Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Halloween parade delights spectators
OXFORD » When it comes to delighting a crowd, it doesn’t get much better than the annual Oxford Halloween Parade.
This year’s event on Thursday night gave its spectators 90 minutes of entertainment with everything from individuals walking in Halloween costumes to big floats carrying large numbers of performers.
The unique thing about this parade is that the audience never knows what it’s going to get.
There are the usual fire trucks, bands, dancers and a bunch of old cars decorated with spider webs and skeletons, but there was also much more.
Toward the end came a group of horses and riders with a couple of the members taking time to demonstrate lasso tricks.
There was also a musical group from Kirkwood that made its way up Third Street and opened up for a jolly wench and yo-ho-ho performance from a pirate ship float.
A kids dramatic group from the Jennersville Y did a quick snip from their upcoming musical, and a witch from the Oxford Area Rec Authority cackled an invitation to the group’s Halloween spectacular at the park on the weekend.
Probably the most exciting was the performance by the Lincoln University Crush Band that brought down the house with cheers from the audience at two locations.
At first, the judges were confused because it appeared that the band was putting on its show at the wrong place — in front of the Octoraro Hotel. But they were pleasantly surprised when the band moved the 100 yards or so up the street and did it again — a double pleasure.
The parade was again organized by community activist Jim McLeod. He said this year there were 49 separate entries, with more floats and fewer walkers than in the past.
Under fair, dark skies with a nip of fall in the air, the spectators came with light jackets and sweatshirts. Some of them, not having felt a chill since last May, expressed surprise that it was suddenly so cool. The crowd of several thousand lined the entire parade route along Third Street about three deep from one end to the other, The results of the judging:
Best float overall:
Bobbie Anne’s Dance Studio
Best theme float:
1. - Technical College High School 2. - OAHS Class of 2018 3. - OAHS Class of 2020
Best performance group:
1. - Lincoln University Crush Band 2. - KMC Dance 3. - Oxford Center For Dance
Best business entry:
1. - Cameron’s Ace Hardware 2. - Carr’s Auto and Truck Service 3. - Oxford Feed and Lumber
Best individual, small group or family:
1. - John Deere Tractor (Noah Christlay)
2. - 101 Dalmatians (Phil and Amanda Jackson)
3. - Mummies (Grace Chamberlain and Chase Alexander).