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FRONTENAC —
Downtown Frontenac filled up with Cleopatras, rodeo clowns, mad scientists and fairies Wednesday afternoon. The Frank Layden Elementary school students were continuing a long-standing Frontenac tradition; The annual Halloween parade.
Teachers were in costume all day, and the students were allowed to change into costume before the parade.
“It’s been an all-day Halloween celebration,” said Principal Mark Allai, who was dressed as a character from A&E’s Duck Dynasty TV series. “The parents love it and the community expects it.”
Students aren’t encouraged to come to school in costume, Allai said, but administrators don’t hold a grudge if they do.
“We don’t want to ruin it for them,” Allai said. “We don’t encourage it, but if they do, it’s no big deal. It’s all about the kids.”
The parade has been a Frontenac tradition for at least 30 years — but no one is really certain, and some estimates put the time span at least 50 years — but the general consensus is that the parade has been around for a long, long time. What seems like the entire town shuts down for the parade, and people line McKay Street to watch the kids pass by.
“I think it’s great that so many people came to watch,” said Lindsay Halsey, who brought her 22-month-old son, Memphis, who was dressed as Beetlejuice.
The children walk west from the school to Crawford Street, picking up pre-kindergarten students from Sacred Heart Church, then east on McKay Street through downtown Frontenac before heading back to school on Cayuga Street. Frontenac Police and Fire Departments guard the parade route.
The parade went smoothly, partly because organizers put the youngest students at the rear of the parade so they didn’t slow it up.
The parents get involved, too, helping out with classroom parties and leading the younger kids in the parade.
“I think it’s unique in this town,” said Tonya Poe, who came to see her daughters Catherine, 8, who was dressed as Waldo, and Sebastian, 5, Olive Oyl. “The community and school are so tightly knit. I couldn’t find a parking spot. I came from a town of 500 people, and we never did anything like this.”
AnnDee Peterson, whose daughter, Lily, 5, was dressed as Cleopatra, agreed.
“I think this shows the kids that the community supports them and is interested in what they’re doing in school,” Peterson said.
Downtown Frontenac filled up with Cleopatras, rodeo clowns, mad scientists and fairies Wednesday afternoon. The Frank Layden Elementary school students were continuing a long-standing Frontenac tradition; The annual Halloween parade.
Teachers were in costume all day, and the students were allowed to change into costume before the parade.
“It’s been an all-day Halloween celebration,” said Principal Mark Allai, who was dressed as a character from A&E’s Duck Dynasty TV series. “The parents love it and the community expects it.”
Students aren’t encouraged to come to school in costume, Allai said, but administrators don’t hold a grudge if they do.
“We don’t want to ruin it for them,” Allai said. “We don’t encourage it, but if they do, it’s no big deal. It’s all about the kids.”
The parade has been a Frontenac tradition for at least 30 years — but no one is really certain, and some estimates put the time span at least 50 years — but the general consensus is that the parade has been around for a long, long time. What seems like the entire town shuts down for the parade, and people line McKay Street to watch the kids pass by.
“I think it’s great that so many people came to watch,” said Lindsay Halsey, who brought her 22-month-old son, Memphis, who was dressed as Beetlejuice.
The children walk west from the school to Crawford Street, picking up pre-kindergarten students from Sacred Heart Church, then east on McKay Street through downtown Frontenac before heading back to school on Cayuga Street. Frontenac Police and Fire Departments guard the parade route.
The parade went smoothly, partly because organizers put the youngest students at the rear of the parade so they didn’t slow it up.
The parents get involved, too, helping out with classroom parties and leading the younger kids in the parade.
“I think it’s unique in this town,” said Tonya Poe, who came to see her daughters Catherine, 8, who was dressed as Waldo, and Sebastian, 5, Olive Oyl. “The community and school are so tightly knit. I couldn’t find a parking spot. I came from a town of 500 people, and we never did anything like this.”
AnnDee Peterson, whose daughter, Lily, 5, was dressed as Cleopatra, agreed.
“I think this shows the kids that the community supports them and is interested in what they’re doing in school,” Peterson said.
