2023 Marked the 70th Annual Rotary Halloween Parade, the longest running community event in Hudson, Wisconsin. Read what Jack White, from the Star Observer had to say about the event.
Kids in costumes, a horse-drawn wagon, petting zoos and more helped the Hilltop Pumpkin Party and the 70th annual Rotary Halloween Parade live up to its festive-sounding name on Saturday at Camp DayCroix in Hudson. More than 350 people attended, according to the Hudson Chamber of Commerce.
The Rotary Halloween Parade is one of the longest-running community events in Hudson. For the first time last year, the Hudson Rotary Club and Hudson Daybreak Rotary Club organized the event with the Hudson Chamber of Commerce’s Hilltop Pumpkin Party.
Now, the Clubs and Chamber host the parade and party on the same day. In doing this, President of the Hudson Daybreak Rotary Club Tricia Christiansen said the organizations wanted to make it easier on local families.
“There’s just so much to do in a real close amount of space,” Christiansen said. “Kids can come out, enjoy some outside fun, get a hayride, do some indoor stuff if they get chilly, [get] some treats. It’s a lot packed into a few hours.”
Near the end of the event, families in costumes paraded around the grounds by the Royal Credit Union (RCU) Discovery Center at the camp. When the parade came to a close, the Rotary Clubs of Hudson announced cash winners for the top five best costumes in four different age groups.
The club gave out cash prizes for the top two best group costumes: the winner received $45 and the runner-up got $25. The club awarded a best-in-show prize of $150 as well.
Rotary Event Chair Tyler Warwick-Mick, who also works events for the Hudson Chamber of Commerce, said their favorite part of the event is seeing all the different costumes.
“It’s not even all kids that do it — some adults have really awesome costumes that they put a lot of time into,” Warwick-Mick said. “It’s super awesome that they come out and use this as an opportunity to showcase their creativity.”
In addition to the activities already mentioned, Kids could explore the inside of a firetruck, an ambulance and a police car during the event. They could stop by the various booths inside RCU Discovery Center and pick up candy or temporary tattoos. Also, of course, the event had plenty of pumpkins.