The Sanderson sisters from Disney’s Hocus Pocus have come together after 27 years to raise funds for the New York Restoration Project through a one-time-only virtual broadcast.
NYRP holds an annual invite-only “Hulaween” benefit to raise funds for the non-profit organization.
Because of the ongoing pandemic, this year’s benefit, “In Search of the Sanderson Sisters, A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover” allowed the public to participate in the experience through a virtual broadcast featuring the Sanderson witches from Hocus Pocus and other special guests.
George Lopez, Meryl Streep, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Stamos, and others told the history of the Sanderson sisters and fictional encounters with them.
There were musical performances from Adam Lambert, Todrick Hall, Jennifer Hudson and Mariah Carey, and a special performance by the Sanderson sisters, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker singing their rendition of “I Put A Spell On You” from the original film.
The event was an hour-long documentary-like feature on the Sanderson sisters with infomercials about NYRP.
Midler, who plays the main witch Winifred in Hocus Pocus, founded the non-profit organization in 1995.
Before 1995, many of the parks across New York City were illegal dumping grounds with litter and years of neglect. When Midler returned from Hollywood to her hometown of NYC, she made an effort to gather volunteers and work with them to rebuild “the greatest city” into a more livable environment.
NYRP’s overall mission is to bring back nature to the urban concrete jungle that is NYC.
Today, with the help from the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, NYRP has rejuvenated 52 community gardens, restored the four major parks in New York City, and has planted over 1 million trees.
Hocus Pocus is a theatrical, PG-horror comedy with witches, singing, zombies, and more. It follows the tale of a trio of witches famously known as the Sanderson sisters in Salem, Massachusetts. After 300 years of being executed for practicing dark magic, the witches were brought back on Halloween night by a young boy named Max. Max, along with his younger sister, his girlfriend, and an immortal 300-year old talking cat must protect the city from the witches.
The film was originally a flop critically and commercially upon its first release in the summer of 1993. It began to pick up attraction after being aired seasonally on the Disney channels for Halloween. It is now one of the most talked-about and arguably one of the best generational Halloween films.
Earlier this month, Hocus Pocus was re-released on the big screen and was leading in the box office charts ahead of new releases such as The New Mutants.
All proceeds from the benefit’s ticket sales, merchandise, and donations go towards NYRP.
For more information and ways to help the organization, visit www.nyrp.org or follow @NYRP across most social media platforms.