New York's Village Halloween Parade

By Todd Moning
FMCA.com editor

Marching bands, stilt walkers, jugglers, break dancers and other street performers.

People lining the street, watching.

Everybody loves a parade.

But this one’s not your typical fire-engine, American-Legion, high-school-marching-band, local-chamber-of-commerce parade.

It’s in New York City. Halloween night.

Dressing up
The 32nd New York’s Village Halloween Parade is America’s largest public Halloween event, according to Festival International, a company devoted to the festival industry.

From 7 to 10 p.m., Sixth Avenue between Spring and 21st streets does its best Jekyll and Hyde impression. Its drab, businesslike atmosphere gives way to a guise of color, light, music, costume, energy.

Picture 50,000 costumed marchers — in every garb imaginable — and hundreds of volunteers carrying giant papier-mâché masks and puppets. Toss in more than 2 million ogling spectators along the one-mile parade route and you get one of the most creative public participatory events imaginable.

The parade is broadcast live on New York television and covered by main media networks around the world. It’s also included in the book 100 Things to do Before You Die.

Year-round effort
The parade originated in 1973 when a Greenwich Village mask maker and puppeteer walked from house to house for his children and their friends.

Today, Village Halloween Parade, Inc., a non-profit organization, works year-round planning this mega event. The police, sanitation, fire department, parks and recreation, and cultural affairs cooperate to produce a safe, clean parade.

Community pitches in
Neighborhood associations and artists create major elements for the parade. It’s a popular venue for visual and performing artists to display their art.

In addition, professional lighting designers, stage managers, carpenters and electricians create lighting, special effects and dress scenes along the route.

The result is a visually dazzling spectacle that participants and observers won’t soon forget.

For Greenwich restaurants and businesses, it’s one of the most lucrative nights of the year. In fact, the event attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists and an estimated $60 million in tourism dollars to the city, according to Village Halloween Parade, Inc.

Puppets
For the past 25 years Jeanne Fleming, the parade’s artistic director, has featured large-scale puppets in recognition of the rich tradition of puppetry associated with the parade since its beginning.

Each year the parade and Dream Music commission six artists or groups to make giant pageant size puppets built around the parade theme.

The theme for 2005 is Ancient Celtic communal fire. The procession will be led by dancing Jack-O-Lanterns and Squash Blossom puppets bearing the communal fire.

Best vantage points
The Parade runs straight up Sixth Avenue from Spring Street to 21st Street. Typically, the areas between Bleeker and 14th Street are most crowded, so consider arriving early or settling on another place along the route.

Motorhome owners should take a towed car or public transportation to the parade. Parking is available in city lots, and metered parking is available in the area.

If you’d like to be in the parade or volunteer to carry a puppet, visit www.halloween-nyc.com or send an e-mail to info@halloween-nyc.com. For 24-hour New York City travel info, call (718) 330-1234.