Bandit Powell
Elm Staff Writer
At the annual Chestertown Halloween parade last Saturday, WCTR AM/FM radio host Brian Moore said that he and fellow radio personality Leslie Sea are Lions Club members who show up every year as announcers for the event.
Moore said that while the event was originally held on Halloween, somewhere along the way it was switched to early November to increase community participation.
After collecting details about each participant and organizing the information in a binder, Moore and Sea use their biographical notes to talk about each participant during parade announcements.
“As you probably know, the highlight is the judging,” Moore said.
Ken Roderick, another community member who helps with the parade, called out participants’ numbers for the costume contest so that the judges knew which participant to describe.
The costume categories for this year’s parade included preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school and adult, group costume, pets, and floats.
Junior Kaitlyn Mankevich said that one of her favorite costumes in the parade was a child dressed up as a stop sign.
“I really loved especially the little kids’ costume contest because they all were strutting their stuff,” Mankevich said.
The Delmarva United Marching Band, the Kent County High School Brigade of Blue, and the Sudlersville Middle School Marching Thunderbirds all performed during the parade.
Among the participants, John Swain, the boatbuilder who led the construction of the Sultana schooner, rode in the parade in a classic car. Officers from the Chestertown Police Department, the Kent County sheriff, and a Maryland state trooper threw candy to the spectators from their police cars. One volunteer from the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Department was dressed as Marshall from Paw Patrol on the Brush 6 firetruck.
A crowd favorite was the Pirate’s Cove float with Pirate Jimmy and Pirate Bob, who threw gold beaded necklaces to the crowd.
Washington College’s SGA was also in the parade in a decorated SafeRide van. Gus the Goose, the College’s mascot, participated as well.
At the end of the parade, Moore and Sea brought out piñatas for the children made with the help of Kent County High School teachers and the local YMCA.
“You have a lot of people that come back year after year,” Moore said.
After the Halloween parade has gotten the season started, the next downtown parade will take place in December with the annual holiday Santa parade.
Photo Caption: Children dressed up in an array of costumes at the annual Chestertown Halloween parade that has been hosted by the local Lions Club for over 50 years.
Photo by Katie Trego