On October 7, 2025, six women came to the first practice of a group that didn't have much more than a name and a stack of brooms. Cheryl Hahn had the idea, her friend Jennifer Newby signed on, and they found a place to practice. A week later the six had become ten, and they took part in an Ocean View Witch Walk that ended with a broom dance at a spot Newby named "Greenie's Graveyard."
That group is the OV Sea Hags. On Saturday, October 17, 2026, they lead the free "Ocean View Witch Walk: 250 Years of Legends and Lore" at Ocean View Beach Park, and the event is on the City of Norfolk's official Norfolk250 calendar. It took the troupe about a year to get from a first practice to a city-listed event. The walk lands on the stretch of Ocean View's beachfront that has changed the most in recent years, and in the part of the year when the park's official schedule has the least going on.
The Lot Under the Joke
The name "Greenie's Graveyard" works because everyone in Ocean View remembers what used to be there. The Greenies dive bar was torn down as part of a $2.5 million, multi-year renovation of Ocean View Beach Park. That project added green space, shower and foot-wash stations, benches and a food truck circle.
The site has kept changing since then. Here's how the last two years have gone on that piece of shoreline:
- May 2025: A large beach ramp goes up at Ocean View Beach Park. It was built partly so emergency vehicles could reach the sand.
- October 2025: Crews from Sandbridge Marine take out most of the $430,000 structure but leave the stairway. A city spokesperson says there are no immediate plans to replace the ramp.
- That same October: The Sea Hags hold their first practice and end their first walk on the old Greenies site.
- March 2026: The Virginian-Pilot reports that Norfolk plans to spend $8.7 million over the next two fiscal years on offshore breakwaters at Toler Place and Ocean View Beach Park.
- June 2026: Norfolk Festevents announces the park's summer season and says the park "is undergoing exciting new enhancements."
Through all of it, the park stayed open as a place to gather, and the city kept putting money into it. A troupe that started out dancing on a former bar lot now opens its Norfolk250 walk at the park's official address, 100 W. Ocean View Ave.
The Quiet Months on the Park's Calendar
Norfolk Festevents runs a full summer at Ocean View Beach Park. Big Bands on the Bay ran Sunday evenings from May 24 through July 5, and Friday-night concerts with food trucks filled July and August. After the Labor Day fireworks, the next date on Festevents' published 2026 schedule is in December.
| Date | What's happening on Ocean View's beachfront |
|---|---|
| Saturday, Sept. 5 | Labor Day Celebration & Fireworks with Brasswind, 6 to 9:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Oct. 17 | Ocean View Witch Walk with the OV Sea Hags, 6 p.m., free |
| Around Thanksgiving | Ocean View Fishing Pier expected to close for the season, weather permitting |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | Holiday Celebration & Tree Lighting |
That leaves three months between the last summer fireworks and the tree lighting, and the Witch Walk is the one event in that gap with a city listing. Festevents didn't create it. A volunteer troupe from the neighborhood did.
What the Walk Actually Covers
The walk isn't a costume parade with history added on top. The city's listing describes a family-friendly event built around "theatrical historical storytelling checkpoints," with music and dance between stops. The listing also gives the timing:
"As twilight falls along the boardwalk, the journey will explore legendary moments from our shoreline's past."
The checkpoints follow Ocean View's own history, in this order:
- The hurricane that formed Willoughby Spit.
- The 1776 escape of enslaved people from Willoughby Plantation.
- The Ocean View Railroad resort era.
- World War II history at the Nansemond Hotel.
- The cultural legacy of Seaview Beach.
All five stories happened along this shoreline, and they're told on the same boardwalk. Guests are invited to come in witch attire or period costumes that reflect Ocean View's 250-year history. The night ends with the Sea Hags' German Witch Broom Dance.
How Six Brooms Became a Norfolk250 Event
The broom dance comes from Germany. Hahn's idea was based on the Wolfshäger Hexenbrut broom-dance tradition, and the Sea Hags say they are now the first and only Coastal Virginia group officially recognized as an affiliate of the original Wolfshäger Hexenbrut.
The troupe describes itself as an amateur performance group of women who get together to dance and laugh. In its first year it performed at community events across Coastal Virginia, supporting local businesses, charities and community causes. It also takes bookings for fundraisers, parades, and business and private events.
The Halloween program followed a pattern that carried into 2026. On October 31, 2025, the Sea Hags held a public walk with a broom dance, audience participation and a promenade, plus optional social stops at Mudita Café and De Rican Chef. In the spring they held an Earth Day "Fashion Trashion Witch Walk" at AJ Gator's Ocean View, with upcycled costumes and choreographed dancing. Each event happened at an Ocean View business or public spot, and each one helped build up to the October walk.
Filling Out a Fall Evening
The Witch Walk starts at 6 p.m. on a Saturday, so it's easy to make a full evening of it. Here's what's open along the water this fall.
Bring the dog. Leashed dogs are allowed on Norfolk's beaches from Labor Day through Memorial Day, so the walk falls inside dog season. Free parking is available at Community Beach Park, Ocean View Beach Park and Sarah Constant Beach Park.
Fish first. Striped bass season picks up as the Chesapeake Bay cools in the fall. VisitNorfolk's September 2026 fall guide says the Ocean View Fishing Pier and its tackle shop will stay open until around Thanksgiving, or as long as the weather allows. The pier is at 400 W. Ocean View Ave., a short walk west of the park, and its restaurant opens daily at 11 a.m. Fishing hours change with the season, and the pier's own site says to call for current hours.
Eat on the water. The same guide lists the Ocean View Fishing Pier Restaurant, Longboards, Captain Groovy's Grill and Raw Bar, and Stony's Dockside Bar and Grill for seafood. It singles out she crab soup as the dish for a chilly evening.
Or get pizza. Sour Street Pizza started as a sourdough pizza food truck during COVID. It opened its storefront at 4035 E. Ocean View Ave. in January 2025 and serves wood-fired sourdough pies. VisitNorfolk still listed it as an Ocean View favorite in September 2026.
Get something warm. COVA Brewing Co. pours coffee with house-made fall syrups, along with beer, wine, seltzers and ciders on tap. VisitNorfolk says its pumpkin spiced latte ale is the one to try.
After the Witch Walk, the Holiday Celebration & Tree Lighting on Sunday, December 6, brings Festevents back to the park. Until then, the October slot belongs to the Sea Hags, starting from the same patch of sand where they danced their first broom dance a year ago.
If family or friends are coming to town for the Witch Walk and want a furnished place to stay near the bay, or if you own a home near the water and wonder how it would do as a fall short-stay rental, Coco Hanauer can help with both. Let's Connect.
