DENVER — The Broadway Halloween Parade has been a staple on Broadway for the last seven years.
“It was a small community parade with the neighborhood and businesses on Broadway, and that’s all it was,” said Luke Johnson, president of the Broadway Merchants Association and organizer of the annual parade.
He said the free event has been a great way to showcase the local businesses that provide the spooky floats.
“The exposure alone is huge for businesses, but it brings all those folks down here to spend at businesses,” he said. “That’s the biggest night of the year for a lot of bars, restaurants and retail stores. So it’s a big deal.”
Over the years, the small community parade has also become a big deal, with audience attendance hitting 30,000 people last year.
“Crowds were going into the parade route, and we couldn’t part the sea of the crowd to …