Neewollah Parade promises frightful fun

ROSEBURG, Ore. – This Halloween, you might hear night creatures call and see “the dead” start to walk in their masquerade if you venture downtown for Roseburg’s Neewollah Parade.

While there’s no word yet about plans for a flash mob to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as in years past, downtown’s Jackson Street will still hold spooky surprises when the parade steps off at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31.

Hundreds of costumed tricksters will prowl the pavement, Captain Jack Sparrow will return with his Black Pearl pirate ship and dancing witches will shake their broomsticks. Keep a sharp eye out for other macabre sights – as a white-masked “Michael Myers” in a black jumpsuit (aka Casey Harefeld) and a masked crew resembling the dystopian anarchists from “The Purge” film series just might make appearances.

And if that’s not enough ghastly fun, Roseburg Fright Club will conjure up “Kids Spook Ally” inside the Roseburg Elks Lodge, 749 SE Jackson St., from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for $1 a person. A scarier “Funhouse of Horror” is offered from 7 to 10 p.m.

Neewollah – that’s Halloween spelled backward – is a monster tradition that was first held in Roseburg on Oct. 31, 1933. According to local residents, historians and newspaper articles, the Neewollah Parade has been held every year since then, except during WWII and in 2020 and 2021 during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when virtual “parades” and costume contests were held instead. Neewollah resumed in 2022 to help celebrate Roseburg’s Sesquicentennial, or 150^th birthday.

The parade is being organized by former City Councilor Stacey Crowe to promote downtown Roseburg and fun – as well as to give businesses a way to thank the community by giving out candy to trick-or-treaters. Crowe has been involved with the event since shortly after moving to Roseburg in the 1990s.

“I’ve always loved Halloween,” Crowe said by phone Tuesday, Oct. 8. “I just love the costumes. The silliness.”

Costumed participants will gather at 4:45 p.m. on Jackson Street at Douglas Avenue and begin parading at 5 p.m.

“If you make ’em wait too long, they get restless,” Crowe laughed.

The event is sponsored by the City, which is covering the insurance requirement, waiving parade and barricade fees, and giving out candy from a black tent on Jackson Street across from City Hall. The Roseburg Fire Department and the Rotary Club of Roseburg also will give out candy.