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Maynard Children’s Hospital hosts Halloween parade for patients, families

Pediatric patients at the James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital at ECU Health Medical Center got a little taste of Halloween as they had the chance to dress up and see ECU Health team members and community groups participate in a parade.

During the parade, floats with team members dress up as everything from Disney’s Up characters to safari themes poured by while patients and families had an opportunity to step outside of their rooms and enjoy some fresh air on a warm afternoon.

Quionna Lofton, the mother of pediatric patient Emoni Salvant, said it was a great experience for her and her daughter.

“It makes me feel really good,” Lofton said. “I didn’t think she would get to experience Halloween today because we are here. This is very nice and well thought out, it was just very lovely.”

A truck pulls a trailer of ECU Health team members dressed as Minions during the Halloween Parade at Maynard Children's Hospital. The truck and trailer drives through the loop in front of the Maynard Children's Hospital. Along the outside, patients, families, team members and community members wave to the team members on the float.

Emoni said her favorite float was the Trolls characters and her mother agreed, since she got to see her daughter’s smile light up as it came by.

Various community partners came out to bring a little joy to the youngest patients at ECU Health Medical Center. The Greenville Fire Department brought two trucks to the parade while the Pitt County Sherriff’s Office showed off a safari-themed float. The Down East Wood Ducks baseball team mascot, DEWD, gave patients a big wave from the back of a Jeep while ECU’s mascot, PeeDee the Pirate, interacted with patients and families.

Karolyn Martin, Miss North Carolina 2022, was on hand for the parade as well. She said it was a great experience, and a personally meaningful cause for her.

“My younger sister actually has Crohn’s Disease,” Martin said. “When she was diagnosed, she was in a hospital for about eight months of her year in 8th grade. I know how important it is for families to have people come that care about their children and also to celebrate the people that are making sure children are safe and healthy – that’s so important and why I was so excited to be here.”

Patients had the opportunity to select a costume from those available in the Maynard Children’s Hospital and got to select a party favor, including books and other fun activities.

Chloe Williams, a Child Life intern who helped organize the event, said it was special to see the smiles on the faces of patients and families after the time spent planning.

“I think it’s great. I think it provides a sense of normalization to the hospital experience, because a lot of the time they don’t get to have a Halloween if they’re here,” Williams said. “Just to provide something that they can enjoy and the parents can enjoy, too, is a really special thing.”

Williams said it’s also something team members look forward to each year. Whether they are dressing up and riding along on a float or out in the sea of children, it’s a welcomed opportunity to see patients in their natural setting – enjoying time as a kid.

Miss North Carolina, wearing her crown, speaks with a pediatric patient dressed as a princess during the Maynard Children's Hospital Halloween Parade.

A Maynard Children's Hospital patient holds a prize given out during the Halloween Parade. The patient is wearing a pirate hat as their costume.

A Maynard Children's Hospital patient, wearing a cast, holds hands with their mother, also a patient during the Halloween Parade at ECU Health Medical Center. A Greenville Fire Department truck rounds the loop during the Halloween Parade.

ECU Health team members, dressed up as Trollz dolls, wave to patients, families and team members from a truck bed during the Halloween Parade at Maynard Children's Hospital at ECU Health Medical Center.

A pediatric patient wearing a pirate hats watches a purple and gold Greenville Fire Department truck drive through the loop at Maynard Children's Hospital during the Halloween Parade. The driver of the firetruck waves to the pediatric patients, families and team members watching.

The Down East Wood Ducks team mascot emerges through the open roof of a white Jeep while the Jeep drives through the loop at Maynard Children's Hospital during the Halloween Parade. The mascot waves to the pediatric patients, families and team members watching.

Four ECU Health team members wave purple and goal pom-poms from the bed of a pick up truck. The team memebrs are all wearing East Carolina University apparel. The are driving through the loop at Maynard Children's Hospital during the Halloween Parade and waving to the pediatric patients, families and team members watching.

Maynard Children's Hospital team members, dressed as Care Bears and other costumes, get themselves in order before the Maynard Children's Hospital Halloween Parade.

A pediatric patient at Maynard Children's Hospital wears a Curious George costume while laying in a red wagon during the Halloween Parade.

The mother of a newborn baby sits outside of Maynard Children's Hospital during the Halloween Parade. The mother looks at the bucket of goodies passed out during the event while her newborn baby lays in a carrier.

A Maynard Children's Hospital patient, wearing a princess dress and wings, looks on as a parade float with characters from the movie Up drives by during the Halloween Parade.

A pediatric patient at Maynard Children's Hospital is held by their mother. They're pointing at a jungle themed float from the ECU Health Physician Outreach team during the Halloween Parade at ECU Health Medical Center.

ECU Health team members, dressed for Halloween, wave from the back of an SUV in the loop at Maynard Children's Hospital during the Halloween Parade.

A member of the Pitt County Sheriff's Department holds a stuffed animal lion out the window of a car in the loop during the Maynard Children's Hospital Halloween Parade.

A uniformed Pitt County Sheriff's Department officer, with a dog dressed as a lion, sit in the bed of a pickup truck during the Halloween Parade at Maynard Children's Hospital. Also in the bed of the truck, a baby is dressed as a monkey while their mother holds them up.

ECU Athletics mascot PeeDee plays with a toy fishing rod while a pediatric patient, a team member and a parent look on. The patient, sitting a wheelchair, is dressed with a fishing hat while PeeDee plays with the toy rod.

A Maynard Children's Hospital patient, dressed a Captain America, poses for a photo before the Halloween Parade at ECU Health Medical Center.

A newborn sits in their carrier wearing an orange Halloween-themed outfit with skeletons and crossbones during the Halloween Parade at Maynard Children's Hospital.