The Maspeth Lions Club will host its annual Halloween Ragamuffin Parade along Grand Avenue on Oct. 31, giving hundreds of children in the neighborhood the chance to show off their best Halloween costumes.
Ellen Marchese, president of the Maspeth Lions Club, said the organization expects around 200 local children to take part in the annual parade, which kicks off at 7 p.m. sharp at the main gate to Mount Olivet Cemetery at 65-40 Grand Ave. before proceeding down the avenue to the Maspeth Federal Savings Parking Lot at the intersection of Grand Avenue and 69th Street.
The parade is scheduled to last around 90 minutes, with participants encouraged to gather at Mount Olivet Cemetery from 6:30 p.m.
The event will feature a Halloween float, and at the end of the parade route, each participating child will receive a bag of candy and goodies.
Marchese said the annual parade, which has been running for about 40 years, serves an important function of promoting community spirit in Maspeth.
“It’s just fun,” Marchese said. I mean, the kids have a blast… We just like to see the smile on their faces.”
She said the event is equally enjoyable for parents who proudly look on as their kids march down Grand Avenue.
“It’s a short walk, but they just have such laughs. They really love it.”
Marchese said events such as the upcoming Halloween parade help local children feel part of the Maspeth community from a young age, adding that she has seen former participants returning to the event with their own children.
“They’re all from different areas of Maspeth but they’re having fun together. It’s not, ‘I’m Polish’ or ‘I’m Russian’; they’re all just kids, and they’re having fun, and that’s how it should be.”
“They’re in the same community, and they just enjoy it,” Marchese added. “I’m hoping and praying that it stays that way for the rest of their lives.”
Marchese said she has been touched by the community spirit of participating children at previous parades, sharing that she was almost moved to tears at one past parade when children banded together to help a wheelchair-bound participant dress up for the parade. She said local children helped build an ambulance to cover the wheelchair, allowing the child to dress up as an ambulance for the event.
“He had a blast,” Marchese recalled.
She added that excitement is building among local children for the 2024 parade.
“The kids just look forward to it. They come in every year, they get all dressed up, and they parade down to the Maspeth Federal Savings Banks on 69th Street.”
