New York City's 44th annual Village Halloween Parade promises to be spook-tacular.
Dubbed "the nation's most wildly creative public participatory event in the greatest city in the world," this year's parade lineup includes hundreds of puppets, 53 marching bands, dancers, artists, and, of course, tens of thousands of New Yorkers dressed in their Halloween garb.
The theme for this year's parade is "Cabinet of Curiosities: An Imaginary Menagerie." It draws inspiration from P.T. Barnum, circus ringleader and provocateur of the late 19th century.
"In 1842 P.T. Barnum attached the head of a monkey to a taxidermied fish and the Fiji Mermaid was born!" reads the festival's official theme statement.
"We laugh now, but Barnum's Museum was the Carnivalesque forerunner of what became the modern science museum. He straddled a past in which private obsessions with nature's aberrations produced Cabinets of Curiosity filled with real and imagined natural relics…. Halloween, of course, revels in hybrids, mash-ups and the frisson of crossed identities," the statement says.
As for the Grand Marshal, this year's parade will honor indie music artist Anjelica, who will be riding on the festival's first New Orleans-style float designed by renowned Russian artist Alexie Kazantsev.
According to local newspaper Metro, areas between Bleecker Street and 14th Street are the most crowded. The festival suggests attendees arrive early in order to secure a viewing spot.
When?
The Village Halloween Parade will take place on Tuesday, October 31, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Route
The lineup for the parade begins at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue. The parade will begin on 6th Avenue and Spring Street, traveling north and ending on 16th Street.
Street closures
According to Metro, the following streets will be closed by the New York Police Department and the Department of Transportation during the entire length of the parade:
— 6th Avenue between Spring Street and Canal Street
— Dominick Street between Varick Street and 6th Avenue
— Sullivan Street between 6th Avenue and Spring Street
— Broome Street between Sullivan Street and Varick Street
— Spring Street between Varick Street and 6th Avenue
— 6th Avenue between Spring Street and West 16th Street (Parade Route)
— West 16th Street between 5th Avenue and 7th Avenue
— West 17th Street between 5th Avenue and 7th Avenue
— West 18th Street between 5th Avenue and 7th Avenue
— West 10th Street between 6th Avenue and Greenwich Avenue
— Vandam Street between Varick Street and 6th Avenue
Getting to the parade
Festival organizers suggest using public transportation to get to the parade.
By Subway: Sixth Avenue (B,D,F,Q) to 23rd, 14th or West 4th Street Stations; Seventh Avenue (1,2,3,9) to 23rd, 18th, 14th, Sheridan Square or Houston Street; Eighth Avenue (A,C,E) to West 4th Street, Spring (this station is closest to the Line Up area) or Canal Street Stations.
By PATH from New Jersey: Take the 33rd Street Train to one of the Sixth Avenue Stations at 9th, 14th or 23rd Streets.
By Bus: Buses along Sixth Avenue will be re-routed from just after 6:00 p.m. until the parade is over; other routes are suggested.
For up-to-date travel information, visit MTA's Special Event page.
TV listings
The Village Halloween Parade will be broadcast live on NY1 from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Carlos Ballesteros is a staff writer born and raised on the Southwest Side of Chicago. You can reach him at c.ballesteros@newsweekgroup.com
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