The Halloween Parade in Ashland Oregon Comes Back After a Two Year Hiatus — And It Was Huge
On Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, Ashland, Oregon celebrated halloween by bringing back the Ashland Chamber’s Children’s Halloween Celebration. For the first time in two years at 3:30 p.m. ghouls, goblins, witches, and more made their way from the Ashland Public Library to the downtown plaza. Police officers kept the public safe as they redirected traffic downtown to leave East Main Street open for the parade.
The event was massive and all of Ashland came out to show off their costumes. Ashland is home to the Shakespeare Festival, so you bet creativity runs wild in this town. Police estimated there had to be at least 5,000 individuals downtown during the event, something unimaginable during covid times in the year 2020. Alexia Anaya, a Southern Oregon University student stated “I have never been to the halloween parade before, it’s like I’m in a movie! I love seeing everyone’s creativity.” The crowd had endless smiles and everyone danced down the street enjoying the parade for the first time in two years since covid.
The band Samba Like it Hot, made up of volunteers, led the parade like they normally would in past years with rhythmic Brazilian samba music. The crowd danced and followed the band’s lead with so much energy you could feel it emanating off each person there. The band’s leader and founder Christopher Lee Wood passed away on Oct. 1, 2022, band members held up his photo in remembrance at the end of their performance.
Once the march ended, participants made there way to the plaza, it was time for families to trick-or-treat around to local businesses. A new comer to Ashland named Maya Taranow stated “It was a rootin tootin time for this cowboy! I was so surprised to see that many people in downtown Ashland, it really is a party on Halloween.”
