Every year, one neighborhood sheds its quiet everyday lifestyle to transform into a new world

of truly spooktacular costumes and decorations.

Stacy Capone has been putting the Greenwood Halloween parade together since she took over the annual tradition in the summer of 2017.

“I was an event planner before I opened my dance studio, so parties and this stuff is just right up my alley with the kids and stuff,” Capone said – “especially with dance and you know, all the little ones coming.”

The annual parade invites the whole neighborhood to come out in their best Halloween costumes and enjoy the time together through activities, music, food and much more.

The Greenwood Halloween parade first stepped off in the late 1990s, Capone believes. A neighbor named Kim Murray had little kids of her own and began to invite other kids with instruments to walk around with their costumes and play their instruments.

Once Murray’s kids graduated, she turned over the parade to another neighbor, Kathleen Osler, who is one of Capone’s good friends.

Then Osler moved away – but not before going to Capone to ask her if she would like to take custody of the parade.

Capone, who had been wanting to coordinate the affair for a while, quickly agreed, and since then has been leading the charge, putting the event together every year. She’s drawn on her experience launching and coordinating a similar effort in the West.

“When I was teaching in Colorado, I always used to have the kids like dress up … and I’d be in full costume for the whole week of Halloween,” Capone said. “And then it ended up being kind of like a little tradition there. And then, you know, I brought it to my other studio that I grew up in. And then now my studio, it’s like a big, huge thing [that] we dress up.”

Capone said the costumes that families come up are very impressive and fun.

From themes like The Little Mermaid to a family dressing up as Curious George, Capone is constantly excited to see what families come up with.

The parade continues to grow every year. With more than 600 people coming out to celebrate together, the neighborhood turns into a hub for fun, music and all things ghostly.

Some of the craziest moments have happened at the parade. Capone remembers a few years ago when the governor made a surprise appearance.

“There was security, and I was like, ‘What is going on?’” Capone said. “And everything kind of stopped, and they’re like, ‘Oh, someone’s not getting out of the car.’ And I'm like, ‘What’;s going on.’ So that was really cool.”

Capone is excited to see families, new and old, come out and have a good time. She brings out the parade speaker to blast some music, and her neighbor Mary usually makes hot chocolate for the event.

Capone says neighbors always ask if they can help or if she needs anything ahead of the big day.

With volunteer fire engines coming from East Greenwich and Warwick police working the event, and a donation from snack food company Frito-Lay, the event keeps growing year after year.

There are great dance performances, free food and drinks, music and more.

And through it all, what remains at the heart of such a neighborhood-wide occasion, is the love everyone has for the parade, especially Stacy.

“I guess it would just be going back to the young kids,” she said. “I mean, if I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t do it at all, but I definitely have fun doing it. It’s just awesome. It’s a huge, collaborative effort.”

The Greenwood Halloween parade starts Thursday at 126 Chapman Ave. The block party kicks off from 4 to 5 p.m. and the parade steps off at 5:10 p.m.