Future of popular MS Coast parade uncertain after dispute between organizers and police

The Witches Ride of Ocean Springs said this week the annual parade could end next year if it cannot solve a dispute with the police department that arose at the popular event on Saturday.

Parade leaders said the problem began after riders gathered at Freedom Field before the event’s 5:30 p.m. start.

The parade started late and officers rushed walkers to finish the route quickly, group leaders said. The group said it planned for a 45-minute parade but the event lasted less than 30 minutes.

“There were officials in golf carts honking at all of us in the back,” said Diana Odom, the group’s president. ”To be rushed through was quite upsetting.”

The Ocean Springs Police Department said the problem occurred because some walkers fell behind a banner that signaled the parade’s end.

That violated a safety plan the groups agreed on in advance, police said. Any gap in a parade makes crowds think an event is over, and spectators may move barricades or drive cars through the route. Police say that forces officers to protect pedestrians in a situation that is hard to control.

“That’s why everyone needed to be together,” Police Chief Ryan LeMaire said.

“It puts us in a very bad situation when that happens,” said Deputy Chief Steven Dye. “We are responsible for those pedestrians safety.”

Parade dispute in Ocean Springs

The Witches Ride of Ocean Springs includes about 400 participants on golf carts, bikes and foot, and attracts over 5,000 spectators, according to a special event permit submitted in February. Participants dressed in costume throw candy to the crowd, and the event raises money for several animal welfare agencies in South Mississippi. Organizers said despite the dispute, the parade raised over $28,000 this year.

It is unclear why the parade’s start was delayed. Odom said the delay was apparently caused because barricades were not ready in time. The city said employees locked barricades in place by 5:30 p.m., but that parade participants were apparently still doing a safety briefing on Freedom Field at that time.

Odom said police rushed walkers in the parade before they reached the start line, and most finished the roughly half-mile route in 15 minutes. She estimated a few dozen walkers fell behind the barricade and were “kicked off” the route. Others were walking so fast they could not hand out candy, she said.

Organizers had earlier asked participants not to linger and warned police could remove them from the parade if they fell behind the banner, Odom said. Walkers began the parade at a leisurely pace, she said, and the problem started when officials began “honking and yelling” at walkers to move faster.

Police said they acted to uphold safety.

“It’s got to be done safely,” LeMaire said. “There’s got to be rules.”

LeMaire and Dye said the police department met with event organizers twice before the parade, and all agreed that walkers who fell behind could be removed. They said they would like to meet again but that parade organizers had not yet agreed to talk. They declined to say more until they could meet with organizers and attempt to resolve the issue.

Odom said organizers were unable to meet with police and the city this week but would like to at a later date.

Future of Witches Ride

The parade has grown in popularity, and agreed with the city this year to place barricades on the route for safety, according to organizers and police. The city paid for the barricades. The parade paid for officers and officials who worked overtime to secure the route.

Haven Lyons, the Witches Ride vice president, said riders often spend hundreds of dollars on elaborate costumes, and were upset their route felt rushed.

“We’re not getting the time that we paid for,” Lyons said.

The event’s future is uncertain, but Odom said it was unlikely they would hold the parade in Ocean Springs next year if the dispute goes unresolved.

Ravin Floyd, a community relations coordinator for the city, said Ocean Springs wants the parade to stay.

“We want to meet with the event organizers to figure out solutions,” Floyd said. “We can’t do that just by ourselves.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 5:20 AM.