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Thousands of people gathered along East Auglaize Street for the annual Wapakoneta Halloween parade hosted by the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce. Kids dressed in ghoulishly good costumes like dinosaurs, princesses, superheroes and more collected as much candy as they could as the festive floats made their way past.
WAPAKONETA - Toddlers, teens and adults alike clamored for creative costumes and candy in downtown Wapakoneta during the annual Halloween parade on Thursday night.
Icons such as Ghostface from the "Scream" franchise and Hogwarts wizards from "Harry Potter" were joined by an inflatable dinosaur, Barbie, Grimace, astronauts and other costumed characters to watch in awe of the more than 100 floats passing out sweets in the streets.
From the Auglaize County Fairgrounds to Park Street, hundreds of parade-goers geared with coats, sweatshirts, hats, gloves and hot beverages camped out in folding chairs to watch marching bands and spooky floats pass by.
Wapakoneta resident Justin Lenhart and his daughter Mia, who was dressed as a dinosaur, are no strangers to the annual event.
Justin Lenhart said he grew up in town and always enjoys attending the parade and seeing fellow community members. He has been taking his daughter for eight years.
Mia Lenhart said the tyrannosaurus rex is her favorite dinosaur.
Thousands of people gathered along East Auglaize Street for the annual Wapakoneta Halloween parade hosted by the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce. Kids dressed in ghoulishly good costumes like dinosaurs, princesses, superheroes and more collected as much candy as they could as the festive floats made their way past.
The parade included over 100 floats featuring local businesses, youth groups, community and municipal organizations and six high school marching bands.
"I like her costume," another child said. "When I get bigger and it's Halloween again, I'm going to dress up as her. I'm going to hug her."
Although some at the parade have been going for years and enjoy the atmosphere, others have just recently started attending the event.
Karolyn Eversole of Shawnee said this was her first year attending the parade.
"We have a lot of friends in Wapak (who) are always talking it up so we decided to come check it out," she said.
Her daughter Kathryn and her daughter's friend, Maddie Froehlich are both 10 years old and proudly wore the wizardly cloaks pledging allegiance to their respective houses.
"We go everywhere together," Kathryn Eversole said of her and her friend. "Her birthday is four days away from mine. I wore this last year and I wanted to match her."
Kathryn Eversole said she was dressed as a wizard from the Hufflepuff house and Froehlich was representing Gryffindor.
She said her favorite character is Luna Lovegood and side-eyed her mom when her mom whispered the correct answer was Snape.
"Snape is good too," she said. "My mom is a Slytherin. My whole family is Slytherin."
When asked how many times she has seen the movies, she said, "Yeah, probably like a million each."
The wizards were in good company among the range of frightening to family-friendly costumes.
Although not in costume, Uche Okoye, 7, said she will dress as an alien when trick -or-treating from 6-7:30 p.m. on Halloween night.
Her mother, Rose Youngblood of Lima said this is her second time at parade and enjoys watching the variety of float themes.
Thousands of people gathered along East Auglaize Street for the annual Wapakoneta Halloween parade hosted by the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce. Kids dressed in ghoulishly good costumes like dinosaurs, princesses, superheroes and more collected as much candy as they could as the festive floats made their way past.
The parade included over 100 floats featuring local businesses, youth groups, community and municipal organizations and six high school marching bands.
The show-stopping floats drew a few thousand attendees, Wapakoneta Police Officer Henry Spencer estimated on Thursday.
This was his first year working the parade and he was doing crowd control, making sure the kiddos were safe in the street.
Kids who crave more candy on Oct. 31 will have another opportunity to do so, although Henry stressed safe practices, such as being aware of their surroundings.
Parents trick-or-treating with their kids should visit houses that have lights on and are actively passing out candy, he said.
Thousands of people gathered along East Auglaize Street for the annual Wapakoneta Halloween parade hosted by the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce. Kids dressed in ghoulishly good costumes like dinosaurs, princesses, superheroes and more collected as much candy as they could as the festive floats made their way past.
The parade included over 100 floats featuring local businesses, youth groups, community and municipal organizations and six high school marching bands.
"Some people might not be aware of when Halloween is," he continued. "We get calls of someone saying, 'Hey there's someone knocking on my door' and they're not aware of trick-or-treaters. If you see someone out on their porch with a candy where they have their lights on, those are usually safe houses to go to."
The Ohio Department of Commerce also issued a series of safety tips to ensure the holiday is safe and fun.
The tips include fire prevention and safety reminders and alcohol and cannabis reminders.
The Division of State Fire Marshal said to use battery-operated candles instead of open flames to avoid accidental costume fires, keep decorations away from flame sources, choose costumes free of long, trailing fabric to reduce fire risk, avoid wearing masks that significantly restrict vision, keep exits clear of decorations and use proper extension cords for indoor/outdoor decorations.
Additionally, the Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) advised parents to scrutinize their children's candy for anything unusual before consumption, per the release. The advisory follows a consumer alert issued earlier this year by the DCC regarding hazardous cannabis products containing Delta-8 THC featuring packaging that mimics popular candies and foods appealing to children.
Following the launch of non-medical cannabis sales in the state this summer, the DCC reminds Ohioans that the use of non-medical cannabis in a public area is considered a minor misdemeanor. Similar to alcohol, use of non-medical cannabis by individuals under the age of 21 is prohibited, and individuals who provide cannabis to minors can potentially face fines as well as jail time. In addition, Ohio's law prohibiting smoking or vaping in public indoor spaces applies to marijuana as well.
Any adults over 21 who choose to use cannabis products are urged to proceed with caution. Like alcohol, it is illegal to operate a vehicle while under the influence of cannabis.
