Mansfield Halloween Parade attracts hundreds of kids in costumes
The Mansfield Halloween parade returned to downtown Saturday with ghouls, goblins, plenty of costumed kids and decorated floats.
Norm Shoemaker, president of the Mid Ohio Labor Council, said labor unions and the City of Mansfield worked together to have the parade, which stepped off at 10 a.m.
"We wanted to do something for the kids — something safe and something for them to enjoy," Shoemaker said.
Saturday, Shoemaker said he was delighted at the turnout in Central Park after the parade, where labor unions and others handed out treats from floats that lined the square.
Laborers Local 1216 gave each child an orange football and Richland Bank handed out candy and pencils.
Shelly Smith & Sons towing handed out candy and lifted each child into the driver's seat of a huge tow truck allowing them to pull the cord to blow the loud horn.
The parade featured plenty of floats, and the Mansfield Senior High School and Madison Comprehensive High School marching bands.
A baton twirling group twirled fire batons to Halloween favorites including the music of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the theme song from "Ghostbusters."
The parade also included a large float transformed into a pirate ship by the Mid-Ohio Area CLC/AFL-CIO and an antique fire truck from the Mansfield Fire Museum.
Kids came dressed as Spider-Man, princesses, witches and there was even a nun wearing a scary mask handing out candy to kids along the parade route.
There was plenty of candy for everyone, as downtown merchants also handed out candy at their shops beginning at 11 a.m. and citywide trick-or-treat was held from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Mansfield police monitored the parade route for safety.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
419-521-7223
Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: People handed out candy in Central Park after the Halloween parade.
