Palmyra Halloween Parade Returns This Year; Participants Wanted

UPDATE SUNDAY, OCT. 28: The parade has been postponed until Thursday, Nov. 1, due to Hurricane Sandy.

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A year after the Palmyra Halloween parade was cancelled unexpectedly, a group of volunteers started a committee and are working hard to bring the popular parade back to town.

After much planning and fundraising, the parade will be held at 7 p.m., Oct. 30, and volunteers—as well as parade participants—are still being sought.

“It’s Palmyra’s signature event,” said Geneva DiTaranto, who is part of this year’s parade committee along with 10 others. “It’s unique—it’s a fun, fall event and it’s been part of our community for such a very long time. We want to continue it for today’s Palmyra.”

The borough’s Halloween parade has been on and off since 1926. It was brought back in the 1970s by former Mayor Roy Myers, who died earlier this month, and was cancelled last year.

A group of Cinnaminson, Riverton and Palmyra residents stepped up to form a committee to get locals and businesses involved in the parade to bring it back in full force this year.

DiTaranto said the two biggest concerns are fundraising and logistics.

“The first thing we did was create a grassroots fundraising campaign,” she said.

A website was created and a Facebook page was set up. The group went door to door and realized that if every Palmyra household gave $1, the parade would become a reality.

“We were just trying to create awareness,” DiTaranto said.

The committee worked hard to get local businesses involved.

“The response was overwhelming,” DiTaranto said. “We would get people telling us how they were in the parade as a child or when they first put their kids into the parade. Everyone was really happy we were bringing it back.”

A lot of things have already been in place for the parade—like local police and fire department's involvement. Palmyra Mayor Karen Scheffler helped the committee become incorporated and the borough donated money from their public events funds.

Scheffler said she also donated one of her mayoral paychecks.

“It’s just such a nice time for the whole community,” she said.

The Riverton community is also very involved in the parade, DiTaranto said; the parade even starts there at the Riverton School. It finishes at Legion Field in Palmyra.

Anyone can participate in the parade; you can register as an individual or a group. And it’s not just kids. Adults can participate, too.

There will be floats and prizes for that include scariest and most original will be given out. People can register online for the parade here.

DiTaranto also promised some “fun surprises and new entertainment.”

The parade starts at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Volunteers are still needed. Parade participants are asked to arrive by 6 p.m. Check out the parade’s website and Facebook page for more information.

While you’re on Facebook, like Cinnaminson Patch.