The Oxford Lions Club will run its 61st annual Halloween Parade at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25.

Marvin Wilhelm, retired Talawanda school principal who has run the parade as chairman for many years, explained how the parade has kept going for all of this time. “This parade has always been an activity of the club, and we have always continued the tradition every year.”

The Oxford Lions Club is a charitable organization that does events around the community, such as selling Christmas trees, to provide funds for eye care and examinations for the people of Oxford, primarily to young people.

“Our funds go to a new pair of glasses or any type of care that someone may need for their eyes. Some of these are eye-saving procedures,” Wilhelm said.

The parade itself is mainly focused on the Talawanda community. However, Wilhelm said that people from other communities would be welcome to participate. “We certainly wouldn’t count them out,” he said.

It will begin on Beech Street near the Princess 4 theaters, where a fire truck, the Talawanda High School Marching Band and those in the costume contest will assemble at 6:30 p.m. and begin walking up High Street at 7. From there, the parade will proceed to Martin Luther King. Jr. Park, where there will be judging for a costume contest, the main purpose of the parade.

The costume contest will feature five different groups based primarily on age: 4-under, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-over. The fifth group will be reserved for kids in a group together.

The judging will take place on the stage in the park. Once the judging is complete, the winners will be announced, but there will be more than one winner per group.

“Because of the size of the groups, there could be as many as 15-20 winners per division,” Wilhelm said. “The prize for the winners will be free pizza.”

The events begin at 5 p.m. at the Uptown parks with a pumpkin contest. All pumpkins must be decorated or carved before the event and should be brought to the park at 5 to enter into the competition. Prizes will be awarded at 6 for most original design, funniest and scariest pumpkin.

Uptown businesses will open their doors for trick or treaters from 5 to 6:30 p.m.