Uniontown hosts 69th annual Halloween Parade
Spooks, goblins and headless monsters marched through the streets of Uniontown Wednesday evening for the 69th annual Halloween Parade. Joining the ghastly crew was one chicken – Samantha Stepanik, 10, of Uniontown, dressed in a white feathery outfit with yellow tights and a rubber beak.
Stepanik’s aunt, Marlene Kolosky of Uniontown, made the chicken costume from four feather boas sewn on to a white sweatshirt.
Kolosky said she makes Halloween outfits for her nieces and nephews every year, always coming up with new ideas.
“I love Halloween. My son’s 16, so he won’t let me dress him anymore. So I make their costumes for them,” she said, pointing out her two nieces and nephew.
In addition to the making the chicken costume, Kolosky made a crab outfit for her 10-month-old niece, Caylee Balabon, and a snake charmer outfit for her 6-year-old nephew, Christian Horwat.
All three children participated in the costume contest held in the Uniontown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 47 building, and all three received a prize for their creative costumes.
The VFW co-sponsored the Halloween Parade this year with radio stations Froggy 94.9 and Pickle 99.3
Kolosky said the parade has become a tradition for her family, noting that her nephew has been in it every year since he was born.
“When he was a baby we strapped him to a float,” she said, noting that Horwat has won a prize for his costume every year, too.
“This all is just a lot of fun for us,” Kolosky said.
VFW lifetime member Lou Giachetti, who served as grand marshal of the parade, said this year’s festivity went out without a hitch.
“Everything was wonderful,” he said, noting that more people seem to participate in or attend the parade every year.
Giachetti said there were 15 floats and eight bands, in addition to more than a 1,000 murmurs, the people who dress in costume and walk the streets during the parade.
“It was a big parade, perhaps our largest,” he said.
Costume judging took place immediately following the parade. Cash prizes were awarded top all age groups, including those for overall best costume and best float.
The costume and float winners were as follows:
For the 2 and under category: Megan Morris, first place; Sophia Bendishaw, second place; and tied for third place were Kaihden McKay, Joey Myers and Albert Dressel Jr.
In the 2-,3-, and 4-year-old age category: Maria Sutton, first place; Kyle Sexton, second place; Jamie Osburn, third place; Hannah Whetsel, fourth place; Clayton Watson, fifth place; and Katilyn Robinson, fifth place.
For the 5,6, and 7-year old category: Dalton Bowers, first place; Allenah Delara, second place; Christian Horwat, third place; Candice Handlin, fourth place; Joshua Yucha, fifth place; and Malayna Gray and Randy Watson in sixth place.
In the 8-,9-, and 10-year old category: Michael Giachetti, first place; Marcella Mills, second place; Billy Baer, third place; Amanda Sutton, fourth place; Michael Duritsky, fifth place; Lauren Verbosky, sixth place; and Samantha Stepanik, seventh place.
For the 11-, 12-, and 13-year-old category: Olivia Sutton, first place; Debbie Camp, second place; Melanie Baker, third place; Maria Fischer, fourth place; Nick Hornsby, fifth place.
In the 14-, 15-, and 16-year-old category: Charles Mills, first place; and Rebecca Zajac and Ariel Laight in second place.
For the 17-year-old and over category: Elda Shawley, first place; and Dan Karfelt, second place.
In the best overall costume category: Paula Sexton, first place; Mark Fike, second place; and Teresa Fischer, third place.
For best motorized float, prizes went to: Howard Hanna Real Estate, first place; Rainbow Dreams Daycare, second place; and Uniontown Methodist Church, third place.
For best indoor float, prizes went to: Fire Department 602, first place; Caylee Balabon, second place; and Gino Mollica, Cody Ritchie, Mariah Custer and Gianna Mollica in third place.