Thousands take over Hamilton Street for Allentown’s Halloween walking parade

• Families flooded Hamilton Street in downtown Allentown for the city's Halloween walking parade Saturday
• Mayor Matt Tuerk celebrated with residents while dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants
• The mayor said he was “overjoyed” but not surprised by the event's large turnout

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Several superhero universes appeared to collide Saturday, as thousands — including scores of kids dressed as Spider-Man and the many Avengers — celebrated Halloween in downtown Allentown.

Perennially popular costumes like clowns, the Grim Reaper and vampires were also among the favorites with kids at the city’s Halloween walking parade.

Dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants, Mayor Matt Tuerk said Allentown was hosting the walking parade for a second time after moving away from its traditional parade last year.

UntitledHe called Saturday’s event “more of a street party,” where people can interact with each other instead of just watching floats and vehicles drive by.

Halloween encourages people to get outside and celebrate with their neighbors, making Saturday’s celebration a particularly useful event for civic engagement.

“This is our community coming together."

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk

Many local nonprofits and city agencies set up tables to talk with residents as they flowed by, and city cops and firefighters took plenty of pictures with kids, Tuerk said.

“Now they’re not just walking down in a parade, throwing candy at kids; the kids are coming to them,” he said. “It gives people an opportunity to be involved with the city, to live the life of the city.”

The mayor said he was “overjoyed” but not surprised by the large turnout, with crowds stretching several blocks along Hamilton Street in Center City.

“This is our community coming together,” Tuerk said.

'Absolutely amazing'

Jon Valestin, an Allentown realtor, was among the many people manning tables and enjoying Saturday’s beautiful weather.

Valestin, who said he was dressed as a ringmaster, called the Halloween walking parade “absolutely amazing” and encouraged the city to put on more events like it.

“I wish we had more things like this more often,” Valestin said. “I think it should be at least once a month during the summer.”

Lehigh County Commissioner Geoff Brace handed out candy to kids at Saturday’s parade while wearing a Mandalorian sweatshirt.

His family chose a Star Wars theme, with his wife going as Ahsoka and his son dressing as Luke Skywalker.

It was “a blast” when “a couple of kids dressed as Darth Vader came up and challenged me,” he said.