Mayor Ferguson

Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson cited high-profile public violence in stating opposition to the community’s annual Halloween parade.

“For the public safety, with recent incidents throughout the country and overseas, I have significant issues with regards to a costume parade in the village,” Ferguson said, speaking Monday during his mayoral report at a Board of Trustees meeting.

“Trunk or Treat has become the premier event for the Halloween holiday and we encourage all children and grownups to dress up, join us and celebrate this safety forward event.”

Trunk or Treat is set for Saturday, Oct. 25 at Russell Joy Park. Ferguson said people should look at the village website for information on how to set up a tent.

Fredonia’s Halloween parade featured children marching down Temple Street in their costumes. A tradition for decades, it got canceled in 2020 over COVID-19 and has only been scheduled once since, in 2023.

The mayor went on to say, “The board will be considering whether the only parade that we really have in town will be the Farm Festival parade.”

Ferguson said safety concerns caused a re-route of a recent parade that did go off: a Fredonia High School varsity football homecoming event. The parade was moved away from Main Street and the downtown area to Chestnut Street.

If the parade was held downtown, “it would have been very easy for somebody to swerve their (vehicle), whether intentionally or accidentally, and have a horrendous event on our hands,” Ferguson said. He thanked the Fredonia Central School District for moving homecoming festivities to the Wheelock school.

“It’s sad you can’t have events like this as much as communities have had in the past,” Ferguson commented. “While we haven’t had a major incident in this community, it is our job to make sure it never happens, so I hope that you understand.”