USA’S First Citywide Halloween Celebration Was In Minnesota
Another in a continuing series looking at Legendary Minnesotans, the people that make this state such a great place to live, work, and play in.
Halloween Express just announced they're opening soon in Rochester, Minnesota.
Just in case you are wanting to score some of the most popular costumes and Halloween decorations early, you are in luck. Halloween Express just shared the following announcement on their Facebook page: "Halloween Expess is COMING SOON!! Setting up the store today at Miracle Mile #comingsoon #HalloweenExpress #halloween2021 "
Read More: Popular Halloween Store Will Be Opening Soon in Rochester
So it seems like the perfect time for this week's Legendary Minnesotan, George Green who saw to it Anoka, Minnesota became the first city in the United States of America to hold a Halloween Celebration.
"Anoka, Minnesota is believed to be the first city in the United States to put on a Halloween celebration to divert its youngsters from Halloween pranks. When Anokans awoke to find their cows roaming Main Street, windows soaped and outhouses tipped over, they decided something had to be done. But what?" (Source)
It was 1920 and Mr . Green and other city leaders suggested a way to keep the kids occupied was with an Halloween parade. It became the big thing everyone in town was working on (in the 1920's, Anoka's population was about 4200 people, so it probably was everyone).
Halloween evening came and it is said more than a thousand kids who had worked hard on their costumes for weeks, marched proudly down main street. Then free popcorn for the kids, then a bonfire, and it was called a success.
Halloween was over and the number of cows let loose on Main Street numbered in the zeros.
Anoka's Halloween Celebration was such a success, it's happened every year since, with only two cancellations; 1942 and 1943 when World War II was raging. By 1937, over 2,000 kids were marching in the parade, 20,000 people came to watch, and Anoka took on mantel, "Halloween Capitol of the World." Over time there have been giant pillow fights, concerts, and "in the 1960s, a snake dance that took long lines of participants in and out of area businesses and homes."
That One Time A Trip To Anoka Was a Game Show Prize
I can't find any video of it (dang it YouTube, get with it!), but in the 1970's, the winners on The Dating Game won a trip to Anoka to be in the Halloween parade. How cool is that?
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