On Thursday, Oct. 29, the city of West Chester took a dark, spooky turn with its annual Halloween Parade.
Even before the event began, ghosts and ghouls, along with superheroes and princesses, gathered on the streets with their parents to enjoy the parade. No one seemed to mind the rain of the previous day, and the only major change caused by it was the absence of West Chester University’s marching band.
According to computer science student Brittany Piwowarski, who also plays the saxophone, there was a large portion of the band that had a concert going on at the same time as the scheduled rain date.
Piwowarski thought it was a shame since she really enjoyed watching the parade and seeing the costumes worn by everyone.
Even without the marching band, however, plenty of families and students lined both Market and Gay Street to watch the festivities.
The parade kicked off promptly at 7 p.m., with WCHE 1520 AM Radio general manager Bill Mason and Heidi Karpa announcing each division and all the individual groups that marched throughout the evening.
According to Karpa, they definitely favored the puppies of the ASPCA, but enjoyed the entire parade as a whole.
The event had marching bands from local high schools, including West Chester East High School and Henderson High School, along with smaller groups of musicians, cars with advertisements and decorations, small children and adults in costumes, and the occasional group with puppies.
For those simply watching, there were a wide variety of costumes among children and adults of all ages. Not everyone stayed for the full hour and a half of the parade, but there seemed to be something for everyone.
One girl in a Pikachu costume believed that the best part of the event had to be the candy, while a man dressed as the Left Shark felt that the various bands were a little more interesting.
There were a few complaints about the event, though.
One woman that was in the parade itself, dressed in a pony costume, mentioned that she would never have known about it at all if not for her friends inviting her to join in on their costumed group. She hadn’t heard much of anything about the parade prior to that, so she thought it would be better if it was advertised a little more.
In spite of any shortcomings, the parade served to bring the West Chester community closer together and the general consensus was a successful and fun event. Hopefully, next year’s parade will have less rain.
Alex DiPeri is a second-year student majoring in English writing. They can be reached at AD831966@wcupa.edu.