ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Those looking to get a bit of early Halloween fun will get just that later this month thanks to the Kiwanis Club.
This year’s annual Pet and Spook Parade will be Friday, Oct. 30, with lineup starting at 4 p.m. at the intersection of West Trail Street and South Lincoln Ave., and the parade itself starting at 4:15 p.m. The parade will go north on Kansas Ave. and end at Tobias Park. Each child will get a coupon for their goodie bags at the end of the parade, and they have to have that coupon to get their goodie bags. People are welcome to dress up in costumes and even bring their pets, and with an event like this, coordinator Andy Skinner says the more the merrier.
“We typically see 200 to 250 participants or more, which we love to see, and there have been multiple times when we've even had the middle school bands be part of the fun,” Skinner said. “It's always great seeing the humans' and pets' costumes, it's amazing what people come up with, and it's a great way to help children get a bit of a jump start on their trick-or-treating.”
Skinner said the annual parade is just a part of the group’s work.
“Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers to be part of the community, and our primary focus is helping kids out in the community. The Kiwanis Club has put on the Pet and Spook Parade for at least more than 40 years, and I've talked to people my age who have told me they remember the parade from when they were younger. It's a really fun event, and the children love embracing everything that goes on that day. It's just a great kickoff to Halloween, and we're happy to celebrate it along with the rest of the community. 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.”
Skinner said the parade is always a lot of fun to help coordinate.
“The parade’s always a lot of fun because you get to see a lot of different people and their costumes and pets and their costumes, and it’s great seeing all the different costumes everyone comes up with,” Skinner said. “And then the bands come and play, so you get to hear some good music along with seeing all the cool costumes. I like this year because the parade’s the Friday before Halloween, so it’s an extra day the kids can wear their costumes and get some extra candy, and again, who wouldn’t want that? We'd also love for any school bands or similar groups to participate, they always make parades better – we've heard from the band directors in the past about how they use the parade as practice time for not only songs but overall marching and movement, and the energy they all bring is just great. If there are any groups like that who want to participate, they would just need to get in touch with me at (620) 846-0654 or by email at
Skinner said while pets are welcome to participate, owners should exercise responsibility.
“We welcome any and all pets in this parade, and the 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,” Skinner said. “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. 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. Everyone's been pretty good with that, we haven't come across any major problems in that regard because people seem to use their common sense and know what they need to do if they're bringing their pets into the public.”
Skinner said he is proud to be part of keeping such a fun tradition alive for the community.
“It's great to have this parade and keep the tradition going and like I said, it’s always great seeing everybody's costumes every year. I’ve also noticed ever since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems like the parade keeps getting bigger and bigger. I’m hoping we can get back above that 250 to 300-participant mark and we'll have to keep buying more candy,” Skinner said. “Right now, we're planning on somewhere around you know 250 to 300 kids plus the middle school bands’ members, so I feel like that will be a pretty big turnout of folks walking down Kansas Ave. We would also gladly welcome donations of candy from businesses, candy isn’t exactly inexpensive at the moment, so if anyone would want to contribute in that way, we’d be more than happy to get that. This is just one event Kiwanis does throughout the year. Our club is responsible for putting up the U.S. flags, welcome flags, rodeo flags, Five State Fair flags, Homecoming flags for the high school and Seward County Community College, and then flags for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We also, this past year, partnered with every first grade class in USD 480 and we bought multiple books for the students through the book fair for every single first grader in Liberal.”
Overall, Skinner said, he is hoping for another fun and successful parade.
“Anyone interested in knowing more about the Liberal Noon Kiwanis can join us at our meetings, which take place at Seward County Community College, we'd love to answer any questions anyone may have,” Skinner said. “As the old saying goes, the more the merrier! The pets make it really, really fun and it helps increase the creativity seen, so if you're looking for a good Halloween kickoff, the Pet & Spook Parade is the place to be.”
