Bwog’s adventures in the NYC Village Halloween Parade.

I love a little Halloween chaos. The candy. The lights. The crazy costumes. Even the Thriller dance. And there is no better place to get all that Halloween goodness than at the NYC Village Halloween Parade. 

On October 31, 1973, the friends and family of the Westbeth Artists Community paraded through their neighborhood, wearing humble paper-mache masks. Over the course of five decades, their small gathering has grown to become “the nation’s most wildly creative public participatory event,” otherwise known as the NYC Village Halloween Parade, attracting tens of thousands of costumed participants and spectators every year. Last Friday, two Bwoggers were among those spectators.

Our night began on the 1 Train, where we played an entertaining one-sided game of “guess the costume” with every stranger in our sight. There were, of course, the usuals. Sexy pirates, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, three guys in matching blue suits (still trying to figure out that one), and a girl with masterfully done spider webs under her eyes (got to admire the simplicity).

Once we got off the 1 Train, we were greeted by even more eccentric costumes– a sea of Halloween where even the dogs were dressed to the nines, complete with their adorable little booties. When wandering through the streets, it felt as if we were transported into the world of Ghostbusters (mostly because of the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man blow-up looming over the roof of a house). There was something about this night that just made it so wonderfully spooky and scary.

Finally, after twisting and turning through winding roads and wistfully admiring the townhomes along them, we made it to the actual parade. Now, here’s the thing to know about this parade in particular. It’s crowded. Like, really crowded. So crowded that had we not been lucky enough to snag a spot close to the barricade at the end of the block, we likely would not have been able to see much. Our choice to arrive an hour into the parade may have also been a factor here… but fortunately, we were lucky. We were able to see quite a few floats, each of which had its own dancing menagerie on top, jumping and jiving to the beat of the music. My personal favorite sections were the children’s drummers and, of course, the traditional Thriller dance.

After our Halloween parade sightings, it was time for a Halloween sweet treat. Our group had heard a rumor of a free cookie at Chip City if we were in costume. Unfortunately, once we had hunted down the Chip City, the free cookies were gone. Despite this travesty, we still ended up getting a horchata cookie and meeting a friend. After the cookie and some sit-down time in the safe haven from the fierce winds and Halloween chaos outside, we made one more round to the Halloween parade before heading back for the night.

Before returning to campus, it was time for a trip to Qahwah House, briefly delayed by a film shooting happening a couple of feet down. Once inside, we got a couple of drinks and a slice of the Yemeni honeycomb bread. The perfect end to Halloween night.

Halloween Parade via Authors