The annual Not-Too-Scary HalloweE-town Parade recently celebrated its third spooky success. On Sunday, Oct. 27, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Elizabethtown community got together to hold the parade, which featured Elizabethtown College students, local businesses and local residents.
LIV-ETown, an organization of small businesses local to the Etown area, planned the parade and the Family-Friendly Halloween Party that followed it. This organization, along with the Student Assembly Traditions Committee, is responsible for various different community activities, including the upcoming Tree Lighting event on Etown’s campus.
The parade started at the United Church of Christ on South Market Street and ended in the parking lot outside of the Hoover Center for Business. Families and groups of friends flooded the borough’s sidewalks to witness the event up close and to pick up candy that was tossed from the parade walkers.
Director of the Bowers Writers House and Community Impact at Etown, Jesse Waters, was a leading figure in organizing the college’s involvement in the parade. Waters coordinated student volunteers to participate in the parade prior to the event and he provided commentary for those in attendance, introducing each part of the parade that went by.
The parade was led by Blue, Etown’s very own Blue Jay mascot, who was escorted by several college student volunteers. His presence at this community event highlighted the strong relationship between the College and the rest of the Etown community.
The event was sponsored by BrightSpeed Fiber Internet. Several delegates from the company participated in the parade in a pickup truck with bright, flashing lights. They were joined by the Brightspeed mascot, a troll named Ray.
Purple and yellow M&Ms from the nearby Mars Wrigley factory also made an appearance. They waved and threw candy to onlookers.
Other groups in the parade included the Elizabethtown College Dance Team, who made the occasional stop to show off a dazzling routine.
The event gave community members in the parade and the crowd the opportunity to show off their costumes, which included inflatable dinosaurs, Mario characters and politicians.
In addition to the parade, there was a costume contest for toddlers, children and adults. There were several different categories, including categories for couples and pets. The winner of each category was presented with a trophy.
The list of judges included Javita Thompson, director of Elizabethtown College’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE), Joyce Davis from the College Board of Trustees and Emily Walker from Brightspeed. They each took part in deciding the winners for each age group.
The event was filmed by ECTV, the college’s student-run television station. The livestream can be viewed on their YouTube channel, ECTV-40. Senior communications major Ryan Goodnow and junior communications major H Zangwill provided commentary for ECTV’s broadcast as the anchors. For the duration of the parade, Goodnow and Zangwill were joined by a large group of children dancing in the background.
After the parade, the Family-Friendly Halloween Party took place from 7:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Twelve on-campus organizations, including E-Motion, the Social Work Student Association and the a capella group Vocalign decked out their car trunks in Halloween decor and handed out candy to visitors.
Food trucks from local businesses showed up as well, includingHitch Coffee, Deimler’s Catering and Lancaster Cupcake. The food trucks amassed a crowd of students and members of the community alike.
Etown’s student-run radio station, WWEC 88.3 FM, set up shop on the Academic Quad providing music for people visiting Trunk or Treat and the food trucks.
Event organizers plan to continue the event next year.
