Although most of the area is getting ready for ghosts and ghouls, some in the area are preparing for Old St. Nick as the deadline for applications to participate in the 63rd annual Billtown Christmas Parade is Wednesday - Halloween.
The Nov. 16 parade is being sponsored by the Williamsport Sun-Gazette and will begin at 6 p.m.
In order to sign up for the parade, applicants may visit vacationpa.com, cityofwilliamsport.org or call Milissa Augustine, parade chairwoman, at 323-5115.
Augustine said there are plenty of different types of entries in the parade, from Boy Scouts to school organizations.
"There ends up being local football teams, cheerleader teams, different churches that like to put floats in," she said.
Overall, the parade usually attracts more than 70 groups of participants.
Fact Box
IF YOU GO:
WHAT: 63rd annual Billtown Christmas Parade
WHEN: 6 p.m. Nov. 16
WHERE: Downtown Williamsport
POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS: Contact Milissa Augustine at 323-5115 by Wednesday
"I think we had 75 entries (last year). It's a big parade but the nice thing is there is no stopping in it. Some of the local parades, they stop and stop," she said.
She added the back drop of the night sky is what makes the parade so special to the area.
"It's really magical even if it's a little colder than you would like," Augustine said. "It's really a lovely night downtown."
Augustine estimated that there were about 2,500 spectators at last year's parade to welcome Santa Claus to downtown.
She said the parade's long history has given the city a "mix" of many different types of participants and hopes more will sign up.
"We just seem to have this great formula of a mix of many things," she said.
