The Halloween in the Hamlet parade last Saturday in Highland. (photo by Lauren Thomas)
A mild October evening drew hundreds of people to the Town of Lloyd’s Halloween in the Hamlet event on Saturday, October 25. Witches and werewolves, mermaids and spacemen (along with their parents) filled Highland’s village square after marching in a parade led by the 20th Century Limited Drum and Bugle Corps. Members of the all-ages band played and marched while dressed in costumes that ranged from the scary to the pretty to the completely covered-up person in some type of animal suit who planned ahead in case the night was more typically Halloween-chilly. The Drum and Bugle Corps, founded 21 years ago in Highland, has the motto, “Play good music, with good people, for good people,” and that pretty much seemed to sum up the atmosphere they created at the event.
This was the third year for the block party-type event in Highland, co-sponsored by the town’s Events Committee under the leadership of Kate Jonietz and the Highland Downtown Business Association. Both groups have been making a concerted effort in recent years to raise their festival profile and promote Highland as a destination, and judging from the turnout at Saturday’s event, they’re doing a fine job getting the word out.
Or perhaps it’s word-of-mouth from those who attended the first two events of previous years. Local businesses handed out candy and kids toasted marshmallows over a fire pit and lined up to take a walk through “Dr. Frankenstein’s Interactive Lab,” an enter-if-you-dare kind of affair put together by the local From Stage to Screen Acting Studio. The scary-creepy attraction was staffed by cast members of current productions who got to practice their acting chops by scaring their peers (and some of the parents), who lined up at length to test their bravery.
And while Halloween is usually a kid-centric celebration, their parents seemed to enjoy getting together on the streets for a festive occasion, too, many clustered together chatting while the kids raced excitedly around in the novelty of appearing in the guise of their chosen character.