Rotary Halloween Parade set to roll Oct. 29

Float from the 2016 Rotary Club of Charlotte-Shelburne-Hinesburg’s Halloween Parade. Courtesy photo.

The Charlotte-Shelburne-Hinesburg Rotary Club will host its very popular Halloween Parade once again on Sunday, Oct 29, at 2:00 p.m. in Shelburne. It is the only parade of its kind in the area and draws participants and onlookers from all the adjacent towns. This is the 35th year for the Rotary’s management of this popular annual event, and they are already looking forward to greater participation this year.

Flatbed trucks and trailers covered with hay bales are massed on Church Road in front of the parade. They are available as “come-as-you-are floats” on which costumed children from the community can ride and take their own part in the parade.

The parade begins at Shelburne’s Church Street and Falls Road intersection and runs south through the neighborhoods and returns back along Mt. Philo Road. Neighborhood and company groups from Charlotte, Shelburne and Hinesburg often enter floats on which children have the opportunity to dress up and play out their Halloween fantasies. Candy often plays a part. There are also walking groups who suit up and participate in the hijinks. Prizes are offered. Information may be obtained from Float Chair Judy Christensen before October 22.

At the conclusion of the parade, participants and spectators are invited to carefully cross Route 7 to the Shelburne Community Plaza where individual costume judging will take place in the gym. Over at the firehouse, there will be free hotdogs and drinks while a band plays in the corner. A few games will also be played on the fringes of the plaza.

Besides having fun, a critical consideration is the safety of parade participants and onlookers. The main problem in the past has been that candy, thrown from the floats and meant for the crowd, has landed too close to trucks. Kids tend to dart out to get “that special piece of candy.” Adult supervision is requested in helping to maintain safety of all concerned.

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