This Sunday, Downtown Edwardsville’s streets were filled with spider webs, lights, glitter, skeletons and masks— but not the kind we’ve grown accustomed to over the past couple of years.  

The annual Halloween parade was back, and this year’s theme was “masquerade”.  

The parade followed its usual route from Lincoln Middle School and Woodland Elementary School to High street and started at 6:30 p.m Sunday, Oct. 31, according to the Edwardsville Glen Carbon Chamber of commerce.  

Driving down the parade route, chairs started to appear lined up on streets at noon the day of the parade, almost seven hours before the actual event started.  

And viewers weren’t the only ones especially enthusiastic about this year’s parade. 

The winners for float decorating were released on the Intelligencer’s website Nov. 1.

The Large Commercial Category winner was Hawthorne Animal Hospital, featuring wooden cutouts of animals wearing masquerade masks and lots of orange tinsel.

Hentz, Huntleys, Fisher & Friends’ COVID-19 and vaccine float, while it didn’t follow the theme, won first place in the Neighborhood & Youth Groups category.

Fence & Deck Depot’s float was completely Mardi Gras-inspired, featuring purple, gold and green on every surface possible, fleur-de-lis and giant masquerade masks as the features for the float which won the company first place in the Small Commercial category. 

A float covered in purple lights and tinsel and featuring three large 3-D wooden dogs all wearing masquerade masks won first place in the Non-Profit category for Hope Animal Rescues.  This float also won them the Grand Champion prize, the highest prize available for floats at the Halloween parade. 

But another prize is still available for floats.

A post on the Ed/Glen Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook said that fan-favorite voting, which opened noon on Nov. 1, will close next Monday, Nov. 8.  Here, viewers can vote for their top three favorite floats.