Our most delightful shots of the Broadway Halloween Parade… resurrected!
Denver Ite
There was a moment this year when it seemed like Broadway’s long-running Halloween parade was headed to an early grave. The problem: its monstrous growth.
“What originally started as a small community parade centered around kids, costumes and candy, has turned into a regional attraction with more than 30K spectators last year,” organizers wrote on their website. “We now need pedestrian barricades to ensure the safety of our kids along the parade route. The Parade needs to raise $42k by September 6th to pay for pedestrian barricades and permits.”
Those barricades would cost more than half of their entire budget, they added, and they needed financial help if the show would go on.
Then, in September, organizers announced they’d been rescued. The neighborhood came together and raised the money they needed, with more than $6,000 coming from individual donations.
“It was thanks to community,” City Council member Flor Alvidrez said as she marched down Broadway Saturday night dressed as a pansy, a seamless addition to the West Washington Park Neighborhood Association’s Alice in Wonderland theme. “This is one of the top two events of the year. Between this and UMS its hard to say which is more important.”
Thousands of people lined Broadway to watch her and so many others dance and haunt their way down the corridor. Kids scrambled for airborne candy as at least one float passed small cups of beer to the adults. There were hearses and horses and zombies and Oompa Loompas, all mingling on a cool evening.