Village Clerk Annemarie Johnston read two letters of complaint at a recent Board of Trustees meeting.

“It really is a shame as Trunk or Treat does not come close to (it) as a replacement,” Amanda Fink wrote. “I’ve attended the annual Fredonia Halloween parade since I was a little girl, and I was looking forward to sharing it with my daughter this year for the first time.”

The parade allowed kids to show off their costumes to the village – and gave political candidates a chance to grin and wave, just ahead of Election Day. Local Scouting organizations also showed out in force.

COVID-19 and its social distancing protocols scotched the 2020 parade, and the event was not scheduled again until last year.

Trunk or Treat at Russell Joy Park proved to be a large turnout.

However, this year, Fredomia’s recreation department started posting on social media in September that there would be no 2024 parade.

The village recreation department emphasized Fredonia’s Trunk or Treat event as its main Halloween celebration. The event was held in Russell Joy Park Oct. 26.

“It would seem to me that the village would want to maintain family friendly traditions going back 30+ years that are right downtown in the village square,” Fink wrote. “These are the sort of events that bring the community, even those families without children, together.”

She added, “To be clear, I have no problem with Trunk or Treat but it’s targeted toward a very specific subset of the community and it’s also tucked away in Russell Joy Park, and easy for people to miss.”

Johnston also read a letter from Cheryl and Robert Rogers. “The annual Halloween parade was one of those hometown events that we had participated in since we moved to Fredonia in 1992,” they wrote. “Our children looked forward to it and often participated in the parade as members of Scouting troops, and were equally disappointed that this condition has been discontinued. We were looking forward to continuing this tradition with our grandchildren. Please reconsider this decision and reinstate the parade for the future.”

Mayor Michael Ferguson commented, “Trunk or Treat had a record attendance this year, to the point that not only the police but the fire (department) had to direct traffic. We had a record number of participants with over 40 tents and tables that were set up.”

“We do know the importance of the parade,” he added. “We certainly respect and appreciate everyone’s opinion on that.”