Pink Witches Night Out takes over Broadway tomorrow, Friday, October 23, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. It's free to attend, and it's a week later than first planned. Founder Meg Olenowski moved it from October 16 after talking with the Denville Police Department and the Department of Public Works. The Citizen reported her announcement, which said the extra eight days would make the event "bigger and better than ever."
That was the second weather delay this fall. A late-September nor'easter moved the foundation's Pink Witches 5K from September 27 to Sunday, October 4. The race results on RunSignup list 674 finishers. Two reschedules didn't shrink either event, and the reason goes back to how the night began. Pink Witches was a shopping night before it was a street event, and Broadway's shops are still what carry it.
One Store, 75 People, About $400
Kathy Olenowski owned Surprises in Store, a popular gift shop in downtown Denville. Her daughter Meg took over the business and kept hearing customers talk about her mother. In October 2012, Meg held a shopping night to raise money for a local family. That night became the first Pink Witches Night Out.
Here's how it grew, using figures from TAPinto Denville's October 14 profile and The Citizen's coverage:
- 2012: One store, about 75 people, and roughly $400 raised.
- 2013: The event went townwide, with 10 to 15 businesses taking part.
- 2023: The Downtown Denville business improvement district presented it as an official downtown event and opened the month with a ribbon-cutting. Co-chairs Meg Olenowski and Jen Fox joined BID board members for it.
- 2025: More than 11,000 people came, and the night raised $85,000 for that year's beneficiary.
Surprises in Store was at 25 Broadway, so the first Pink Witches night took place a short walk from where the vendor village sets up now.
Sources give different totals for the event's history. The Kathy Olenowski Foundation says the committee has raised over $200,000 for local women going through cancer treatment. The Citizen's preview puts it at more than $285,000. Either way, a night that raised about $400 in 2012 raised $85,000 in 2025 alone.
Why the Storefronts Are the Engine
According to TAPinto, Olenowski said the growth came mostly in the last three or four years and gave the credit to Main Street. "It's been an organic growth. It's really because the Denville businesses have gotten behind it," she said, naming the business improvement district and the township administration as well.
How the event is set up reflects that. Denville Now reports that downtown Denville businesses can join as vendors at no cost. Outside vendors pay for a 10-by-10-foot space in the vendor village, and nonprofits get a discount. So the businesses already on Broadway take part for free, and outside vendors pay for space next to them.
The money stays local too. The foundation takes open nominations, and its board votes to pick each year's beneficiary, who receives all the proceeds from the event and the foundation's other fundraisers. TAPinto reports that Olenowski hopes to choose more than one family a year as the event grows. She also told the outlet that the board doesn't limit help to one kind of diagnosis: "to us, cancer is cancer."
TAPinto also quoted her on who makes the night possible:
"We just have really kind-hearted and generous people who open businesses in Downtown Denville. The community comes out and they give."
Friday on Broadway, the Practical Part
The Citizen's preview describes local shopping and dining, food trucks, vendors, music and activities across downtown, with attendees dressed in pink and witch-inspired outfits. A few details to know before you go:
- Hours and cost: 5:30 to 10 p.m. on Broadway. Admission is free.
- Swag bags: $30, picked up at the event between 5:30 and 8 p.m. If you bought one, plan to get there early.
- Already gone: As of September 30, the $24 early-bird drink tickets, the $125 VIP lounge package for guests 21 and over, and every vendor tier were listed as sold out.
- Merchandise: Sold at the event and online at shoppinkwitches.com.
- Updates: The organizers said they would email swag bag buyers, vendors and VIPs about the date change. For last-minute news, check Instagram at @pinkwitchesnightout.
- Donating from home: The foundation takes donations through its Give Lively page.
The foundation's site still shows the old October 16 date in a few places. The banner at the top of the homepage has the current date, October 23.
Where to Sit Down Before or After
If shopping nights are what built this event, dinner on Broadway is part of joining in. These spots are all on Broadway and appear in Denville Now's restaurant guide, last updated October 3, 2026:
- Denville Diner, 17 Broadway
- Sweet Expressions by Geri, a bakery and sweet shop at 26 Broadway
- Sergio and Co. Italian Specialties, 28 Broadway
- Uncle Momo, 45 Broadway, Suite 2
- Diamond Spring Brewing Company, 50 Broadway
- Thatcher McGhee's, the Irish pub at 53 Broadway
- Denville Seafood and Codmothers Cafe, 61 Broadway
Some of the storefronts are changing hands. At the far end of the street, Tony Boy's Sandwich House is still marked "coming soon" at 2 Broadway, and Denville Now says it will update its story once an opening date is announced. Around the corner, Denville Pizzeria & Restaurant at 20 Diamond Spring Road changed hands after closing on August 29. The pizzeria had been family-owned since 1976, when Giovanni Battista Gambino and Gaetano Di Maggio opened it. The Daily Record reported that new owners Chris and Kaitlyn Pietrowicz will renovate it and reopen it as Boomer's Pizza & Provisions. They describe it as "an elevated neighborhood pizzeria" with seasonal menus. The couple said they want a place "where you can come for a weeknight dinner, bring a bottle of wine on a Friday, celebrate something, or grab a couple of pies to bring home." No reopening date had been reported as of the Daily Record story.
The Same Model Moves to a Parking Lot
Once the pink comes down, the same kind of local makers selling to their neighbors shows up two blocks away. The Denville Arts Council is holding two holiday Makers' Markets in the Bloomfield Avenue parking lot at 51 Bloomfield Ave., next to the Sunday Farmers' Market:
- Sunday, November 1: 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain date November 8.
- Sunday, November 15: 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain date November 22.
Details are on the Arts Council's Makers' Market page. The Farmers' Market's regular Sunday season runs through November 22, and then it moves to its winter schedule, according to Denville Now's market guide.
The Denville Public Library at 121 Diamond Spring Road covers the days between Friday's event and Halloween:
- Tuesday, October 27, 7 to 8 p.m.: "The Haunted History of New Jersey," a free virtual talk with historian Greg Caggiano. The Zoom link goes to registrants.
- Friday, October 30, 1 to 3 p.m.: Friday Films shows "The Addams Family."
- Friday, October 30: Teen Night Spooky Bingo, rescheduled to this date. Check the library's site for the time.
As of October 10, Denville Township hadn't posted official trick-or-treat hours for Saturday, October 31. Check the township website before planning your route. If you have pets, the Health Department's walk-in rabies clinic is Saturday, November 14, from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Recycling Center, 140 Morris Ave.
If tomorrow night has you thinking about your own place in this town and what your home on these streets is worth, I'd love to help you find out. Kimberly Brechka can put together a free home valuation, so you get the numbers while you enjoy the season.
