'Mind blowing': Portsmouth Halloween Parade thrills with a 400th anniversary flair

PORTSMOUTH — In the city’s 400th year, the people of Portsmouth threw a party to raise the spirits of the past, the present and the future at the 28th annual Portsmouth Halloween Parade on Tuesday night.

As a bell tolled at 6 p.m., parade watchers were already staking out their spots around Market Square. Pumpkins were lit on stoops, costumed marchers hurried to the parade staging area, and tow trucks circled the parade route to clear the streets as they shut down. Diners packed restaurants for a pre-parade bite.

“It’s a tradition to get here early. We like taking in the atmosphere,” Judi Orent of Newmarket said. It’s the tenth year she and her husband Perry have placed their chairs in the Square and waited for the parade’s start.

Francesca Amaral of Dover found a spot in the Square’s bus stop.

“I love the parade and how the people dress up, it’s beautiful,” said the 20-year Seacoast resident who moved here from Brazil. “The costumes are really cool. We didn’t have this in Brazil. We didn’t have Halloween there.”

Joe Arigo and his wife came from Arlington, Massachusetts to see the parade.

“We heard about the parade being like the No.1 or No. 2 best in the country so we came to see it,” he said, noting they made the trip into a multi-day visit to the city.

JoEllen Cuff of Stratham was waiting to see her daughter Nicole Cuff Sheaff perform with the Monster Troupe and her grandsons Nathan and Bryan who were charged with bearing the troupe’s banner.

“I’m just glad they’re having this, something positive, with everything that’s going on in this world,” she said.

Delaney Mier of Portsmouth staked out a spot by the Gundalow Company on Marcy Street with her parents who were visiting from Ohio. It’s her first year living in Portsmouth.

“I’ve never lived anywhere Halloween has been a big deal. The Portsmouth culture with everyone decorating so much, this is new to me,” said Mier, who works as a deckhand on the Gundalow. “All my co-workers said the parade is something I can’t miss.”

Over on Peirce Island where marchers gathered before the parade, the excitement was mounting.

Monte Bohanan, a member of the Portsmouth Halloween Parade’s board, which is referred to as the coven, was donning his shadow demon costume.

“We’re marching into our 28th year,” said Bohanan, who is also the city’s director of communication and community engagement. “This is my favorite day of the year, my favorite event, and I’m just lucky to be a part of the coven that makes it happen.”

Dressed as a Viking priestess, fellow coven member Regan Gentner, of Nottingham, said once she saw the Portsmouth parade for the first time in 2009, she’s come back every year.

“I’ve always loved Halloween, and the spirit and the energy people put into their costumes here is mind-blowing,” she said.

“Where Salem put their witches on trial and executed them, Portsmouth kept our witches,” Bohanan quipped. “And we encouraged them,” Gentner added.

Holly Cook, the madame of the Monster Troupe who choreographs the puppets and the dancers, said the group began in May practicing this year’s routine that features a half-dozen 12-foot, lighted puppets that dancers wear like a backpack.

“It’s a spectral spectacle,” she said of the dance set to Dr. John’s “Right Place, Wrong Time.”

“The parade is a wonderful end to the monthly holiday in Portsmouth,” Kirsten Cunningham of Portsmouth, dressed as a scarecrow, said with a laugh.

“It’s never going to be the 400th again,” Judi Currie, a volunteer representing Portsmouth 400, gave her reason for marching.

“It’s a grand time when we get to see all our friends in a different persona,” her fellow volunteer Dawn Przychodzien said.

With three costumed dogs ready for the parade, Lyndon and Margaret Jameson of Newington were dressed as a wizard and a witch. The dogs were a griffin, a dragon and a spider.

“Halloween’s the best holiday,” Margaret Jameson said. “We march for the kids, who love to see the dogs in costume.”

Feeding the spirits of Portsmouth for 43 years at her Ceres Bakery, founder and owner Penny Brewster led the parade as its Grand Marshal, an honor earned by two decades of supporting the parade. Each October, she creates a pumpkin-flavored cookie at her bakery and donates the proceeds from its sales to the parade.

“This is the best night of the year,” she said before the parade. “It’s beyond spooky. I love it the most. It’s really wacky, off-center and anyone can join in. I hope a lot of people come out and take a break from their lives.”

The Portsmouth Halloween Parade is willed into being each Oct. 31 by a passionate independent group of individuals who raise funds through events and donations like Brewster’s to pay for the costs of the parade like insurance and permits. City police and public works staff also provide resources for the parade. This year, parade organizers have filed to become a 501(c)(3) organization to ensure its future.

The parade is always a cool night in Portsmouth, but it may have been the coolest Portsmouth Halloween Parade in its history. Temperatures when the parade stepped off were in the mid-40s, dipping to the upper-30s by its end.

By the tolling of the North Church bell at 7 p.m., crowds of five to six people deep lined the parade route in anticipation. People saved spots for each other. Scooters, skateboarders and even a jogger took advantage to make their way down the middle of a closed Congress Street. Kids in costume sat on curbs in the gathering gloom.

The parade arrived with streams of costumed marchers interspersed with groups including the Leftist Marching Band, WSCA community radio, Portsmouth Public Library and the Cocheco Valley Rollers, among others.

The Monster Troupe performed with its spooky 12-foot puppets lit up with changing colors and dozens of dancers keeping the beat to Dr. John’s “Right Place, Wrong Time.”

Barbie pink dominated the Portsmouth Thriller dancers’ costumes which ranged from cute to gory. Their precision dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was once again spot on.

And just like that, another Portsmouth Halloween Parade had passed by as crowds left the curbs to find their cars or walk home under a full moon-lit sky.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH Halloween Parade thrills with a 400th anniversary flair