By Nick Valentin
The city of Bristol will be bringing something new to town this year for the Halloween season. The city will host an inaugural Halloween parade on Saturday, October 28th, on State Street for the faithful natives of Bristol. That said, there will be no shortage of fun activities for all to enjoy. Here are just a few things that you can look forward to ahead of Saturday’s event.
Although the Halloween parade is an inaugural event, there are some festivities from years past making a return this year. The Pumpkin Palooza at the Downtown Center will be returning. There, children have the opportunity to pick out a pumpkin of their choosing and decorate them free of cost. That event will be available from 10 am to 12 pm. Moreover, be on the lookout for some fun costumes, as the streets will be flooded with them, as the trick-or-treating activity with downtown businesses will also be returning this year.
Now that the return events have been covered, here’s a look into the inaugural Halloween parade. The parade will begin at the municipal lot in front of Bristol, TN City Hall (801 Anderson Street) and conclude at the intersection of State Street and Lee Street/5th Street. The length of the parade is approximately 0.5 miles, and registration is now open to anyone, including businesses, nonprofits, groups, families, and more.
The parade will be separated into two unique categories of participants. Those categories are labeled as “fun & festive” and “scary & macabre,” alluding to what types of costumes as well as performances can be expected from the groups. For the “fun & festive” category, you can expect humor and characteristics suitable for all ages as it aims to capture the true spirit of Halloween with limited elements of horror. On the other hand, the “scary and macabre” will serve as the opposite of that category, as it will include details of horror and capture the darker side of Halloween.
Overall, the event has been a success in years past, but the addition of the Halloween parade adds an entirely new element of excitement behind it. We are just a few days away from this event, so start planning accordingly. The parade will begin at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at 7:30 p.m. Happy Halloween, Bristol!
If you aren’t able to make this event see this by WJHL for more spooky events happening around the Tri-cites: https://www.wjhl.com/dont-miss/list-halloween-happenings-and-spooky-celebrations-in-the-tri-cities/