On Halloween, International Student and Scholar Services hosted their annual outing to the Haunted Halsted Halloween Parade. 

The 27th annual parade is one of the largest in the U.S and features a costume contest.The event is sponsored by the Northalsted Business Alliance.

Thomas West, a junior game design major from Dublin, was dressed up as a soldier with clothing he found at a military surplus shop and a plush trapper hat.

 “It’s nice to be able to go out on Halloween and blow off some steam, and enjoy Chicago as well,” he said.

Clare Lake, director of ISSS, said the office invited students to go as a group to the event. ISSS has gone to the parade every year since 2018 except during the pandemic when it was canceled. 

“Halloween is such a big part of the U.S. culture,” Lake said. 

The parade kicked off at 7:30 p.m. at North Halsted Street and West Belmont Avenue and concluded around 8 p.m. on North Halsted Street and West Cornelia Avenue. 

Feihong Guo, a junior arts management major from Beijing, said he wanted to help coordinate plans, watch the parade with everyone and make sure they’re safe. It was his first year attending the parade with ISSS.

“It’s a new experience,” said Feihong Guo, an international student ambassador. “You got to try new things, and that’s why I’m here.”

As the parade passed by Feihong Guo, he took videos and pictures of the floats and performers, excitedly waving to those passing through the street.

Those that were in the parade included people in drag, brightly lit and decorated trucks with people coming out of the sunroofs blasting horns, fire performers and the Chicago Spirit Brigade.

For some ISSS students, the parade offered a chance for students to indulge in their first Halloween experiences, even if they didn’t have a costume. 

“This is my first real traditional Halloween, and I’m really looking forward to the biggest Halloween parade in the U.S.,” said Martha Guo, a first-year arts management international student from China.

Martha Guo said that her favorite part of the parade was the crowd. “I like to be around people, and it feels really fantastic to be here,” she said.

Joel Briggs, a first-year illustration major, was dressed up as Luke Skywalker and carried a baby Yoda stuffed animal in his backpack. He said he wasn’t able to participate in any of the Wicked Week events due to workload that came from midterms. 

“That’s one of the things I’ve been wanting to do while I’m here, getting the chance to know people, mingle,” Briggs said. “I always love the costumes for Halloween, so it’s cool to see the extravagance of it all.”

West said that it was really nice to be able to socialize with students from different countries who may not share the same first language or culture. 

“We’re all from different parts of the world,” he said. “I’m from Ireland, loads of people are from east Asia. It’s like we have common ground here, which is that we don’t know what Chicago is like.”

After the parade, West was all smiles. “I haven’t been to anything like this back home, and there’s loads of great talent,” he said. “I’m really surprised, just how many people are here together, and it’s great to look at.”

Additional reporting by Emma Jolly.

Copy edited by Manuel Nocera