Hamilton’s Halloween Kids Parade is Wednesday Afternoon
The annual Halloween Kids Parade gets shorter every year, but the numbers of participants is growing. The Hamilton Downtown Association organizes the event on Halloween to give kids a safe place to trick or treat at local businesses, early in the evening's excursions. This year, the parade will start at 4:30 p.m. October 31st at the corner of 4th and Main. The KLYQ "Ghost" van often leads the parade from 4th Street east on Main, into the Central Business District. In past years, the kids and their parents would parade for at least a block and a half. Groovs Dance Studio even had a flash mob lead them one year, but the lure of free candy has increased and often the parade loses its eastward momentum before it has gone a block ... oh, alright, maybe only a half-block!
The parade is simply a great way to get the families together in Hamilton and enjoy the holiday with their kids and other families. The lines leading to the assorted merchants handing out candy are a parade in themselves (see photo above). Again this year, immediately after the parade, the Hamilton Masonic Lodge is having a Haunted House for the kids at the Masonic Hall on South Third. So, if you want to see some great costumes, come downtown and join the crowd. Just don't expect any marching bands!