The 53rd annual New York City Village Halloween Parade will take place on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. This year's theme is "Body & Soul," and the Grand Marshal is performance artist Joey Arias. Watching is free for everyone, and anyone in costume can join the march.
The New York City Village Halloween Parade will take place on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. This is the 53rd year. This year's theme is "Body & Soul," and the Grand Marshal is Joey Arias, a cabaret singer and performance artist. Organizers said the event will go ahead rain or shine.
The parade will be led by "Firehorse," a new performance created to celebrate the Year of the Horse. The puppet was made by Basil Twist, a puppeteer and director who is a MacArthur "Genius" grant recipient, and the choreography is by Julie Atlas Muz. According to organizers, 50,000 to 80,000 people march in costume every year, and more than 1 million watch from the sidewalks.
Anyone in costume can join the parade. Marchers can enter at the intersection of Canal Street and Sixth Avenue from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., and will set off in groups by time slot. People in street clothes cannot join the march. Spectators can watch from the sidewalks along Sixth Avenue between Canal Street and 15th Street, and the Greenwich Village area gets crowded early.
Organizers say parking is difficult on the day of the event and recommend taking the subway. Groups traveling together are better off meeting first a block or two away from the parade route and entering together. The after-parade all-night party (21 and over) will be held over two nights, Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31; on Saturday, doors open at 9 p.m. at Industry City in Brooklyn. Preferred and VIP tickets are sold on the parade's official website (halloween-nyc.com).