Monsters took over the Village of Malverne last Saturday morning.
More than 400 people turned out to take part in the annual Ragamuffin Parade and Candy Crawl. The parade, hosted by the village and the Malverne Youth Board, kicked off at Gazebo Park, on Church Street.
“Every year we have the Ragamuffin Parade,” village Trustee Megan O’Rourke-Schutta, the Youth Board liaison, said. “All the children in the village dress up, come out and they do a parade around the gazebo. It’s a lot of fun.”
Before the parade began, children and families enjoyed popcorn, snacks and carnival games. Booths were set up for Rainbow Scratch designs, a candy corn toss into a pumpkin, and a witch hat ring toss.
The village’s Department of Public Works, local Girl Scouts and volunteers from the Malverne Youth Board set up the stations.
“It’s a nice little thing to do before Halloween,” said O’Rourke-Schutta, who used to bring her son to the parade. “The kids love that they get to wear their costumes more than just once.”
Led by Malverne Mayor Tim Sullivan and his daughter, Ella, dressed as Spider-Man, the parade made two laps around Gazebo Park. At the end, everyone was ready to “limb-boo” lower under a limbo bar. Then village Trustee Carl Prizzi led everyone in the monster mash, dancing to spooky tunes in the gazebo.
In the Chamber of Commerce Candy Crawl, Chamber Champ led children to some 35 local merchants in the village, who gave away sweet treats.
“Every Halloween we do this Candy Crawl for the community,” Dr. Evelyn Heredia, of Phoenix Family Chiropractic, said. “We involve all the local stores and vendors to give back to the community.”
Beginning at Church Street, and continuing on Broadway and Hempstead Avenue, children packed the village’s business district, collecting candy and more from merchants with pumpkin posters in their windows.
Heredia, a chamber board trustee, organized the fifth annual Candy Crawl with the help of Dr. Maria Casvikes, of Dental Works of Malverne. The chamber also worked with the village Police Department and Police Reserves to make sure crossing guards were available to keep the streets safe during the event.
“Our first year we saw about 150 kids, and we’re growing every year,” Heredia said. “We enjoy seeing all the families and the little kids in their costumes, (and) being able to meet the community that we haven’t met before.”
The Malverne Pastry Shop gave away freshly baked cookies during the Crawl, and the Bridge Church had a bounce house. Phoenix Family Chiropractic handed out goodie bags — as well as caramel and apple cider vodka shots for the adults — while raising money for breast cancer awareness.
The Candy Crawl ended at Crossroads Farm at Grossmann’s. There the participants enjoyed the weekly fall fest at the farm, and explored the pumpkin patch. The farm also donated 100 small sugar pumpkins to the first attendees of the day. Ragamuffin Parade attendees also had the chance to cash in vouchers for free sugar pumpkins, hayrides or $5 off larger pumpkins at the farm.
