By Fatima Raza, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TheIFP.ca
Halloween is creeping closer and the Town of Halton Hills is ready to get the community in full spirit with its inaugural Bike It Costume Bike Parade happening next Saturday.
The event, scheduled to take place on Oct. 19 at 1 p.m., is open to all residents who want to dress up in Halloween costumes, hop on their bikes and join a ghoulish fun-filled parade through Gellert Community Park. Event organizers hope to promote cycling while providing a family-friendly atmosphere.
“Whoever wants to dig out their costume and get a little extra mileage out of it can come out and parade around in it,” said Coun. Jane Fogal. “Only they’re going to do it on a bike, which is fun because nobody does that.”
The parade will consist of two routes — one for younger children and one for older kids and adults — to ensure the safety of all participants as they stay within the park’s multi-use paths.
“Nobody is going out on the roads, nobody is going near the traffic,” Fogal said.
The event will kick off with registration, where volunteers will share cycling safety tips and educate the community on best practices for riding. Then, the parade will set off along two paths: a short route around the ball diamonds and a longer route that leads to the Tenth Side Road and back.
“What could be more fun than dressing up in Halloween costumes and then going on a parade so everybody can show off their costumes?” Fogal remarked.
There will be costume contests and prizes to be won across five different categories — best costume for children up to grade three, best costume for grades four to eight, best costume for high school, best adult costume and best family costume.
“You don’t need to be a kid to dress up and join the parade,” the organizers noted on the Halton Hills website.
Prizes will include Halloween-themed treats, with the chance to win a giant pumpkin courtesy of Allison’s Farm Market. For the best family costume, Fogal said the prize will be an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.
As the day approaches, Fogal reminds participants to ensure that their costumes are both comfortable for cycling and do not detract from safety.
“Make sure that your costume doesn’t inhibit the bike at all,” Fogal said, adding that she will be dressing up as a wizard from Harry Potter. “It seems like the right kind of costume to ride a bike in.”
The free event is organized by the volunteers at Halton Hills Active Transportation/Bike It Committee, which aims to promote cycling and safety in the community to encourage residents to ride their bikes more often, supporting the town’s goal to become more bicycle-friendly.
The Bike It Working Group is also working toward a silver designation in the Bicycle Friendly Community Program, managed by the Share the Road Coalition. In 2014, Halton Hills received its bronze designation and now the committee is focusing on improving cycling infrastructure, safety education, and community involvement.
“We think all activities on bicycles are good, so why don’t we take advantage of Halloween and have something really fun with people on bicycles?” said Fogal.
She said events like the costume bike parade are held to inspire residents to see cycling as both a fun and a healthy way to get around. Each year, the committee organizes initiatives to encourage participation and raise awareness about the benefits of cycling.
“Cycling is fun for the whole family,” she said, adding that community members are encouraged to get involved as volunteers for future events and initiatives.
The inaugural parade is organized by a team of eight volunteers from the bike committee, a subgroup of the town’s Active Transportation Advisory Committee, all focused on engaging the public in cycling.
For more information or to get involved, contact Fogal at janef@haltonhills.ca.
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