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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Children and parents line Church Street for the annual Mystics of Mountain Brook Halloween parade in Crestline Village in October 2022.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Mountain Brook High marching band performs during the Mystics of Mountain Brook Halloween parade in October 2022.
What started as a way for siblings Trent Wright and Casey Horn to bring a bit of childhood nostalgia to their Mountain Brook neighborhoods has grown into a community tradition entering its 22nd year.
“My sister and I grew up in Mobile, and we always loved the traditions that came with Mardi Gras celebrations,” Wright said. “There is just something really unique and special about that, and we wanted to bring a little bit of that to our neighborhoods.”
Beginning in 2002 as a one-car caravan driving through a neighborhood on Halloween and throwing candy and beads to children, the Mystics of Mountain Brook parade is now a staple community tradition.
It has grown to become a true parade, with roughly 5,000 people and more than 23 floats from throughout the city participating.
“It is really crazy how it has morphed over the years,” said Wright, who continues to organize the parade. “I think it has been really fun to see how people look forward to it each year and the creativity that people put into their floats.”
The concept is simple: the parade begins at 4 p.m. on Halloween. They start at Crestline Village, and families come out to catch candy, beads, Moon Pies and T-shirts and wave to the participants as they enjoy their decorated floats.
“It is just a really cool thing that brings families together before they all go out to trick-or-treat,” Wright said.
He said parade participants often group up and decide on a particular theme for their float a few months in advance of the parade.
“Conversations regarding the parade start up in about August,” Wright said. “You may have a neighborhood who gets together and decides they are going to do a float, and then everybody just works to create what they want to do for the parade.”
Every part of Mountain Brook is represented, from Brookwood Forest and Cherokee Bend to Mountain Brook Elementary.
Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Mountain Brook High marching band performs during the Mystics of Mountain Brook Halloween parade in October 2022.
While the event is meant to just be a fun celebration, there are a few prizes at stake too. Each float is scored by a committee of judges, and the top few win items such as gift cards donated by local businesses.
“We wanted a way to reward the hard work everyone put into the floats, and we wanted a way to sort of incentivize those that decided to participate, so we give them prizes and it seems to work out well,” Wright said. “Everybody really enjoys that aspect. My sister and I work to get sponsors for the parade, and we take the sponsors and put them on the back of the T-shirts we have made up. We throw close to 2,000 T-shirts to those attending the parade. We get judges and set up in front of City Hall, and the judges judge the floats on specific criteria.”
Mountain Brook resident Carter Brown said he first got involved with the parade through connections he had with his daughter’s sports teams.
“The first year I participated in the parade, I was given the task of tossing out shirts from the last truck in the parade,” Brown said. “I did it the first year and I said, ‘OK, I am now hooked.’”
Brown said his primary job is mostly behind-the-scenes on the day of the parade, and while he does not create a float, he is the T-shirt tosser, which he said everyone always enjoys.
“The day of the parade, I am helping Trent in whatever way I can to get everything set up for the parade,” Brown said. “I am going to Taco Mama and putting speakers on the roof. I am making sure all of the floats have the right number and are lined up in the right place. I don’t think people realize all the work that goes into this each year. I mean, even the shirts we throw out at the parade have to be individually wrapped up to be thrown, so days leading up to the parade everybody is wrapping up shirts to throw. There is a lot of work leading up to the parade, and Trent and Casey do such a good job of making sure it is all organized.”
Brown said he grew up in Crestline, and it brings him a lot of joy to see the streets lined with so many people.
“They joke with me to pace myself when I am tossing out the T-shirts because we have to make the shirts last the entire parade,” Brown said. “I always save a few to throw at the end to someone with a really great costume. I get a kick out of all of it. It is just a ton of fun and something you have to experience to understand it.”
Brown said the parade has become a regular part of Halloween for those living in the area.
“I think it is great to see how most people who live around this area know that Halloween means trick-or-treating at night, but the parade earlier that afternoon,” Brown said. “It has just become a part of everyone’s Halloween, and that is what is so great about it.”
Wright said he is often asked why he doesn’t have the parade at night or on a day other than Halloween.
“We have always just tried to keep it simple,” Wright said. “We have it in the afternoon on Halloween, and that lets everybody come and enjoy, and then go on to what they have planned for Halloween that night.”
Wright said the parade currently has a waitlist for participants because he limits the amount of floats each year to prevent the parade from dragging on too long.
“We really didn’t want people watching a parade that went on and on,” Wright said. “Plus, the city closes down several streets, and we didn’t want to use up that time. So we limit the amount of float participants and have started having a waitlist for those wanting to be in it.”
He has about 23 large floats slated to participate in this year’s festivities.
For more information about this year’s parade, visit “Mystics of Mountain Brook” on Facebook or the city’s website at mtnbrook.org.
