- The Bethlehem Halloween Parade was held on its rain date, Sunday, Nov. 5
- Most of the marchers in the parade were children
- Fire services, EMS and police were represented by way of trucks and ambulances being driven, and horses and motorcycles being ridden along the route
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — These days, it's common to talk about the Christmas creep, and how early the holiday is being celebrated. But in the Christmas City, of all places, Halloween was celebrated nearly a week late.
Because of inclement weather, the Bethlehem Halloween Parade — originally scheduled for Oct. 29 — was postponed to its rain date, Sunday, Nov. 5.
The rescheduled parade found luck on its new date, however, as it was a perfectly crisp fall day with lots of sunshine.
The parade began on West Broad Street and Ninth Avenue and continued east on Broad and south on Main Street, concluding at Main and Spring streets.
"It was super cool. The kids were super awesome. It was really fun to do it."Anthony Gilbert, owner of Steel City's Best
Most of the marchers in the parade were children, with multiple middle and high school marching bands, several dance studios, a variety of martial arts dojos and even elementary schools and sports teams represented.
“Honestly, I love when the school bands come out," said Mary Kate Ruffing, a Bethlehem native who has since moved to Philadelphia.
"I think it's so exciting and my son loves it. He gets really excited. I think it's a great way to incorporate the community into the whole event.”
Favorite part? 'Oh, everything'
Cora Prosperi, 12, performed with Nitschmann Middle School’s marching band, playing the trumpet. She said the preparation for the performance "was really hard."
"It took half of the summer," Cora said. "I just like hearing people cheer for us… I recommend it. It's fun.”
"Keep up the good work.”Anne Marie Latsko of Bethlehem
Another marcher was Anthony Gilbert of Steel City’s Best, a parkour, martial arts and dance studio.
“This is our first event in Bethlehem," Gilbert said. "It was super cool. The kids were super awesome. It was really fun to do it. We just opened Oct. 2 and so this is our first like official month here in Bethlehem. It's been amazing.”
Fire services, EMS and police were represented by trucks and ambulances being driven, and horses and motorcycles being ridden along the route.
Horses weren’t the only creatures on the parade route. There were plenty of dogs in costume, including a Barbie-themed coalition of small dogs from Boston terrier to pugs to French and English bulldogs.
“It was neat, interacting with all the little kids and hearing all the comments,” said Jeffrey Moyer, who marched with the Barbie pups.
Anne Marie Latsko of Bethlehem said it was the last event she was attending before heading to Florida. Her family made sure to make time for it, she said.
As for her favorite part, she said she couldn’t decide.
“Oh, everything," she said. "Bagpipes from Liberty [High School], that was very nice. The police with the horses; that's always nice to see…
"Keep up the good work.”
