvised belly dance moves — my second round of classes is paying off! Also nice to see one of my fellow Black Hats members, Madlyn, perform.
6:30 p.m. We head down to Greenwood to meet with some Black Hats members at Teal Canary art studio. My ‘broommate’ (a Black Hats term for a mentor-new member relationship) Samantha Glover is hosting a Glow Night Painting class and open house. Her art is very moody and magical; you can check her out on Instagram @samanthagloverart.
This class is our first time using glow-in-the-dark paint on canvas, and James and I have a blast! So much more challenging to paint in the dark and with black lights.
Day Two
9 a.m. Today is a performance day, so that always means little sleep — no matter how prepared I am. But I make sure my fantasy football lineup is all set, and now it’s time to figure out what I am going to wear today.
Noon Start the hair and makeup process for becoming a witch. Today’s theme is a black and silver look. It’s always fun to experiment. All of our members use their own resources for costuming, and it is so intriguing to see everyone’s looks each year.
3 p.m. A small group of witches perform a dance at the Living Room Theaters before a showing of “Practical Magic.” There are a few witchy themed vendors (including our Black Hats booth with some witchy merch) and a candle making station. So cute!
After the dance performance, a few of us head over to The Garage Food Hall for a bite to eat. The Garage is such an interesting concept — every person in your party can get exactly what they want and still all sit down to eat together.
6 p.m. Dance practice for the Halloween season for Black Hats Society is every Sunday and Tuesday. For an hour, we practice our dance for A Night out in Sleepy Hollow (Oct. 23 at Irving Circle Park) and the parade for the Irvington Halloween Festival (Oct. 25 in Irvington).
This particular practice is a bit different for me, as I am called up to the front to help lead the dance in front of about 35 witches.
We started practicing the first week of September and I made it a goal to go to every practice this year. I had perfect attendance last year and hope to do the same this year. My philosophy is: Practice my booty off. I know I will have anxiety the day of a performance no matter what, so I might as well practice so much that I don’t have to worry about forgetting the moves, at least!
Day Three
8 a.m. Typical Monday at work, I am an account manager for Midland – paper and packaging.
5 p.m. No plans today, so that means it’s time to work on some costume prep and Halloween crafts. I have just a few more decorative items and art projects to finish for my inside decorations. My favorite project the last couple of years has been finding thrifted art pieces and painting ghost themes on them.
Day Four
8 a.m. Work day.
6 p.m. Another witchy dance practice. A few snafus lead us to practice outside in the library parking lot. That always makes it interesting, because we get quite a few onlookers. We still rock it out and get some good dancing in the cooler temps.
Day Five
8 a.m. Work day.
6 p.m. My last class of a six-week belly dancing class. This is my second time taking the six-week class and it has been just amazing. So much fun!
It was because of dancing with the Black Hats Society last year that I realized how much I really enjoy dancing. I hadn’t taken any dance classes since middle school, and I guess it just took me 30 years to get used to my body and begin to like dancing again.
Belly dancing helps you learn to slow down and think about your posture. Slowing down is not easy for me, so I love how much of a challenge it is. I also love how it gets me out of my own little box.
7 p.m. After leaving belly dancing, I take a walk around Broad Ripple Park.
I heard that there used to be a huge pool there and that a few of the original pool tiles are in some concrete under a bridge on a path. I’m not sure which direction to head, so I head towards the river.
It’s close to sunset, and I talk with a sweet couple at a lookout spot on the river. I ask them if they knew about the tiles. They don’t, so I tell them a bit about what I know. It is a nice little chat.
I head back the other direction and find a spot on the trail with a ditch on both sides. I lie down on the ground to try and get a pic. As I am lying down on the dark trail, I hear people walking towards me and realize I should probably stand up and get out of there. It is getting dark.
I tell the group of people that I’m okay and lying down on purpose, trying to get a picture. I just have to ask them if they know about the tiles. They do not, but we exchange stories about the park and chat for a minute.
At this point, it is almost completely dark. I know I shouldn’t be playing in the woods anymore, so I just have to be ok with my mission being incomplete.
Day Six
8 a.m. Work.
11 a.m. I am already messaging James to see if he wants to go on an adventure with me later. I just have to get back to Broad Ripple Park and find that darn tile! James is always down for a good adventure.
5 p.m. I tell James my theories, show him some of my research and take him down the same path from last night. James doesn’t hesitate to climb down the bridge to check it out. I guess he didn’t envision a family of racoons or a crazy monster living in the storm drain like I did.
It takes him all but three seconds to see that where I was taking pictures last night was about a foot away from the tiles! I was so close. I just knew that had to be the place.
I’m able to touch the tiles. Mission accomplished! Apparently, there are some tiles along the riverbanks, too. I have been meaning to check out some more kayaking options on the White River.
6:30 p.m. Since we’re so close and it’s early on a Thursday, we can probably get a table at Sakura. We tried stopping by months ago on a Saturday, but it was busy and the wait was too long.
Sushi is another thing that I had no idea I liked until way later in life. Honestly, I can’t remember my first sushi experience, but I know that I have only been thoroughly enjoying it for the last six or seven years.
My palate is still very immature, and I have a bit of a texture issue, but James loves his nigiri. I prefer not to have huge chunks of raw fish; just my preference, I suppose. We all have different tastes.
Day Seven
8 a.m. Work from home today, the best work day! TGIF.
5 p.m. Black Hats Society joins FIDO for a dine-to-donate event at 10th Street Diner with part of the proceeds going to FIDO. Some of the duties include waving at the traffic to try and drum up business; that always makes for an interesting time on 10th Street!
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