Ashland’s Children’s Halloween Parade began with a preschool teacher who wanted children to have a celebration of their own. Decades later, some of those early participants return with their children.
Founder Jill Rothman said she organized the first march while working as head teacher at Gresham Preschool. She wanted an alternative to the adult Halloween celebrations she remembered as rowdy.
Rothman believes the first parade took place in 1983. Her daughter, then a preschooler, was among the children who walked from the preschool to the library and on to the plaza, wearing costumes and carrying rhythm instruments.
The next year, Rothman said, she promoted the parade with a song on local radio. At least a couple hundred people showed up, she recalled, and the city agreed to close streets.
“Oh, I was thrilled!” Rothman said. “And the kids were thrilled to have people join them for sure.”
As the parade grew, downtown stores began handing out treats. Parents joined the march, and Rothman found herself managing an event that had become more than a small preschool outing.
Eventually, she sought someone else to take over because organizing the parade had become unwieldy and she worried about liability. Rothman said a local business connection ran it for a few years before passing it to the Ashland Chamber of Commerce.
The parade brings reminders of Rothman's years in the classroom. One former preschool student recently told Rothman that returning to the parade with her own children felt more magical because of her memories of participating.
Watching the tradition continue still surprises Rothman.
“It was my intent that it grow, but I had no idea it would grow like that.”
Event
- This year’s parade is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31, starting at the Ashland Public Library and ending at the downtown plaza. Lineup begins at 3:30 p.m., with the parade departing at 3:45 p.m.
Guest
- Jill Rothman, founder, Ashland Children's Halloween Parade
