BORDENTOWN CITY – It might be time to get a bed sheet and a pair of scissors ready if you haven’t found the perfect Halloween costume yet, because the annual Halloween parade is only a little more than a week away.
By:Vanessa S. Holt
BORDENTOWN CITY – It might be time to get a bed sheet and a pair of scissors ready if you haven’t found the perfect Halloween costume yet, because the annual Halloween parade is only a little more than a week away.
Masqueraders in creative, frightening and beautiful costumes are one of the parade’s most popular features, and anyone who can put on a witch hat or plastic fangs can participate.
The Halloween parade sponsored by Consolidated Fire Association has been an annual Bordentown tradition for 31 years.
"We had the parade when I was a kid; then it was discontinued," said Steve McGowan, co-chairman of the event. "The firehouse picked it up 31 years ago as a show of appreciation to the community for support when we built the new firehouse."
A past chief of Consolidated Fire Association, Mr. McGowan said the parade was held at night until about 25 years ago, when Consolidated began holding it on Sunday afternoons, giving more people a chance to participate. This year’s parade is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 29.
Betty Ann and Paul Castonguay will be parade marshals this year. They were chosen for their years of community service, said Mr. McGowan.
Floats and marching units this year include Irene Parker Dance Studio, Diggers Tree Service, R. Blessing, Bordentown Elks, St. Mary’s School, Robbinsville Elks, Miss Cranberry and Main Street businesses, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, antique cars, Maxine Brimmer Re/Max and the Bordentown Ballet Company.
Bands marching in the parade include units from around New Jersey and from as far away as Maryland. The Bordentown Regional High School band, Florence High School Band, Baltimore Westsiders Drum and Bugle, Hibernian Bagpipe Band, Riverside String Band, Uptown String Band, Tall Cedar Clowns and Dr. R. Band are scheduled to march this year.
Masqueraders will congregate at 1 p.m. in front of St. Mary’s School at Second and Elizabeth streets, where judging will take place between 1 and 1:45 p.m.
Prizes will be awarded for most original, scariest and funniest costumes in both child and adult categories, best group, best family costume and special judges awards. Judging will take place before the parade this year, said Mr. McGowan, because kids often are tired after walking the parade route.
To participate in the costume contest, masqueraders can simply show up at 1 p.m., he said. About $600 in cash prizes are awarded to the winners of the costume contest. Cash prizes have proved to be the most popular awards in the contest, he said, especially among children.
Floats will be judged at a reviewing stand in front of the former Poor Clare’s monastery on Crosswicks Street.
Floats are made by the individual organizations or families sponsoring them, said Mr. McGowan, a veteran float-maker himself.
"I can make a float in a half-hour," he said, using easy-to-find materials like cornstalks and hay.
Municipal governments of Bordentown City, Bordentown Township and Fieldsboro Borough, local businesses and residents help to finance the Halloween parade through donations, said Mr. McGowan. The general public will have the opportunity to make donations during the parade.
The cost of putting on the parade is about $6,000, said Mr. McGowan, most of which goes toward the cost of the various marching bands.
The parade lineup begins at Spring and Elizabeth streets at 1 p.m.
The parade route continues from Elizabeth to Second Street, to Park Street onto Farnsworth Avenue, then to Union Street, Crosswicks Street and Lafayette Street, and ending back on Elizabeth Street.
The annual Bordentown Halloween parade will begin at 2 p.m. Oct. 29. The rain date is Nov. 5 at 2 p.m.