Anyone can sign up to parade down Main Street for the Toms River Halloween Parade — and some have crossed oceans to participate. But if you're not competing for the Farthest Traveled category of paraders, there are still dozens of other categories your costumed self or group or vehicle can enter. Whether you are walking, are on a motorized float or pushing your costumed little one in a baby carriage, all paraders must register for the Oct. 31 event. Registration packets for the Toms River Halloween Parade are now available at locations throughout town, such as at town hall and local …

Ready to get spooked? Toms River Township is gearing up for its second annual Halloween Hay Ride on Oct. 20 at the Bey Lea Golf Course. Toms River Recreation Directory Jared Tate noted the hay ride is a joint venture between the recreation department and division of youth services. He said last year’s event had about 1,000 attendees. Admission to the Hay Ride is free but the township asks participants to bring a canned good for donation to the food pantry. The event starts at 5 p.m. This year's hayride has additional tractors to facilitate more guests, and the route is different than last …

It doesn’t matter if you’re Lady Gaga or Lady Liberty for Halloween—if you have an awesome costume, showcase your creation in our Best Halloween Costume in America Contest. Last year, the headless boy from Wyckoff, NJ, won. It could be you this year. Enter our contest for a chance to win the $5,000 grand prize! Adults and children are eligible to enter. Parents can post costume photos of themselves and their families from this Halloween or from years past. Here’s how to enter: Simply click the green "Upload Your Photos and Videos" button above and upload your image (but first make sure you’…

October 18 The seventhreetwo concert series continues at Toms River library, but with a Halloween theme this month. The program is free. This month, Halloween Show with: Accidental Seabirds, Julian Fulton and the Zombie Gospel. 7 to 8:30 p.m. October 20 The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Live performance, Saturday, October 20 at 8 p.m., located at 400 Clifton Avenue, Lakewood. Tickets can be purchased online for $21 (plus service charge) or day-of-show at the Strand. The box office is open for sales three hours prior to the show. This show is recommended for ages 18 and older, and guests ages 16 …

Who said zombies can't dance? Broadway Bound Dance Centre on Route 37 in Toms River is contributing dance and choreography performances to several Halloween events, and even performed for thousands of zombies last weekend. The local dance students practiced a special routine as zombies, for a zombie audience in Asbury Park Saturday. The fifth annual Zombie Walk, with an estimated 15,000 attendees and 5,000 more spectators, began on the Asbury boardwalk and proceeded down Cookman Avenue, where Broadway Bound dancers were part of the scheduled performances. Lindsay Williams, of Broadway Bound …

Now that all the costume parties, parades and Trick-or-Treating has passed, most costumes get shoved in a draw or the back of a closet and quite often become nothing more than a memory past. Abby Shaw is a 4th grader on a mission to give new life to those gently used and forgotten costumes and spread the spooky fun of Halloween to children everywhere. This year, she started a costume collection project to donate costumes to children who cannot afford to buy them each year. She's involved family from Rumson to Toms River to help find donations. “Other children really need costumes because it …

The Toms River Halloween Parade divides the many groups and individuals into divisions and labels them A through W. Here are the winners in each grouping: A: 1. Mike Cherry, Superman and kryptonite; 2. Chrystal Leary, Circus lion cage; 3. Gage and Richie Learche, Cop car. B: 1. Jack Kiernan, Jack Frost; 2. Brandon and Conner Mchon, Boxers fighting for freedom; 3. Joanne Jodry, Rapunzel from Tangled C 1. Cub Scout Pack 62, Bed bugs; 2. Cub Scout Pack 20, Legos; 3. Jersey Shore Girl Scouts, Happy 100th Birthday Girl Scouts D: 1. Cub Scout Pack 70, Pirates; 2. BSA Pack 70, Angry Birds float; 3. …

Choosing the grand marshal for the yearly Toms River Halloween parade isn't always an easy process. There's much to consider, from the kinds of organizations to the message that's being sent. This year, however, Toms River Fire Co. 1's Parade Chairman Carl Weingroff said the choice was easy: the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore. "They are marking 100 years of service, and we're a service organization," Weingroff said. "It seemed only fitting."  "Most people don't realize we've been around that long," said Sue McClure, the chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore, who …

Marching bands from as far away as Newark, N.J. and an entrant who traveled from Cancun, Mexico, were among the thousands of participants of the 74th annual Toms River Halloween Parade, hosted by Toms River Fire Co. #1. Check out our gallery of images from the night.

