After going a few years without the annual Halloween Parade, Moorestown residents TinaMarie Brigante and Annette McGuire have combined their efforts to bring the parade back to the town. With the help of the Moorestown Business Association, Moorestown will once again be able to march down Main Street and celebrate the candy- and costume-filled holiday.
Prior to the resurgence of the Halloween Parade, the annual march was cancelled due its inability to benefit local businesses and encompass the Moorestown residents. However, with a route change and the leadership of Brigante and McGuire, the Halloween Parade has changed for the better.
“People really wanted it to come back,” said McGuire. “I am on the board of the Moorestown Business Association as well, and we used to put it on. It used to go up to Stoke’s Hill and it really wasn’t helping the businesses on Main Street. The MBA then decided it wasn’t a part of its function anymore, which is to support local businesses. That’s why they canceled it. Now that we are changing it, the MBA agreed to fund us as long as we had the parade route benefit the businesses of Main Street.”
“I wanted to get involved with this because my favorite holiday is Halloween,” said Brigante. “When I started doing my homework on the parade, I wanted to go all out, but I also wanted to take the route of the Christmas Parade since that’s been so successful.“
This year’s Halloween Parade will start at Chester and Main, then go to Church and Main and end back around the community house, the “nucleus” of the town. The parade will feature carved pumpkins, music, floats, a costume contest, a house decorating contest and even trick-or-treating at the local restaurants. While planning for the event has not been finalized just yet, Brigante and McGuire are already taking the proper steps to make sure the event is a success.
“The first thing we did when we go the OK was get our band permits and our police permits almost two months ago,” said Brigante. “We had to go down to the council to talk about the road closing. There’s a procedure that they have to do with the state so they wanted to do it all at one time, but they were very enthusiastic about the idea.”
“Last year, there were people trying to have their own mini parades through the neighborhood, but they couldn’t pull it off because of the road closing,” said McGuire. I don’t know how long the parade was in effect before we took over it, but a lot of people who were born and raised here now have their own kids. I know they want to do the tradition with their own kids.”
For those looking for more information on the Halloween Parade or how to become a sponsor, residents and businesses can go to MoorestownHalloween.com or contact Brigante at tmbrigante@gmail.com. Residents will also be able to register on the website as the parade gets closer.
