Halloween spirit returns Oct. 30 with annual Longmont parade, Trick or Treat Street

Kelsey Hammon, Daily Times-Call, Longmont, Colo.
·2 min read

Sep. 26—Longmont residents can show off their creative costumes as they help celebrate the return of the city's annual Halloween Parade and Trick or Treat Street.

Halloween in downtown Longmont last year lacked its usual spirit, as the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to the parade. This year, though, the tradition returns with a slightly revised parade route, but still plenty of candy for all the ghouls, goblins and witches.

The 42nd annual parade will start at 10 a.m. Oct. 30. Anyone is welcome to be part of the parade. Those interested are asked to line up at 9:30 a.m. at Roosevelt Park, 700 Longs Peak Ave.

The parade typically attracts 5,000 to 8,000 people. Samantha Calhoon, program coordinator for Longmont Recreation Services, which is organizing the event, said this year she expects marching bands and costumed residents to parade through Longmont's downtown.

Calhoon said event organizers were glad to give residents a sense of normalcy this Halloween.

"We tried to plan a couple (of) alternative activities that didn't end up panning out, so we didn't have any Halloween opportunities last year, which was a bummer, because Halloween was a Saturday, so we didn't get to take advantage of that," Calhoon said. "But, we're looking forward to having it come back this year."

This year's route has been revised, in effort to help people better distance themselves while watching the parade. Since the event is outdoors, masks are not required.

The parade will start from the park and go south on Coffman Street to Third Avenue and then turn north on Main Street, routing back to the park. Typically the parade follows Longs Peak Avenue to Main Street to Third Avenue, looping back the other way on Main Street and returning to the park, but this year, Calhoon said they wanted to eliminate two-way traffic and give people more room to spread out and watch the festivities.

After the parade, the city's annual Trick or Treat Street will commence. Trick-or-treaters can visit Longmont's downtown businesses to collect candy. Kids of all ages are welcome to participate.

"It's a really good opportunity to come out and interact with the businesses on Main Street and get back to a little bit of normalcy here in Longmont," Calhoon said. "I think people will be excited about that."