‘What are those weirdos doing?’: Event casts magical spell on CBD

If you saw wizards and witches running through the streets of Toowoomba’s CBD at the weekend, your eyes were not playing tricks on you. See what all the magic and mystery was about here.

Dozens entered the magical realm of sorcery and spells on Saturday as part of a themed murder mystery and scavenger hunt by Clued Upp Games.

Toowoomba woman Amber Willmot and her sister rallied up the troops to take part in the family-friendly activity and were joined by their husbands, seven children and parents.

While most of the competitors sourced black capes with spider webs to wear on the day, Ms Willmot’s three-year-old son Peyton dressed up as the boy who lived – Harry Potter.

Primrose (left) and Amber Willmot play Witchcraft and Wizardy CluedUpp game in the Toowoomba CBD. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“My daughter Primrose is only nine months old so I got her a cat costume to wear so it was like she was the witch’s cat,” she said.

“We were really lucky the event happened just after Halloween because I was able to source a lot of the costumes locally.”

Working to crack codes and solve magical puzzles, it took the group of 13 about four hours to complete the course, with Ms Willmot now ready to hang up her wicked witch’s hat.

Dressed for fun are (from left) Liobhan Boyle, Sinead Boyle, Peyton Willmot, baby Primrose Willmot, Amber Willmot and Tayghan Boyle to play the Witchcraft and Wizardy CluedUpp game in the Toowoomba CBD. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“We found out the fastest teams won prizes so we started off very competitive, but after a few challenges, we quickly realised we weren’t very good at it,” she said.

“It was such a fun activity to do as a family and it was suited to all ages … our oldest group member is in their 60s and our youngest is nine months old.”

While the day was filled with many unforgettable moments, the highlight for the group was a challenge which required them to spin around in circles while dressed in costume – an activity which led to many comments from onlookers.

“I’m sure (the public) were all wondering ‘what are those weirdos were doing?’,” Ms Willmot said.