By:Brian Shappell
Main Street was lined Tuesday with hippies and clowns, princesses and superheros and cowgirls and ninjas.
There also were plenty of parents with enough flashing cameras to make members of the paparazzi envious.
Students were all smiles this week during the annual Main Street Halloween Parade run by the Cranbury School. Students in kindergarten through the fifth grade marched the parade route from the gymnasium, up Schoolhouse Lane,up Main Street and back again, where they enjoyeda Halloween party run by their teachers and classroom mothers.
Students weren’t the only ones smiling on Main Street.
“I think it’s a great event; it’s a lot of fun for the adults,” said Loida Wilson, mother of first-grader Elliot, who dressed up as a soldier.
“He’s ready to apply to West Point,” Ms. Wilson joked.
Another parent, Mary Jean Mussiarone, whose first-grade daughter, Molly, dressed up as Snow White, said she particularly enjoyed those costumes that showed a little more effort than just going to a costume shop.
“The fun thing is to see the homemade costumes, especially when you can tell a little bit of the costume was done by the children,” Ms. Mussiarone.
Parents were not the only parade attendees. Extended family members and residents without children marching also lined up to see the range of disguises.
“It’s great that the town does this because it’s more than just a school and parent thing,” said Mary Beth Graydon, whose third-grade son, Colin, dressed as a jester and first-grade daughter, Virginia, dressed as a moon fairy. “This really fosters a community feel and environment.”
There were even plenty of attendees younger than the marchers. Three-year-old Anna Mussiarone came with her mother dressed as a pterodactyl to cheer on her big sister Molly. Anna, who turns 4 on Saturday, said she liked the clown and frog costumes. But she was a loyal sibling when asked what her favorite masquerader was.
“Molly’s my favorite,” she said.
As a traditional extra route to the parade, the third-graders took a trip to a local nursing home. Students showed off for seniors at the Elms Nursing home and took home some treats.
“I thing it is really nice they do that every year,” said Tom Weidner, father of a third-grader who dressed as Harry Potter. “All of the kids looked terrific.”
