ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Halloween season is fully upon the area, and people will have the chance to get into the spirit early on Halloween thanks to the Liberal Noon Kiwanis Club.
This year’s Pet & Spook Parade will be Thursday, Oct. 31, with lineup starting at 4 p.m. and the parade itself starting at 4:15 p.m. Participants will line up and get their goodie bag coupons at the intersection of West Trail Street and South Lincoln Avenue near the railroad tracks. The parade will go north on Kansas Avenue and end at Tobias Park, where everyone will be able to redeem their coupons for their treat bags. Coordinators Becki Richardson and Andy Skinner said there is a lot to be excited about for this year.
“There will be two different bands from Seymour Rogers Middle School totaling about 75 students altogether, so that's a lot of students, and it'll be a lot of fun having two different bands. The Liberal High School Key Club will also be participating, and they've got about 35 members this years, which is pretty significant,” Richardson said. “We hand out between 200 and 250 goodie bags every year, and we want to emphasize to people they cannot get their goodie bags without the coupon we'll be giving them at the beginning of the parade. Something else I've been asked by a few people is whether or not they can participate if they don't have a pet, and the answer is yes, you can. You don't have to have a pet to participate, you can just come in your costume and walk with everyone else.”
“A lot of people also bring their pets with them, so it's a great event. We'll also have the middle school bands participating and playing, which we think is awesome,” Skinner said. “We're really excited about the bands performing, having them just adds more energy to everything, and we're also hoping for nice weather that day. Numbers-wise, this is one of our bigger events, so getting everyone out will also be great to see. And in going through the history of the Noon Kiwanis Club in Liberal, we're thinking this might be our 50th year of doing the Pet & Spook Parade, or pretty close to it.”
With the parade typically drawing a lot of participation, Richardson and Skinner added they are looking forward to seeing what this year’s parade will look like.
“I'm also really excited about the bands, and seeing the Liberal High School Key Club will also be really great to see since they've got so many members this year and are wanting to partner with us on this. Overall, I think this year's event will be particularly big for us,” Richardson said. “We're really proud of having put this event on for so many years, and Kiwanis does some amazing work for children in the community, which is what we're all about. It's really exciting the club's been in existence for that long and has been able to do so much great work. I would say anywhere between 250 and 275, maybe even close to 300 people is what we're expecting, that's typically what we see. We'll also have our vans in the parade, and I know a lot of people like seeing it out and about.”
Richardson and Skinner agreed the parade is a great way to help kick off the Halloween festivities that day.
“It's a great way to get ready for that evening's trick-or-treat fun because a lot of people are already dressed up in their costumes and have their candy bags ready, so we like to think of ourselves as kind of the kickoff to the Halloween fun in Liberal,” Richardson said. “It's a really fun event, and the children love embracing everything that goes on that day. We welcome any and all pets in this parade, and our main rule with the pets is to have them leashed and under control. And that's for not only the public's safety but the animals' safety as well. Also, please be sure your pet's sociable, don't bring an animal you know will be nasty and snarling at everyone and everything the whole time.”
“It's just a great kickoff to Halloween, and we're happy to celebrate it along with the rest of the community,” Skinner added. “Like Becki said, it's just a lot of fun, you can't beat dressing up in Halloween gear, and you never know what's going to show up. Also, you get candy, and I don't know too many people who would forego getting free candy. And we know the children love seeing all the animals, seeing all the different pets in their costumes just makes everything more fun. As the old saying goes, the more the merrier! The pets make it really, really fun and it helps increase the creativity seen.”
Richardson and Skinner added they enjoy helping coordinate the parade every year.
“We love seeing everyone at the beginning of the parade because they've got a lot of energy and they're really excited, which is always great to see,” Richardson said. “I've even brought my grandson a few times, and it's great seeing all the happy faces. We would love to see the parade keep growing, we have a pretty dedicated group and are continuing to draw in new members who are interested in being part of the community in such a big way.”
“I've got three little ones of my own, they're 5, 3, and 1, and it's been great seeing them understand Halloween more and lean into the holiday and have fun with their costumes and everything else,” Skinner added. “There are a lot of veteran Kiwanis Club members who care about this community and have done a great job in the past of supporting different events and local children, so it's a tribute to all of that work.”
For those interested in learning more about the Noon Kiwanis Club, Richardson offered encouragement for them to reach out.
“Anyone interested in knowing more about us can join us at our meetings, which take place at Seward County Community College, we'd love to answer any questions anyone may have,” Richardson said.
