It’s Baaack!! Tarrytown’s Halloween Parade Reaches New Heights
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Crowds as far as a ten-foot pumpkin could see
November 1, 2022
By Barrett Seaman–
After two barren, pandemic-shrouded years, Tarrytown’s annual Halloween Parade returned in fantastic, if frightening form. There were 45 separate participating groups from around the tri-state area, including 15 floats, seven of which were the product of individual neighborhoods. Thirteen bands, including one from Sleepy Hollow High School, blared their way down Broadway onto Main Street as dusk brought eerie shadows onto the passing groups. There were scout troops and pre-K school groups, swamp people and ghostbusters, witches galore—and of course the Headless Horseman.
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Most of all, there were people packed five and six deep all along the parade route. The crowd was estimated at 12,000, which is only a few hundred more than the entire population of Tarrytown.
There were some minor traffic snarls caused by drives who apparently didn’t get the memo about street closures, but “overall,” says Tarrytown Police Chief John Barbalet, “everything went very smoothly.”
While some would argue that every one of the hundreds of marchers deserved a prize, the parade powers-that-be followed tradition and awarded just six prizes. The categories and the winners (with photos by Margaret Fox):
Best Neighborhood Float:
The Wildey Street Swamp People
Best Float
Ghostbusters
Best in Show
The cast of The Addams Family from the Music Hall
Best Group
Ladies of the Season
Best Adult
The four witches
Editor’s note: the winner of the Best Child category escaped before being caught on camera. A handsome ransom will be paid to the reader who can produce a photo of the child in a pie box.