DOUGLAS, Mich. — On Tuesday night, not much was going on Center Street. This time of year can be rough for business owners in Saugatuck, Douglas, and other lakeshore towns. Erin Wilkinson's family knows the struggle all too well, and that's why they started the Douglas Halloween Parade.
"My mom, Ginger Wilkinson, started it. This will be our 26th year doing it. She actually started it because when she and my dad were part owners at Saugatuck Drugstore, October was just tumbleweeds rolling through town and nothing else, so she wanted to create an event that would help pull people to town. And she sure has done that," Erin said.
"We started it with just, I think we had like 10 or 15 of us in the parade, and maybe 100 people total. And last year we figured we probably had about 15,000 to 20,000 people. So it's just exploded in popularity."
Ginger ran the parade for 13 years before she passed away. Since then, Erin has taken the reigns.
"I have to admit, when I stand at the front of this parade with my dad, I just am gobsmacked. I'm rendered speechless every single year, by the just joy and happiness it brings to the whole community. And how many people come for it just blows my mind, and how far they come. We have one girl that comes all the way from Washington state every year for it," she said.
The event doesn't come without challenges though. Erin says it gets more and more expensive to run as the popularity of the parade skyrockets.
"A lot of people think that this might be a revenue-generating event, because it does pull so many people to town, but it's a free event. We don't charge the people who come, and we don't charge the people who are in it," she said.
"This year, we're having an additional cost of almost $15,000 by the time all is said and done, to cover just the city services like fire, police and the Department of Public Works, so that added quite a bit to our budget, which is already just large due to graphics designers and posters and marketing and barricades and all the things that go into it."
Despite the obstacles, Erin says it's worth it to keep the tradition going, and she believes her neighbors in the business community feel the same way.
"I think the thing that probably humbles me the most working on it is the support that we have in this community. People are really passionate about it and they really love it. Every year the price increases, but every year I have the same sponsors who show up to the table and hand me a pile of cash to make it possible," she said.
If you'd like to support the parade, there are a number of ways to do so. You can become a sponsor, you can make an individual donation, or your can buy a VIP ticket to this year's parade.
"This year, for $100 you can go in the first 100 and then you'll also get a swag bag with all kinds of goodies and freebies and stuff like that from our various sponsors, and it'll also get you into the History Center party, which is a local not for profit, so it'll get you to that for no cover charge," she said.
This year's parade will be on Saturday, October 26 on Center Street. It will be held in honor of Erin's brother Andrew, who passed away in just the last year. The parade starts at 10 p.m.
"I always encourage people to come early. Go to Saugatuck. Go to Douglas. Check out everything. Make sure you get there good and early to park, because parking definitely becomes a little more challenging for a town this small with that many people coming in. We also have a free inner urban that runs back and forth from the two towns," she said.
Do you have a deeply personal story with a call to action? That's what One Good Thing is all about! Email your story ideas to OneGoodThing@13OnYourSide.com.