Coventry's first Halloween parade to be held this weekend

[dutchman]

Devils, bats and dark angels will all feature in Bewitching Broadgate this Saturday



Coventry is about to have its very own fright night with the first ever Halloween Parade to hit the city’s streets.

Bewitching Broadgate will bring a spooktacular end to the month-long Festival of the Dead this Saturday.

Things going bump in the night will include Day of the Dead themed costumes, devils, bats, dark angels, guardians and even a giant owl with Mexican Mariachi style music providing the soundtrack.

Entertaining the crowd will be a number of groups including Highly Sprung, Elite Dance Academy, the Pauline Quirke Academy, Phoenix Dance, Birmingham Ormiston Academy, the Belgrade Theatre Community Group ‘Shine On’, Diamond Dance, Coventry School of Samba, Coventry City College performing arts students and Imagineer Productions.

But members of the public will take centre stage too as there will be a Halloween costume competition with three age group categories.

The event is being organised by Coventry Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Imagineer Productions.

Trish Willetts, Coventry BID manager, is urging families to head down to Broadgate and enter into the spirit.

“I cannot think of a better way to celebrate Halloween,” she said. “We have got so much going on and we have something to suit all ages.

“It is wonderful to see the community getting involved and I am so pleased that so many local groups will be performing on the day.

“Not only that, it is a chance for the hundreds of stores, bars and restaurants to show what they have to offer to visitors who come along.

“This is a great chance to enjoy all the activities and events that are on offer and take a look around Coventry city centre as well.”

There will also be free face painting and Halloween head-dress making for youngsters plus an apple rolling contest.

Kathi Leahy, associate director of Imagineer Productions, added: “Coventry has a wealth of creative talent and we look forward to working alongside them bringing the city centre to life with this spooktacular event culminating in Coventry’s first Halloween Parade.”

• The event is on from 1pm to 7pm, the parade will set out around the square from 6pm.

[dutchman]

Thrills and chills at Coventry's first ever Halloween Parade



It’s the night ghouls look forward to all year but they got a rehearsal run at Coventry’s first ever Halloween Parade.

Crowds gathered for the city celebration of all things spooky at Bewitching Broadgate on Saturday.

They were spellbound by Day of the Dead themed costumes, devils, bats, dark angels, guardians and even a giant owl with Mexican Mariachi style music providing the soundtrack.

Entertaining the revellers were a number of groups including Highly Sprung, Elite Dance Academy, the Pauline Quirke Academy, Phoenix Dance, Birmingham Ormiston Academy, the Belgrade Theatre Community Group ‘Shine On’, Diamond Dance, Coventry School of Samba, Coventry City College performing arts students and Imagineer Productions.

But members of the public took centre stage too as there was a Halloween costume competition with three age group categories.

The event was organised by Coventry Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Imagineer Productions and brought a spooktacular end to the month-long Festival of the Dead.

Coventry will celebrate Halloween for real tonight in what is said to be one of the country’s most haunted cities.

According to a new survey, The Specials may have been right about Coventry being a ghost town.

Figures from 247 Blinds revealed that one in six Coventry residents believe their home is haunted.

Women in the city were also more likely to have had a paranormal experience.

The tradition of Halloween has its roots in British folklore.

The spooky holiday was previously called All Hallow’s Eve.

It marked the start of a period of observance where Christians remembered the dead – loved ones, religious martyrs and saints (also called hallows).