Once darkness crept in on the narrow streets of the West Village, an indescribable rush of anticipation filled the air. The busy commercial area of 6th Avenue just north of Spring Street transformed into a magical display of all things horrific, comical, and creative. The 49th annual Village Halloween Parade was getting ready to scared the bejesus out of the million people that lined the parade route. Nowhere else in the world is there a bigger Halloween party that right here in the heart on NYC. Creative director, Jeanne Fleming, always brings out the best costumes and puppets to get the show started. This years theme was Freedom with plenty of groups and floats displaying banners with reminders of our most precious gift….Jon Batiste would have been proud.
As typical with this parade, blessings to all are called for by a friendly group dressed in white except for some reason there was no sage smoke or silver glitter…guess inflation made that part a casualty. The loud trumpet blaring meant the start of the parade was soon to arrive with a brass band dressed as bees getting the crowd worked up. A large group of puppet skeletons greeted the crowd followed by a large scary pumpkin patch. An all electric guitar band rocked out with some more crazy costumes following them. Of course a parade isn’t a parade without a marching band. The hometown Queer Big Apple Corps Marching Band kicked things in high gear and really got the crowd fired up.
A perennial favorite, The Hungry March Band, played a hopping tune to get people dancing. The thunderous beats of the all female Fogo Azul kept the party going. Dozens of colorful floats and amazing groups kept things going. Marchers in scary costumes attempt to scare some of the million revelers. Screams can be heard from down the block. Shout out to the crew of The Ghostbusters with their original replicas of both cars used in the blockbuster movies. La Fortaleza was a Mexican inspired float with lots of colorful costumes and makeup honoring the Day of the Dead. The parade has always had a large international attraction and this year a musical band from Italy, Vecia Trieste, played a nice tune for the crowd. A steady rain come down towards the middle part of the parade but that didn’t stop the crowd from going into a mad frenzy of yelling when the popular Michael Jackson Thriller Dance group zombied up the parade route. They always put on a good show. The all-female drum band Batala were so much into their performance they even had Darth Vader break dancing. This is one of NYCs finest parades and brings out the best in NYC creativity. If you have never been to one, it should be on your bucket list. Scare Ya Later.
NYC Parade Life 