Every aspect of the 55th annual Lehighton Area Halloween Parade, held Saturday, was an obvious picture of success.

The eight-division parade, which took more than 90 minutes to pass, was held in ideal weather conditions: sunny, not too hot, not too cold. There were 50 judged units in the parade, with all the pre-registered entries appearing. The number of spectators watching the parade was the most in years, according to parade officials and longtime attendees.

Julie Harris, chairman of the Lehighton Area Halloween Parade Committee, said, “It was wonderful. It was great. I think the whole parade route was full of people, on both sides of the streets.”

This is the 41st year that Harris has been the parade chairman. She has been a volunteer with the parade committee for all 55 years.

“This was one of the biggest crowds in years,” she said gleefully. “I think the weather (clear skies, low 50s) had everything to do with it.”

Forrest Richardson of Allentown was visiting friends and watching the parade. “Wow, wow, wow,” he said. “The floats, the bands. They’re wonderful. I’m really enjoying it.”

This year’s parade had well over a dozen floats. It was obvious that a lot of work went into them, with the participating groups proving competitive for the parade honors.

The judges for this year’s event were Martha Cox, Brad Cressley and Casi Reichard.

“I think everybody enjoyed it,” Harris said, noting that many of the spectators — adults and children — wore costumes.

The grand marshals were Hank Williams and Kristin Simmons, a husband-wife duo who rode in the back seat of a red convertible.

The themes of the entries in the parade were varied. As an example, there were cute ones like LHH Learn and Play Child Care’s a float entitled “Land of Misfit Toys” while Girl Scout Troop 3801 and BHA Behavioral Health Associate’s “Toy Story.” Then there were scary ones with witches and ghouls. A frightening clown was walking along the route handing out candy. There was variety, with camping themes, royalty, and humor, which included an inflatable outhouse with a brown, blow-up turd courtesy of George’s Sewer & Drain Cleaning. That float, incidentally, won a top prize in its category.

Even some of the participating bands got into the Halloween theme.

Although all the members of the Celtic United Pipes and Drums of Wind Gap wore their signature kilts, some of the band also had banana costumes.

Another musical group, Holy Mackeral Band, a quintet which played throughout the parade route on a float, were attired in Wizard of Oz costumes.

The Allentown Almost Hobo Band had a skeleton on their float sitting with the band members. The band played up-tempo songs throughout the march, especially polkas like “Beer Barrel Polka” and “In Heaven There Is No Beer.” When the parade came to a brief stop, the members not only played but then sang the “There Is No Beer” song with the crowd.

The parade was led by the Lehighton Police Department, followed by a seven-member color guard of the Lehighton United Veterans Association, the nearly 100-piece Lehighton Band and cheerleaders, and the Lehighton Fire Department, which had marching members distributing candy and six pieces of apparatus.

The youngsters who attended came not only expecting the delightful costume show, but also the gratuitous amounts of candy tossed to them.

The Lehighton Police led two divisions, Lehighton Ambulance led three divisions, a state trooper on a motorcycle led a division, Franklin Township Police Department led a division, and the Carbon County Sheriff led a division.

Both major political parties had ample representation in the parade, displaying signs supporting various candidates.

One youngster, Cy Smith, 8, attested to the event’s success. He danced to the rhythm of the passing bands and managed to gather a bag filled with candy. He said, “The parade was fun. I got a lot of candy and had a good time.”