Costumes, candy and fun at Halloween parade
MEDIA » Princesses, superheroes and many other characters lined State Street Saturday afternoon as “Happy Halloween!” was the greeting of the day and candy rained profusely at the borough’s 53rd Halloween parade.
Under a blazing sun with 70-degree Fahrenheit temperatures, the hundreds who came delighted in the event, as evident in the costumes the parade-goers donned themselves and in the cheers to marching bands and throws of candy.
For many, it’s become a tradition, just like the Haner family in Media.
On Saturday, Carl and Rhea Haner brought their grandsons, also appearing as Dr. Seuss’ Thing 1 and Thing 2, Owen Kelsall and Carl Haner.
“They’re kids, they love it,” Rhea Haner said. “They throw candy, the kids get together. It’s kind of like the kickoff of the Halloween season.”
The Haners are longtime attendants of the Halloween spectacle.
Asked when they began coming, Haner said, “Since it started. Let’s see ... our oldest daughter is 40 and we have 16 grandchildren so ...”
Yet, even those who are newer to the festivities anticipated the day’s event.
The Miller family of Media was ready with a firefighter and a ninja and penguin stuffed into a double stroller on the packed street.
“It’s so fun,” mom Kristin Miller said. “It gets better every year.”
She and her husband, Pat, explained how.
“Longer floats, more candy,” Pat Miller said.
“Candy, they love it,” she said of their trio of children – firefighter Henry, Charlie the ninja and Cecilia the penguin.
Nearby, 5-year-old Zoey Mues copped a spot with her grandmother, Kathy Mues and their two blue soccer chairs.
The two left Aston at 12:30 p.m. to stake their space along State Street for the 2 p.m. parade.
Although her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, Kathy Mues said she hasn’t missed the Halloween parade in years.
“(We’ve come) since she’s been a baby,” she pointed to her granddaughter, “and even before that.”
Even the older Mues couldn’t help get into the spirit of the occasion donning a bright orange sweatshirt and having a glittery orange spider on her head.
“I love this whole fall season,” the grandmother smiled.
She also shared their favorite parts of the Halloween parade.
“Zoey would say the flag girls,” Kathy Mues said. “She loves the flag girls, I love the marching bands.”
“And the Halloween costumes!” Zoey added.
And costumes were aplenty – both in the parade and along its route – Saturday.
While princesses from Belle to the Little Mermaid to others were in high visibility, they joined angels, superheroes, a swat team member in camouflage and even a cowgirl on a bucking bronco. Most of them were in the under-4-feet-tall category, but not all. Some adults donned vivid wigs or fluffy mascot regalia and even some fourlegged friends dressed for the day.
One of them was a 12-year-old silver dapple dachshund named Watson. He was brought by Wendy Bley, who was there to watch her son, Leighton, drive his cherry red Corvette in the parade as part of the Delaware County Corvette Association.
Bley dressed Watson in a hot dog costume to honor his name, which comes from – you guessed it – Dietz & Watson.
The parade began with the Meridian Bank float as volunteers walked beside it,
handing out black buckets to hold the bounty about to come.
As many participants handed out all sorts of sugary treats, some even threw mini-footballs for the kids.
The parade also featured various fire trucks, including one from the Upper Providence Township Fire Company that tooted its horn for the kids as a driver dropped candy out the window so kids could scamper to collect it as it drove by. That was a scene repeated often Saturday.
Marching bands from Penncrest and Strath Haven high schools and Beverly Hills Middle School received rousing applause by the crowds, as they also delighted in the scouts, the stroller brigade, the floats and the pets from Media Veterinary Hospital.
All of it provided reason for many along the route, such as Zoey and Kathy Mues, to enjoy the parade.
“It’s a good family day,” Kathy Mues said. “Everybody has a good time.”