TREAT YOUR VALENTINE TO AN EXPERIENCE AT GARDNER VILLAGE THIS WEEK!

Gardner Village Blog A Look Behind the Curtain at Our Witch Displays
Thursday Oct 17 2024

Everybody knows witches enjoy a good cauldron cookout or night ride aboard a broomstick, but did you know they’re also pickleball proficienados, skilled painters, and the greatest of green thumbs? (S’pose that last one is a given.)

 

If you’ve taken time to visit the green gals on display during WitchFest at Gardner Village, you know much more about the witch lifestyle than the average mortal. Our free scavenger hunt makes a game out of uncovering their lesser known skills and interests. (Get your 2024 copy here.)

 

Of course, the one we should really thank for this behind-the-scenes look at witch living is Keri Taylor. She is our decor manager here at The Village and her impressive resume includes “Witch Whisperer.” It’s how she knows just what whimsical worlds to bring to life with each of the more than 20 displays she puts together each year.

 

“This is my 14th WitchFest,” Keri said. “I’ve been involved with the displays since my son was in Kindergarten, and he graduated last year. In fact, I’ve worked here since I graduated high school – first in the shops and later doing the landscaping.”

 

“Doing the landscaping” is code for creating beautiful gardens, being the the keeper o’ the Witches, Elves, and Woodland Fairies, and keeping Gardner Village looking its best. We’re so lucky to have Keri and her team here! So much of what you love about visiting has Keri’s special touch on it, so we thought we’d spend a few minutes getting to know her better. How does she get her ideas? How long does it take to transform The Village into a witchy wonderland? What is her advice for creating a happy Halloween scene? We asked her all this and more. Let’s get to it!

Q&A with Keri Taylor 

Q. With 41 witches this year, setting up these displays must require a magical wand or potion or something. How do you do it all?

A. I don’t do it alone. I’ve had incredible help over the years. This year, my sister has stepped in to help make it all happen. It’s fun working with her. She’s actually given each of our green gals a name, which makes me laugh.

 

Q. A name, you say? Tell us more!

A. Well, one that comes to mind is Pamela, or beautiful beach beauty. If you’re old enough to remember the show Bay Watch, you’ll get it.

 

Q. How long does it take you two to set everything up?

A. Fortunately, it isn’t just the two of us. We have a great maintenance team here at The Village, and they help with the heavy lifting. Together, we can get the displays up in about two weeks.

Q. Much work must go into getting the witches ready for their big reveal each year. What does that look like?

A. We actually start nearly nine months before WitchFest each year. During the winter months, we are doing our witch upkeep – changing out motors, making repairs, and other general maintenance. This is also when we start thinking about new display ideas and what we might want to do. In the late spring/early summer, we start working on this dipslays and the finer details. We pull every witch out, clean them up, and update their clothing. Sometimes, this involves replacing limbs and touching up weather-damaged paint.

 

Q. Replace limbs! You sound like a witch doctor. Tell us more.

A. Actually, this was my first year building an entire witch. I’ve always worked with witches that past team members have built. This year, I carved two new witches out of Styrofoam. It was hard, and they aren’t my best work, but I’m okay with them as my first ones. Plus, I learned a lot for next time.

 

Q. That sounds like a lot of work. What do you suggest if someone wants witches in their yard?

A. Styrofoam is a smart choice if you want your witch up high. You need to keep them light enough that you can lift them up. Other materials we use are PVC piping, welded metal, and chicken wire, but these things are heavy, so they aren’t great for a witch flying through your trees.

 

If you want a witch in motion, a motor is helpful. Our hula-hoop witch is a favorite at The Village, and she runs on a motor. (Shhh… don’t tell the kiddos! We wouldn’t want to ruin the magic.) If you have motorized displays, you’ll want to keep them in a covered area like a covered porch so they don’t get ruined in the fall weather.

 

 

Q. How do you come up with your display ideas?

A. Some of our ideas are inspired by trends. Right now, for example, people love pickleball, so it only made sense that our witches would love the game too.

