Cranford Halloween Parade Names 42 Costume Contest Winners

The 13th annual Cranford Halloween Parade and Pumpkin Chunkin took place this Sunday in Cranford sponsored by the Cranford Recreation and Parks Department and the Cranford Jaycees.

The event had one of the largest turnouts co-chair Aaron Dolan from the Cranford Jaycees has ever seen. He said that many people he talked to said it might have been their biggest crowd yet.

The weather was also in their favor this year, as last year the event was scaled down due to Sandy and the year prior it was also minimized due to the impending blizzard.

“Everyone that I talked to said that we were definitely due for a great day since the last two years have been so rough,” Dolan said. “I just can't thank everyone who helped enough.  It was definitely a team effort and I think the kids really enjoyed it.”

Dolan said there was a lot of excitement leading up to the parade and he received more calls than he had in the six years he has worked on the parade.

In the costume contest, there were 245 applicants across 10 categories which included Ages 0-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-16, Parent-Child, Float, Group and Pet (a new category added for the first time this year).  The crowd for the parade and pumpkin chunkin was more than 750 people.  

The parade was led by a Cranford Police squad car down Walnut Avenue and ending at the corner of North Union Avenue and Springfield Avenue. The parade commenced with the pumpkin chunkin tradition where the Cranford Fire Department uses its ladder truck to drop a series of large pumping from the bucket of the truck as its raised each drop to feature an even larger pumpkin.

“The final pumpkin required two men to lift,” according to the Jaycees.  “The pumpkins were all provided by Dreyer’s Farm, which has sponsored the event since its inception.”

The 42 winners and their costumes in each category include:

Ages 0-3:
1st Place – Macy Valdivia: Sun-Maid Raisin
1st Place – Diana Warner: Clown
1st Place – Bora Bektesha: Little Bo Peep
2nd Place – Grace Curtain: Lolly Pop Princess
2nd Place – Griffan Geis: Pirate
2nd Place – Abigale Bacolo: Tree
3rd Place – Declan Sullivan: Elephant
3rd Place – Sydney Cohen: Dorothy and Toto
3rd Place – Mila Kuzio: Snow White

Ages 4-5:
1st Place – Nicolas Hartman: Dusty
1st Place – Paul Vlkovic: Minion from “Despicable Me”
1st Place – Alex Korunoeski: Super Speedy
2nd Place – Aidan Acosta: Luke Skywalker
2nd Place – Marco Valdivia: Mr. Mint
2nd Place – Kristen Shave: Angel
3rd Place – Alana Delvalle: Doc McStuffins
3rd Place – Sienna Destefano: Candy Cane Fairy
3rd Place – Gregoire Scherrer: Waldo

Ages 6-7:
1st Place – Nichole Gordan: Zombie Grave
2nd Place – Aiden Karant: Robot
3rd Place – Mady Delong: Lego

Ages 8-9:
1st Place – Abby Gordon: Haunted Art Gallery (Moaning Lisa)
2nd Place – Cael Lynch: Rubik’s Cube
3rd Place – Gabby Gabel: Minion from “Despicable Me”

Ages 10-11:
1st Place – Calvin Campos: Transformer
2nd Place – Jake Winn: Lobster Dinner
3rd Place – Ally Vlkovic: Sky Dancer

Ages 12-16:
1st Place – Liam Lynch: Headless Man
2nd Place – Charlotte Ceolkyol: Table
3rd Place – Sean Vlkovic: Handstand Man

Parent-Child:
1st Place – Kane Family: Spider Baby Climbing Wall
2nd Place – Gable Family: Despicable Me and Minion
3rd Place – Acosta Family: Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker

Group:
1st Place – Winn Family: Lobster and Calamari Dinner
2nd Place – Pierce Family: Roller Coaster
3rd Place – Jake and Izzy Cubby: Neverland Pirates

Float:
1st Place – Miller Family: Alice In Wonderland
2nd Place – Valdivia Family: Candy Land
3rd Place – Crawford Family: King Triton, Ariel and Flounder

Pet:
1st Place – Bravo and Sandy Winn: Lobster and Calamari Dinner
2nd Place – Sparky Figueiredo: Hot Dog
3rd Place – Riley Kachoogian: Pig in a Blanket

The parade was co-chaired by Aaron Dolan and David Lluberes with help from many Jaycees.  This event was also made possible with a lot of support from Steve Robertazzi, the director of the Cranford Recreation & Parks Department.

Next year, the competition will expand to include, “Best Decorated Vehicle.”