Spooky parade haunts Houma’s streets

Parents in Houma looking for an alternative to taking their kids trick-or-treating have a refuge this Halloween season.

The 3rd annual Halloween Parade, sponsored by the South Louisiana Center for the Arts (SoLa), is Friday, Oct. 30, beginning at 7 p.m.

The parade starts in the Town Hall parking lot located on the corner of Barrow Street and Tunnel Boulevard, turns left on Main Street and ends on Church Street at the Terrebonne Parish Courthouse.

After the parade, the Houma Regional Arts Council will show the classic animated television special “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” on an outdoor screen near the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum.

Providing musical entertainment in the square will be a DJ, but SoLa is also looking for a school band to perform.

“We do this to provide a fun, safe environment for the children for Halloween,” said Elizabeth Anna Roberts, executive director of SoLa. “That way, parents don’t have to worry about taking them trick-or-treating. It is strictly for the children.’

The parade will feature decorative floats, cheerleaders, SoLa’s glee club, antique cars and local roller derby team, the Cajun Roller Girls. Parade participants toss wrapped candy to onlookers.

“We’re going to skate the entire parade route, but we are also going to have a vehicle trailing us and playing music,” said Traci Nelton, Cajun Rollers Girls founder/president. “We’re all in for the children.”

The king and queen of this year’s parade are Trooper First Class Gilbert Dardar, Louisiana State Police Troop C public information officer, and Susan Szuch, Acadian Ambulance community relations supervisor.

This is the first time either has been chosen to be royalty for a parade.

Roberts and the SoLa committee selected Gilbert and Szuch for their annual mock crash demonstrations warning high school juniors and seniors about the dangers of drinking and driving during prom season.

“They liked that we make an impact with the young people of Terrebonne and the surrounding parishes,” Szuch explained. “I’m really excited and honored to be chosen.”

“It’s not about me. It’s about the kids. It’s about going out there and giving them a little Halloween celebration,” Dardar said.

“I had one condition: that I would have all my crash safety stuff in the parade as well,” he continued. “They said, ‘Absolutely.’ So now I got to work on getting Vince and Larry, the crash test dummies, into the parade like we do for Mardi Gras.”

There is no charge for participation in the parade. However, all participants must be associated with a business, civic group or club that has submitted an application.

Each group must consist of at least 10 but no more than 50 participants. All participants are required to dress in appropriate costumes.

Children’s wagons or similar children’s vehicles are encouraged. These must be pull-type only; children on motorized vehicles are not permitted. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a group chaperone.

“If different companies want to get together to participate, we’re all about that too,” Roberts said.

For parade information, call Roberts at (985) 876-2222.