Each year, ghosts and ghouls, parents and children, teachers and students, participants and spectators gather to celebrate Halloween in Carlisle with a parade starting at 7 PM on North Street and ending around 8:30 PM along Hanover Street. Local groups compete for prizes while other participants hand candy to children.This year, the parade took place Wednesday, October 26, the week before Halloween. Although the parade is geared towards children, adults are still able to enjoy the fun. In fact, Dickinson students both viewed and participated in the parade. 

Brenda Landis, faculty sponsor of WDCV (Dickinson’s radio), who rode her bike in the parade,  and blasted music in support of the campus organization, and called the night a success. Students from Dickinson’s Theatre and Dance Department radio station and Dickinson’s Art Walks participated in the parade as well, promoting their “Art Walks” performances scheduled for November 4th to the 6th. 

According to Kristin Zeigler, Recreation Manager of the Parks and Recreation Department of Carlisle, the parade has been a tradition for “at least the last thirty years.” She said, “I wish I knew exactly when the first year that the department ran the Carlisle Halloween Parade but I have only been able to confirm for sure for at least the last 30 years, but possibly more.”

Zeigler said that 89 groups participated this year, compared to 82 last year. The winners were The Enchanted Teapot for small walking entries, Carlisle Area Mountain Bike Team for large walking groups, Spirit of the Dance “Day of the Dead…Dancing Skeletons” won for the walking group with vehicle category, and “Baby Shark” Grow and Tell Speech Therapy won for the floats group. All cash prizes were sponsored by Keller Williams of Central PA and The Dave Hooke Team. 

Following the parade, the official Facebook page of the Carlisle Borough Government made a post expressing their gratitude towards the Carlisle Parks and Recreation Department and everyone who volunteered at the event. “There were 89 entrants, including 47 floats, making it one of the best parades in recent years.”