Boys and girls parade down Main Street for Cortland Halloween Parade

Participants line up for the Cortland Halloween Parade on Main Street, Oct. 25, 2018 (Photo: Peter Blanchard/Cortland Voice)

CORTLAND, N.Y. — Boys and girls of all ages paraded down Main Street Thursday night to kick off Halloween celebrations.

The theme of this year’s Cortland Halloween Parade and Downtown Trick or Treating, was “Time Travel.” Trick or treating was held from 5-6 p.m., and the parade officially began at 6:15 p.m.

“There is a lot that goes into planning the parade,” said Jane Witty, Event Director of the Cortland Downtown Partnership. A few of the partners for this year’s event were the Cortland Repertory Theater, the SUNY Cortland Bike Project, and local school districts.,

“My favorite part (of the parade) is being with the judges,” Witty said. “I get to see everyone in the parade and I get to interact with the kids. I see the whole thing and I really like that.”

During the trick or treating hour, kids and families traveled up and down Main Street collecting sweet treats.

For the parade, participants were grouped together by grade, family and group costume. Grades were grouped 0-2, 3-6, and 7-12, and each group was escorted by a member of The Cortland Bike Project.


Check out our photo gallery of the Cortland Halloween Parade


The parade traveled down Main Street, one group at a time, and stopped in front of the Cortland Fire House for costume judging.

Costumes were judged in four categories: cutest, most original, best in theme and scariest. Marchers were asked to hold up their paddles, so the judges could write them down. After stopping for judging, groups headed down to the Cortland Repertory Theater where the winners of the costume contest were announced.

The winners were announced by group, starting with family and ending with grades 7-12. Cutest was only awarded for grades 0-6 and scariest was only awarded for grades 7-12. The family and group costume categories were awarded best costume for their respective categories. Each winner received a goodie bag as their prize.

Here are the results of the Costume Contest:

Infant - Grade 2

Best in Theme - Caroline Chapman, Francesca DiOrio, Seth Caldwell, Kenniston Salsbury, Miles Franco
Cutest - Alannah Chorley, Thomas Finn, Francesca DiOrio, Delilah Salsbury, Kinsley Bornw
Most Original - McKenna Patterson, Bernice Spanbauer, Kinsley Brown, Jazmine Austin, Anneke Coats

Grade 3-6

Best in Theme - Cole Milligan, Lukas Quinn, Chandler House, Kelsey Gillette, Grace Lawrence
Cutest - Molly Sorenson, Haley Montgomery, Bella Guido, Sharon Parkhurst, Lauren Franco
Most Original - Taryn Quinn, Caleb Hart, Lauren Franco, Anthony Guido, Lukas Quinn

Grade 7-12

Best in Theme - Lily Sorenson, Max Queen
Scariest - Kevin Queens, Angela Compton
Most Original - Sam Sorenson, Christian Compton

Best Family

Vickery Family

Best Group

Max Franco, Logan Stauber, Chris Slade, Brianna