|
|
 |
|
Keith and Peggy Foutz were joined by Scoop, The Early Bird/Bluebag
Media’s mascot,
during last year’s Halloween Parade and Beggar’s Night.
Main Street Greenville
Early
Bird/Bluebag Media keeps Halloween parade tradition alive
This past spring, the Greenville Lions Club announced it was giving up
its role as sponsor and coordinator of the annual Lions Club Halloween
Parade. The parade had been entrenched as an annual fun, family event
in the city for the past 40 years. Over the better part of the last
decade it has gone hand-in-hand with Main Street Greenville’s Beggar’s
Night.
Fearful the tradition would come to an end The Early Bird/Bluebag Media
began talks with Main Street Greenville, Greenville Lions Club and city
officials to see if there was a way to keep it alive. The answer was to
take over sponsorship and coordination of the event that has brought
smiles to children and adults alike for nearly two generations. This
year’s The Early Bird/Bluebag Media Halloween Parade and Main Street
Greenville’s Beggar’s Night will take place on Oct. 29. Parade line-up
will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the event begins at 7 p.m. Keep watching
The Early Bird and visit www.bluebagmedia.com for more information on
the events.
Keith Foutz, publisher and president of The Early Bird/Bluebag Media,
jumped at the opportunity. He said, “The Early Bird and Bluebag Media
is both excited and proud to be able to assist with being able to
continue the long standing tradition of providing a Halloween Parade
for our community.” Foutz also understands the Greenville Lions Club
put a lot of hard work and time making the event what it is day. He
said, “We are appreciative of The Lion’s Club for their prior years of
hard work and efforts and are pleased to take over the reins of this
outstanding community event.” He continued, “We’re also thankful to
both Main Street Greenville and the city for making this transition of
sponsorship from them to us easy. Being locally owned and operated made
it a quick and easy decision for us to participate to ensure the
continuance of this wonderful and fun event. Our entire team enjoys
giving back to our community where we live, work and play.”
Amber Garrett, executive director of Main Street Greenville, is also
excited the tradition will continue as it has in the past, “We are
thrilled the Early Bird has volunteered to continue the long-standing
tradition of the Lions Club Parade. It is a cherished event and it
partners so well with our organization’s downtown Beggars’ Night
festivities. We thank the Lions Club for creating and managing the
event for so many years. Their dedication to this event was obvious and
their hard work does not go unrecognized.”
Garrett talked to many area residents that were upset after the Lions
Club made its announcement. “The community was very vocal about their
disappointment when the Lions Club shared they would no longer offer
the Halloween Parade. Many locals love this tradition and they did not
want to see it fade away. The fact that the Early Bird recognized the
community’s wish for this to continue and took leadership to make it
happen; it says a lot about the type of community we live in,” she said.
She continued, “The Beggars’ Night portion of the evening was created
by the downtown merchants. They wanted to give back to the community
through this event. All of the participating businesses purchase over
1,500 pieces of candy to distribute the evening of the parade. This
evening is not about sales for those businesses who participate; it is
about the business owners creating a fun environment for children and
families to enjoy. The majority of the businesses are not open; it is
one of the only events downtown where business owners are simply
participating and just having a great time interacting with the
community. Many of the merchants dress-up and some spend hours creating
amazing displays for the children to enjoy.”
She concluded, “We are excited to hear the Early Bird’s ideas for the
parade portion of the event and we can’t wait to work together to plan
a great night for all to enjoy!”
Foutz is hoping the community will continue to support the Early
Bird/Bluebag Media Halloween Parade as they have in previous years. He
is pleased to announce there will be a few minor changes in store,
which he and Garrett believes will strengthen the parade and Beggar’s
Night festivities. Judging will be done during the parade and awards
will be presented at the Traffic Circle instead of the City Building.
In addition, the Greenville High School Varsity Cheerleaders have
agreed to take an active role in the parade as judges and will help
organize parade participants into seven different categories at the
start of the event. Stacie Ward, cheer advisor, said, “The GHS Varsity
Cheerleaders are excited to be a part of giving back to the community
and helping The Early Bird and Bluebag Media continue this hometown
tradition.”
|
|
|
|
