New Paltz Halloween Parade Open to All

Hudson Valley New York Costumed Tradition is Some 40 Years Old

Oct 26, 2009 Terence P Ward

For perhaps forty years, New Paltz has started off its fun-filled Halloween with a parade down Main Street that one and all can participate in.

The exact date of New Paltz's first Halloween parade is lost to the mists of time, but it is a tradition that draws participants from all around the Hudson Valley area of New York State. With or without costumes, participants either begin the march at the New Paltz Middle School or simply join in as the parade passes them by. Some two thousand marchers end up at the fire house on Plattekill Avenue for cider and treats before dispersing to visit the many other Halloween attractions of New Paltz.

History of the Halloween Parade

According to Gene Cusatis of the New Paltz Lions Club, it was already a tradition when he joined 35 years ago. “It was started by a middle school teacher from Highland,” he explained in a telephone interview on October 23. “His name was Bud Donnelly, and he told people he'd be at the Middle School at six o'clock and that he was going to march to the fire house, and that anybody who marched with him would get candy.” The community at the time was concerned about “keeping the kids busy,” Cusatis explained.

Although only five to six hundred people began the parade in 2008, the march was over 2,000 strong when it arrived at the fire house. The way people join in is sometimes confusing to newcomers, as reported in the New Paltz Oracle in 2006. As participation has risen and Lions membership has dwindled, Cusatis, who is organizing the parade this year, has noticed a number of changes:

• Traffic, including driving behind the parade, is now handled by the New Paltz Police instead of Lions Club members. “We had a police chief for awhile that wanted to get the parade off of Main Street, but he's not there now,” Cusatis remarked. Roughly 7-8 police cars are involved in stopping traffic, with assistance from local fraternity members.
• The band that leads the parade is organized by community members, as the school band stopped being involved some years ago. According to Don Kerr, currently serving on the Board of Education, the teacher's union demanded a three hundred dollar stipend for the band teacher, and “the school district wouldn't pay it.” For the last 7-8 years, a band which is mostly local students leads off the march, following a hearse which is provided by an area restaurant, Frank's Steakhouse.
• The apples are all donated by local farmers, who are very generous with their crop, according to Cusatis.

Balancing Safety and Fun

“We're very concerned about safety,” Cusatis explained, which is why having so much help is such a relief to the Lions membership. The police handling traffic control and fraternity members making sure traffic from side streets doesn't accidentally slip into the parade route make that aspect much easier to oversee. The fire department is not involved in the safety aspect of the parade, but it does generously donate the use of the fire house as a place for marchers to gather and enjoy their candy and cider afterwards.

Costumed marchers walk alongside those in street clothes down the hill of Main Street, even as children run and bicycle up and down the street during gaps in the march. As the parade picks up steam, more and more of the spectators join in and follow the throng to the fire house. Away from Main, the streets of New Paltz are quiet during the parade, as children know better than to attempt to gather treats while the marching goes on.

The parade sets the tone for Halloween in New Paltz, and participants will often go directly to Haunted Hasbrouck Park around the corner, or investigate one of New Paltz's other Halloween events, such as the Night of 100 Pumpkins or Haunted Huguenot Street. As the oldest ongoing Halloween tradition in New Paltz, the Halloween parade rightfully starts the night off right for all the tricks and treats that lie ahead.

The copyright of the article New Paltz Halloween Parade Open to All in Entertaining is owned by Terence P Ward. Permission to republish New Paltz Halloween Parade Open to All in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

New Paltz marches under a night sky

Marchers in the New Paltz Halloween Parade