The streets of Main Street filled with trick-or-treaters who were out getting a scare early in the evening then participating in a parade the town hosted by the Hope Fire Company on Thursday
by Amy Batista, Special Writer
ALLENTOWN – The streets of Main Street filled with trick-or-treaters who were out getting a scare early in the evening then participating in a parade the town hosted by the Hope Fire Company on Thursday night.
”We are deeply appreciative of the efforts of the volunteers at Hope Fire Company that organize this local tradition,” said Mayor Stuart Fierstein of the parade in an email.
”Each successive year participation grows,” Mayor Fierstein said of the parade that was estimated to have approximately 1,000 attendees.
The parade started at 6 p.m. at Allentown Auto Body by Broad Street and traveled down Main Street through then turned left onto High Street where it came to an end at the lower level teacher parking lot at the Newell Elementary School.
The Allentown Police Department lead the parade followed by Allentown High School Marching Band, playing Halloween-themed songs like “Thriller.”
Following the parade, the band also performed afterwards at the school while participants entered into the costume contest.
”We have been doing it for over 50 years,” said Alex Nebbia, vice president of Hope Fire Company, in an email. “I’ve lived in the community of Allentown/Upper Freehold for a little over 10 years and every year that I have been attending this parade, the people that get involved with decorating their houses and the people that walk in the parade with their kids, the crowd gets bigger and bigger and that’s what we love to see.”
The parade was followed by a costume contest in the parking lot.
The department was handing out goodie bags filled with candy treats to participants.
Mayor Fierstein said he was “most grateful” that the weather held out making it a nice evening for the trick-or-treaters and the parade.
Mahon and Sandra Stevens, of North Main Street, had decorated their house just for the occasion with spooky music, coffins, tombstones, skeletons and an electric chair that daring guests could sit in and try out.
The yard and house are only set up for a one day showing and that is Halloween.
”You’ve got to come Halloween to see it,” Mr. Stevens said.
Mr. Stevens said he has been doing this special treat for trick-or-treaters for at least the past 10 years and likes to “see the kids reactions.”
”That was really scary,” said Stephanie Sonbaty, 14, of Allentown, who was trick-or-treating with a group of friends and tried out the electric chair.
”It’s the scariest house so far,” Stephanie added.
”We probably get average an average of about a 1, 000 kids,” Mr. Stevens said, adding he busy around 1,400 pieces of candy to hand out.
Brooke Gomba, of Allentown, was out trick-or-treating and participated in the parade with her husband, Steve Gomba, president and deputy chief of Hope Fire Company, and son, Aaron Gomba, 4, who was in a wagon, which served as mini-version of a homemade fire truck his dad drives.
”We come down to help with it,” Ms. Gomba said, adding she is a member of the Ladies Auxiliary.
According to Ms. Gomba, the highlight of the parade is “seeing the kids having fun and enjoying themselves.”
The Lacroix family: Lisa, Carl, daughter Brielle, 10, Andrew, 10, and Dylan 6, were the grand prize winners of the Halloween contest with their family members each dressing up as a character from the Disney Movie “Up.”
Mrs. Lacroix made the costumes herself, saying it took “a lot of work.” She said she worked about the last 48 hours straight to complete the costumes of characters from the film.”We love it,” she said. “We have been doing it for ten years since they were babies.”
According to Mrs. Lacroix, she also set up a candy donation, Grateful Ghosts and Goblins, along Main Street.
”We were able to donate over 200 pounds of candy to the folks on Main Street,” she said, adding that donations came from the town and were distributed to people who requested the help by the local Boy Scouts.
Mr. Lacroix said the effort is a way to “thank the people on Main Street for everything they do” and to help with the costs for those who spend hundreds of dollars on candy.
”We love to see the community members enjoying the festivities and enjoying the decorations in town,” Mr. Nebbia said.
Jeanne Nelson, of Allentown, was dressed as a scarecrow in honor of the Harvest Festival that is held in the town.
”It’s a fun family event every year,” said Ms. Nelson. “I love that Allentown does this every year.”
Her daughter Shelby, 10, said the highlight of the night was getting all the candy.
”The volunteer spirit of this undertaking, through the management of Jennifer Wikoff, continues to make Allentown a great place to live, a great place to raise your children and a great community,” Mayor Fierstein said.
”We want to send a special thank you out to the Allentown Police Department for their help with this parade every year as well as the HFC Fire Police for their help with the traffic in town,” Mr. Nebbia said. “We would also like to give many thanks to the businesses in town and all of our community members for keeping the tradition alive. We would not be able to do this without all of their help and support.”

