Crowds line Walnut Street in Hellertown to watch the 2016 Saucon Valley Spirit Parade. (FILE PHOTO)
Due to bad weather in 2019 and then the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, it’s been a few years since the Saucon Valley Spirit Parade was held. That’s one of the reasons parade organizers and supporters are doing everything they can to ensure that the 2021 parade goes off without a hitch.
One important part of parade planning for many participants involves procuring enough candy to throw to parade-goers. But how much “enough” is can be a tricky thing to gauge.
Leading the effort to ensure that this year’s fleet of floats doesnt’ run out of candy is Hellertown Postmaster Joe DiRusso, who has once again volunteered the post office–which is located roughly at the parade’s midpoint–to serve as a “candy refill station.”
Historically, many individuals and organizations who are marching or riding in the parade and throwing candy to spectators have run out about halfway through it. The refill station at Delaware Avenue and Water Street allows them to quickly refill their buckets, which helps ensure that families watching the parade along Rentzheimer Drive, Durham Street and Constitution Avenue won’t go home candy-less.
The parade–which follows a circular route down Walnut Street, Main Street and Water Street before it reaches the post office–begins and ends at the Saucon Valley School District campus.
This year’s parade is scheduled to be held Sunday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m., with the theme “Happy Days Are Here Again.” There is no rain date for the parade.
To donate candy to the refill station cause, simply drop it off at the Hellertown Post Office, 660 Delaware Ave., Hellertown, by Saturday, Oct. 23.
The Hellertown Post Office’s regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to noon (holiday hours may vary).
Donated candy should be Halloween-size, wrapped and unexpired.
For more information about this year’s parade, be sure to follow the Saucon Valley Spirit Parade’s Facebook page, where updates about this year’s lineup, registration deadlines and how to donate to the parade are regularly shared.
