October 15, 2022 10:40 a.m.

Roseburg’s Neewollah Parade will return this Halloween for the first time in three years.

A City of Roseburg release said Police Chief Gary Klopfenstein will serve as grand marshal for the event,  which is part of the Roseburg Sesquicentennial celebration.

Participants are encouraged to dress in costume and will gather on the steps of the courthouse at 5:00 p.m. for a group photo and kick-off. At 5:20 p.m. the parade will head to Southeast Jackson Street, where children are expected to start trick-or-treating from business to business. Those taking part will go south on Jackson Street to Southeast Lane Avenue where they will turn around and head north on Jackson. The street will be closed to vehicles for the event.

Roseburg architect Paul Bentley will transform into Captain Jack Sparrow for the entire Monday. Extra pirates will join him and wife Terry, to unleash a few surprises above the 20-foot Black Pearl, a wooden ship façade stretching across the front of Bentley’s Jackson Street office.

Event organizers including former City Councilor Stacey Crowe and (Re)Discover Downtown co-founder Eric Andrews are working to recruit candy sponsors and volunteers, organize logistics and more.

Roseburg’s Neewollah Parade dates back to 1933, when the American Legion Umpqua Post 16 staged “a new form of frolic” like others sweeping the nation. The first Halloween parade was held in Kansas in 1919. Roseburg’s parade was canceled during World War II. After the COVID-19 pandemic began, a virtual costume contest and “parade” were held in 2020 and 2021.

Go to: https://www.experienceroseburg.com/roseburg-150/ for more information on Roseburg’s Sesquicentennial.