An estimated 50,000 spectators and more than 200 groups — some with more than a hundred members participating — were part of the 74th annual Toms River Halloween parade. The annual downtown event saw paradegoers three to five deep cheering as everyone from rollerskating Scrabble pieces (that would be the Jersey Shore Roller Girls), to a smoke-firing cannon on a ship filled with hundreds of pirates (that would be Cub Scout Pack 70) rolled down Main and Washington Streets on a windless, 30-degree Halloween night. It was spooky. There was the Parents of Autistic Children's car full of evil …

If you can't head out to downtown Toms River, there's still some places you can watch one of the largest Halloween parades. There's no substitute for being there in person watching on Main Street or Washington Street, but this may be the next best thing: online or on TV. A live stream of the parade can be viewed from the Toms River Fire Co. #1's website here. The feed is switched on at 7 p.m., but the paraders may not make it to the camera until 7:20 p.m. Toms River Regional School's public access channels will rerun their taping of the parade after editing the hours of footage this week. …

All our coverage of Halloween in Toms River can be found here. Click that link to open up the story list and view photo galleries from the parade, news and features. We're celebrating today. Our town has the second largest Halloween parade in the world...the world's largest family-oriented one, organizers say. There's been as many as 100,000 spectators. Check back for more stories today, and this evening as we post photos from the parade. We'll have a winners list of all the parade divisions and let you know when roads have reopened. If you have pictures to share of your decorations and …

Toms River is reknowned for its Halloween spirit. Whether you want to share your costume, a get-together, or your decorations, here's a place to showcase all your Halloween photos and videos.

If you think you can drive down Main Street this evening, you probably forgot what day it is or are in a motorized float division of the Toms River Halloween Parade. Shutting down traffic and parking for the Toms River Halloween Parade, which begins at 7 p.m., is a coordinated effort of Toms River Police, the township and parade organizers at Toms River Fire Co. 1., said Parade Chairman Carl Weingroff. Main Street from Route 37 to Water Street will be closed. Washington Street from Main Street to Hooper Avenue is closed. Portions of Hooper in the vicinity of Washington Street and High School …

Wondering when you can drop off your registration to march in the Toms River Halloween Parade? When is it that Toms River Fire Co. 1 opens its doors to start registering folks? For the first time this year, the parade offered online registration. Parade Chairman Carl Weingroff said the first attempt at the process went great, netting 68 group registrations ahead of time. “It will save a lot of time,” Weingroff said. However, anyone hoping to register in the next day until the parade begins, they’ll have to wait until in-person registration starts at 9 a.m. Monday, parade day. “The deadline …

If Mischief Night is the day before Halloween, in Toms River it gets a bump backward to Oct. 29. While other towns are on alert Oct. 30 for pumpkin-smashing, toilet-paper throwing, egg-pelting and Silly String spraying folk, Toms River is out trick or treating. The story goes, Oct. 29 is the night for mischief. But Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy said that so-called Mischief Night isn’t much of a problem for the town. “It’s relatively quiet,” he said. “In the past, it’s been that way — historically we have been quiet.” The weather didn’t cooperate with any would-be mischievous …

Time to answer the doorbell. For a long time now, trick or treating has fallen the day before Halloween for Toms River. That’s because Halloween is reserved for the big parade. Toms River Fire Co. 1’s Halloween Parade calls itself the world’s largest family-oriented Halloween parade. How did the trick-or-treating schedule get that way? Parade Chairman Carl Weingroff said it’s always been the town’s decision on where to place the day for trick or treating. “A lot of people say ‘oh it’s the fire company that decides.’ But no it is up to the town,” Weingroff said. “We’re in charge of the parade…

So far, there's no chairs. But about this time each year, plastic lawn chairs start to pop up along Main Street, the parade route for the Toms River Halloween Parade, through its turn down Washington Street. In fact, according to Carl Weingroff, the parade chairman, the record for earliest he's seen people try to reserve a spot on the parade route is two weeks before the parade. This year, the parade is on Monday, the same day as Halloween. Last night, no chairs could be seen along Main Street...there's five days to go until 7 p.m. Monday, when the parade kicks off. Weingroff and Toms River …