More than 100 entries and the largest number of floats in memory are planned for the 99th annual Centralia Halloween Parade on Saturday night.
Butch Mathus has put together the parade line-up.
“Right now we are at 44 floats. Last year I felt it was very impressive with 37. It really jumped up this year. A tip of the hat to everyone who participated. We look forward to a good parade. We are at 114 entries right now, so we are looking at an hour-and-a-half parade.”
This year’s parade will honor all veterans, and Mathus is looking for people to participate in a special entry.
“We’re trying to get at least 250 people to carry the American flag in front of the grand marshals. This is the 250th anniversary of our nation, and this year’s theme is ‘Patriotic Pumpkins’. We want to show that our patriotism to our nation is still alive. We are just asking anyone who wants to participate to please be there and help us out.”
Those who want to help should gather at Poplar and Kerr Streets. The grand marshals of the parade are the leaders of three veterans organizations, Curt Hongsermeier of the VFW, Al Simmons of the American Legion, and LeRoy Roper of the DAV.
The parade will step off at seven Saturday evening with live coverage on WJBD-FM. See the full lineup in the news section of SouthernIllinoisNow.com.
The Fall Festival will precede the parade on Saturday. It features many activities, including the 75th Annual Centralia Moose Children’s Parade. Costume judging begins at 10 at the Library Park Bandshell, with the parade through downtown at 11 a.m.
Click the link below to see the lineup of the 99th Annual Halloween Parade.
