Children, right, wave to those on a float and encourage them to throw candy Saturday during the Old Hallowell Day parade. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

HALLOWELL — Eight-year-old Zoey Powers did not have any of what turned out to be her award-winning chocolate lava cupcakes for her family when she made them Friday night — or early Saturday morning, before the Old Hallowell Day Great Chocolate Showdown.

But family members patient enough to wait were able to chow down on them later Saturday morning, while the raucous parade passed by on downtown Water Street and after her rich, raspberry-topped concoctions tied for first place in the kids’ cupcakes category.

Her parents Nicole and Jeff Powers said the cupcakes that were left after the contest judges had their share were not likely to survive uneaten until the end of the parade.

Nicole said the cupcake recipe, which her she and her family looked up the night before, would now be Zoey’s recipe.

Meanwhile, Ramsay Pierce, 10, used a fudge recipe passed down from her grandmother to her mother and now to her to take the first place ribbon in the kids’ fudge category.

She made her chocolate treat, topped with crystal-like sprinkles, on Thursday. She made enough extra that she was able to have some of them herself before the contest.

Jen Paisley gives away tree saplings Saturday while marching with Hallowell Tree Board and Conservation Commission during the Old Hallowell Day parade. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Judges included Fire Chief James Owens, who had to leave early after submitting his scorecard in the kids’ and adults’ categories, so he could go help direct traffic for the Old Hallowell Day parade.

“This one,” Owens said, when asked the favorite chocolate snack he had tried for the contest, pointing to Polly Lutte’s Oreo mini-dream cupcakes, topped with white glaze, which tied Zoey’s cupcakes for first place for kids’ cupcakes. “But they’re all so good. That’s like asking which one of your kids do you like most.”

Judge and state Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, said he skipped breakfast before the 9 a.m. contest judging. He said he does not normally eat sugar, so he expected to be flying on a sugar rush by the time he took part in the parade.

Hallowell Mayor George Lapointe, left, and other judges sample chocolate baked goods Saturday during Old Hallowell Day. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Mayor George LaPointe, one of the judges, also said he was starting to feel a sugar buzz after sampling the contest entries. He said chocolate is acceptable to have for breakfast on Old Hallowell Day. As is, he added, a Bloody Mary.

The annual parade of floats, musicians, fire trucks, dancers and politicians made a boisterous trip down Water Street. Numerous parade participants gave away items as they marched. Most gave out candy, but firefighters handed out bottled water, members of the Hallowell Tree Board and Conservation Commission handed out small, ready-to-plant trees, and Berry & Berry Floral marchers handed out flowers.

Nancy Jacob, who has been wearing the hot dog crown and dressing up as Ms. Liberty for 41 years, marches Saturday in the Old Hallowell Day parade. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

After the parade, and just up the hill from the Water Street activities, the International Kids Festival at the Hallowell Multicultural Center saw immigrants from multiple countries sharing handmade food, games and music from their cultures with children, who took part in a scavenger hunt in which they traveled to the different displays representing different parts of the world to complete the hunt.

Andrea Darok showed Ella Lacasse, 7, how to use a kerepelő, a device made of wood with a wheel that makes a loud clicking noise when turned. She said it was made by her grandparents in the village of Tass, Hungary, and used by farmers in their fields to scare away birds.

Annual Old Hallowell Day festivities were expected to continue into Saturday night, with live music and other entertainment, followed by fireworks over the Kennebec River.