Anne Sofia Nelson Dettmann, 6, showing off her costume to the Boutwells seniors and enjoying candy.
Rain dampened attendance at this year's pre-Halloween Parade through Boutwells Landing. But it didn’t dampen support. Or enthusiasm.
The most chairs and wheelchairs in nearly a dozen years were jammed into the entire length of Boutwells main-building corridor, even curling around the ends near the exits. Seated on them were Boutwells seniors, eager to fill buckets and pumpkin containers of the 300 kids who braved the wet and cold to parade through Boutwells warm, dry, well-lit corridors.
About two-thirds of 30,000 pieces of candy were handed out, a supply which had been rounded up earlier by the Parade’s two co-sponsors, Sunrise Rotary Club and Boutwells Landing. The Parade was also supported by Kraus-Anderson Construction Company, Lake Elmo Bank, The Oilerie on Grand Avenue of St. Paul, and Lake Area Bank.
Samantha, 7, showing her support of Rotary's End Polio Now campaign by getting her purple pinkie
Kids voluntarily donated $85 to PolioPlus, a Rotary International project which is “this close” to ending polio around the world. Dennis Lindsey and 16 members of his Stillwater Area High School Pep Band played inside throughout the evening, marching the entire main corridor at the end. He even had two- to six-year-old tricksters helping beat the big base drum.
Counting parents and grandparents who accompanied the kids, close to a thousand paraded through Boutwells in less than one hour during this year’s 11th annual event, despite the rain.
