Emmaus Halloween Parade returns after skipping last year
Pandemic canceled 2020 event; volunteers still needed this year
The Emmaus Halloween Parade will return after a pandemic hiatus to officially celebrate its 100th anniversary.
The family-friendly parade is scheduled to step off at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 16, continuing a tradition that has been going on in Emmaus since the early 1900s.
“The parade will march as scheduled,” chairperson Kathy Mintzer said in a Friday email. “We are still shy about 20 registrations, but we will make it work. What is usually our Fourth Division will now be filled with eight local fire companies. That’s over 20 fire trucks and emergency vehicles. I’m sure that will light up the night!
“We are still taking registrations until Monday at noon,” Mintzer said. “At that point we need to complete the final format for the parade to be ready to step off.”
Over the years, the parade has become more desperate for volunteers. Critically important are those responsible for keeping the divisions moving so the parade doesn’t have gaps.
Organizers say the event, one of the most popular in the area, costs more than $20,000 to pull off. This year, the Emmaus Halloween committee mailed a postcard to every address in the borough to solicit donations from residents and businesses. It also began taking online donations through PayPal.
“There have been many, many volunteers working on
this parade over the decades,” Mintzer said in an earlier news release from the borough. “We need to continue this tradition the best way we know how and that’s with the dedicated committee members and volunteers.”
Anyone interested in participating in this year’s parade can register at www.emmausparade. com.
The rain date for the parade is Oct. 17.