Halloween Parade
About the 2022 Halloween Parade
Event Summary:
5:45-7:30
Costumes encouraged.
Bring provided luminaria bag for Parade
Pumpkin carving demo by master carver Jonathan Barwood
Music with gym open for visiting and Digital Photo Booth
Optional: Loan us a carved pumpkin
Volunteers needed!
Details follow.
Time and Route:
October 28th, from 5:45-7:30pm, with parade route pick-up starting at 7:15. Given the likelihood of rain, the route will be a shorter version that is mostly in the school's covered areas.
Parade Features:
The parade will feature:
A luminaria walk (a route lined with luminarias: white paper bags with light sources inside).
A jack-o'-lantern display, featuring jack-o'-lanterns carved by you!
Trick or Treat Candy for attending kids at the end
Pumpkin Carving Demonstration:
We will be joined by Master Pumpkin Carver Jonathan Barwood, who will do a live carving demo! Jonathan was featured on Season 4 of Food Network's Halloween Wars. You can check out his amazing work here: barwoodpumpkin.com. The pumpkin he finishes carving will be raffled off to one lucky family!
Digital Photo Booth:
The gym will be open this year for a dry place to visit-- and a Digital Photo Booth for capturing your costumes! It's a great opportunity to have photos taken for free with props, and they will be formatted for immediate posting to social media sites or email to family and friends . There will also be a Candy Count Guessing Contest and a table for decorating Halloween bags.
Best Time to Attend:
Sunset will be right around 6, so it will be light when the event starts at 5:45 but fairly dark by around 6:30. Families with kids who may not like the walk in the dark are encouraged to attend early, while there is still some light. Families with kids who want to experience the luminaria walk are encouraged to wait until dark, when the luminaria and jack-o'-lanterns look best.
Student Luminarias:
Students are invited to make and bring their own decorated luminaria to display as they walk the parade route. The PTC will provide white paper bags with handles that will be distributed to all students at school on Thursday the 26th. Interested students can decorate their bags, add a small battery-powered light (like a small flashlight, LED candle, or phone), and bring it with them for the parade. See photo at left for best design placement on the bag. At the end of the parade, the bag will double as a candy collection bag. (Score!)
Jack-o'-lanterns:
Weather permitting, the parade route will go on the set of benches in the forest area, and we'd love to fill them with carved or painted pumpkins. If you're interested in providing one or more for display, please bring them to the school that day.
You can drop them off on the 28th at school (by the gym), either during the normal afternoon pick up time or between 4 and 5pm.
You can pick up your pumpkin from the display at 7:30 or wait for them to be transported back to the gym, which should be by 8pm. We will leave any unclaimed pumpkins there by the gym.
For lighting your jack-o'-lantern, please provide a small battery-powered light source like an LED candle that be turned on by a volunteer at dusk and left on until 7:30.
Costumes & Treats:
Costumes are encouraged but definitely not required. Since this is a family event that will include small children, we ask that participants not use scary costume masks, scary face paint, or toy weapons. All students will bag some candy at the end of the parade, and there will also be treats in the gym.
Safety:
We want this event to be safe and fun for all attendees:
Please, no solo kids: all children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Please keep moving along the route if pausing will cause a backup.
Volunteering:
The event will need many hands to set it up and break it down in a short stretch of time. If you are interested in volunteering and are already set up in the volunteer system, please log into MyImpactPage and check out the tasks/shifts there. The event is called "Halloween Parade."
We hope to see you at the parade!