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By Ian Hand for the Mail Tribune November 01. 2014 3:26PM Ashland parade showcases costumed creativity Nalani Thiel of Ashland dresses as a giant jelly fish for the Ashland Children's Halloween Parade. Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch Despite cloudy weather, the rains held back long enough to allow the annual Halloween parade to go on unhindered. By Friday afternoon, downtown Ashland was overcome with ghosts, goblins, superheroes and more.  "This is our 14th parade," said 45-year-old Mark Lackey, who plays Dobro for Ashland bluegrass group Eight Dollar Mountain. "It's a big thing for the family." Lackey, wearing an imposing vampire costume complete with a top hat, said that the family starts the week ahead of the holiday, decorating the house and pulling out their many costume bins. His 11-year-old daughter, Maya, however, was excited about the trick-or-treating afterward. "It's really fun to run around town and get candy," she said, dressed as a dead Mad Hatter from "Alice in Wonderland." Five-year-old Ezell Durham, dressed as Batman, agreed. He enthusiastically proclaimed that his favorite candy was whatever he could get his hands on. His 10-year-old brother, Isibiah, said he was excited for Resse's. Some groups marched in the parade to spread their message throughout Ashland. Kristina Lefever, 57, and her "buddy in bug crime," 67-year-old Karen Potts, advocated to make Ashland a Bee City USA. "We want to educate the importance of pollinators in Ashlandia and what we can do to support them," Lefever said, dressed as a bee.  Potts pointed out how unique Ashland is and how the city embraces Halloween. "It brings everyone out together as a community," she said. "We're all out to say yes to the pollinators, yes to the parade, yes to Ashland and yes to Halloween." The day kicked off with Halloween story time at the Ashland library with the parade following at 3:30 p.m. Samba Like It Hot, Ashland's parade percussion ensemble, led the way along with the families and children who were the stars of the show. Closed side streets featured the Ashland Middle School Jazz Band and the Ashland High School band entertaining the crowd. Characters from recent hit movies "Frozen," "Iron Man," "The Lego Movie" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" were well represented, as were the classic pirates, zombies, witches and wizards. "For me, it's not all about the candy anymore," said 23-year-old Jaya Neptune, dressed as a scout from the video game "Team Fortress 2." "The holiday forces people to have some creativity and build their image. It's really cool to see what people come up with." One reveler walked down the parade route in complex, homemade Master Chief armor from the "Halo" video game series, followed by a man in a white T-shirt with "Error 404, Costume Idea Not Found" written on it. A little Spider-Man danced through the streets, an Arthurian knight wheeled a catapult and mischievous imps played tricks on spectators, who lined the streets or watched from restaurant windows and balconies. Other activities took place throughout downtown after the parade. Businesses opened their doors to trick-or-treaters, ScienceWorks Hands-On museum held a mad science show, Treehouse Books had spooky story readings and kids could get their picture taken in their costumes at Ashland Art Center. "Ashland is definitely the Rogue Valley Halloween destination," said Kalypso Rousso. The 22-year-old from Applegate, dressed as a lumberjack, was experiencing her first Ashland Halloween. "There are so many neat costumes here," she added. "The creepy ones definitely catch my eye, but I think the really detailed ones catch my eye more. I saw a Mad Hatter and Queen of Hearts that were so cool." Email reporter Ian Hand at [email protected] or call him at 253-722-4071. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/IanHand_DT.   http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141101/NEWS/141109963 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->