New York's Village Halloween Parade

New York's Village Halloween Parade is one of the most extravagant, artistic, diverse, and enthusiastic Halloween celebration in the world Anyone with a costume can take part in the parade and people travel from all over the globe to take part in the parade.  Every year on Halloween these revelers dance up 6th Avenue celebrating New York's creative minds, whacky characters, and of course ward off the evil spirits of All Hallows Eve.

The parade started as the brain child of mask maker Ralph Lee.  It began as a production of Theatre for the New City.  It was meant to be a mile-long "theatrical event" celebrating masks, giant puppets, and musicians.  As it wound through the twisty turn windy circuitous streets of the village, the parade took residents by surprise.  Fortunately is was a delightful surprise and many onlooking even joined in the festivities!  So successful was the parade that it was revived the next year and won an OBIE award!  The Village Voice said it awarded the parade an OBIE "to recognize its artistic achievement and to encourage it to become an annual tradition."  And become a tradition it did!  The next year the parade gained not-for-profit status and was awarded grants to help fund it.  

This year, after being "Frankenstormed" out by Sandy last year, the parade will celebrate its 40th year.  The theme is "Hallelujah Halloween Revival."  It almost didn't happen at all!  Hurricane Sandy did more than dampen the 2012 Parade, it dampened the funding for the 2013 parade as well.  So the Parade did something unprecedented, it launched a kickstarter campaign.   At the last minute, the parade SURPASSED its goal of $50,000 and was even able to raise enough to fun a new float honoring Sandy Relief Helpers & the Cornell Weill Transplant Center.  

This year the parade will feature giant puppet, including the return of the crowd favorite, Basil Twist's "Clock Tower Spider" which last made its parade appearance in 2009.  Dancers, musicians, floats, puppets, masks, and revelers will dance up 6th Avenue beginning at Spring Street and 16th Street.  Anyone with a costume can join in at Spring or Canal Street.  Vehicles must pre-register.  More importantly anyone and everyone who wishes to capture the spirit of New York on Halloween will be watching the parade if they are not in it.  It will be crowded.  It will be crazy.  It will be one New York experience you do not want to miss!:)  See you there!


P.S. Fun Fact.  My very first year in NYC I was IN the parade.  A seamstress friend of mine made me and all of our friends costumes.  We were "Famous Works of Art."  I was the Winged Isis.    Here are embarrassing and incriminating photos.  See if you can name the different works of art we represent as well.