2020 Strikes Again: Portsmouth Annual Halloween Parade Canceled

The Annual Halloween Parade in Portsmouth has become such a Halloween ritual for so many.  The marchers in the parade work for months on their costumes and this will come as a huge disappointment for participants and parade watchers alike.

On what would have been its 26^th annual parade, it is canceled, according to reporting from seacoastonline.com.

2020 strikes again. This year, Halloween falls on a Saturday AND a full Blue Moon.  Organizers of the event did not want the parade to turn into a super spreader event for COVID-19.

Former Parade Marshal and Coven member Monte Bohanan said, “We have exhausted every possible option, including a reverse parade, alternate locations, a rolling parade, and route changes, and we determined there is simply no way to keep the spirit of the parade and keep the spectators and participants safe during the pandemic,” according to seacoastonline.com.

The last year Halloween fell on a Saturday back in 2015, the parade had 2,500 marchers and 25,000 spectators, the news article reported.

Since the parade is on the streets, there is no way to do any type of crowd control. I was really hoping by the end of October this was one event we could attend, but sadly, 2020 is turning out to be a heck of a year.

I can’t wait till the ball drops in 2021 and we can put this year behind us.  Hop online and check out the galleries of photos of past years of the Portsmouth Halloween Parade.   It won’t be the same, but at least it’s a little something.

I look forward to Halloween every year just to eat all my kids Halloween candy.