Sometimes we want to keep the displays focused on traditional witch things – cauldrons, bats, moss, etc. Sometimes we like to do what people do – pickleball, painting, fishing, etc. There’s a balance of the traditional and the everyday.

Some of our ideas just come from the things we enjoy. This year, we have a new golf display. I love to golf, and Joe Long, Gardner Village co-owner, is a big golfer, as well as our property manager, Dave Koncar. We were chatting one day and he said, “We should do a golfing witch.”

 

Fun fact: Her large shoes are actually my dad’s size-14 golfing shoes.

 

Q. That brings up a great question, Keri. How do you get all of your witchy props?

A. When I’m not raiding my dad’s closet? ;) Well, much of what we’ve had has been donated by employees and friends of The Village. Lucinda the Witch is one of our best contributors. Obviously, she has access to witchy must-haves, being a witch herself. She’s given so much over the years. Her most recent contribution was this tandem bicycle.

 

And current and past employees have donated little trinkets over the years that can be found in the displays.

For the clothing, we check local thrift stores and sew much of it ourselves. My sister sews a lot of it.

Q. How many new displays do you do each year?

A. We typically introduce two to three new displays each year. We really want to find the right balance when we change up displays, as there are some that people look for year after year. On the other hand, some guests want to see new ones with each visit. We also update most of the displays every year. This is a happy medium. It let’s us introduce new surprises while keeping the classics.

Q. How do you know which displays to change up?

A. That’s always hard. We have some classics that we don’t change. They’re the ones that have been here for 13 or 14 years. Others are ones we rotate more often. Sometimes it depends on the display we want to create and what former display lends itself best to that. The pickleball witches were once baseball players, and the way their bodies were created worked really well in a pickleball setting.

 

I often ask my eight-year-old niece for feedback a lot. I love seeing what we do through a child’s eyes and having that perspective. I ask her about the elves, too. She’s a big help. We were going to do an elf with a dunce cap once and she didn’t even know what that was, so we knew to scrap that idea.

 

Q. Which displays are the classics?

A. There are many, but the oldest are probably the cauldron witches and Sit a Spell. They’ve been here as long as I can remember.

 

Q. Is there a favorite witch?

A. I’ve actually wondered about that many times. In fact, I often ask guests as they’re walking around, looking at them. I love to hear their feedback and get their ideas. From what I’ve gathered, the Splat witch who crashed into the silo seems to be our most popular.

Q. We love your fun fact about your dad’s golf shoes. Any other little Easter eggs (Halloween eggs?) you can offer?

A. A long time ago, an employee’s son did a funny recording for us. It had snoring, farts, and muttering. We finally got it worked into the displays. If you visit our sleeping witch, you’ll hear this musical masterpiece, but you have to listen carefully. It isn’t very loud. Our gassy gal is sawing logs outside of Seven Gables Mercantile.

Q. You have a neat job, Keri. Hard, but fun! What is your favorite part of your work?

A. I love seeing families enjoying the displays throughout the year. From the witches to the elves to the fairies, it’s a joy sharing some whimsy with guests of all ages. I also like being outside. On any given day, I can come home with paint, glue, and dirt on me. I don’t like being dirty all the time, but it’s worth it to be doing something creative that I enjoy. Plus, I really work for the nicest people you'll ever meet. Joe and Angie and everyone at Gardner Village... they listen, they care, and they make this a special place to be! 

 

Wow! So much goes into transforming Gardner Village into a witchy wonderland each year. Thanks for all you do, Keri and team! Now, it’s time for a question for YOU! What is your favorite witch display? Tell us on Instagram. Keri would love to read your feedback. If you have an idea for a future display, you can share that too. You never know, Keri might wave her magical wand and make your witchy dreams a reality. 

Learn more about WitchFest and all there is to see and do here. 




Labels: witchfest, wtich scavenger hunt, free family fun, things to do in utah in the fall, family tradition, halloween decorating ideas