On the 31st of October children knock on their neighbours’ doors asking for sweets and cakes, wearing the most scaring costumes that they can find. However, this tradition is not only beloved by children, and in those countries where the use of dressing up during this night is particularly deep-rooted, as it is in Anglo-Saxon countries and in the USA, Halloween is a great feast for everyone.

The best evidence of the fact that this day is particularly important is probably the New York Halloween Parade, which has taken place in the Greenwich Village, on the Sixth Avenue, for 35 years. Among the various celebrations that take place all around the world for the All Saints’ eve, the New York parade is probably the most famous and greatest one, the one that obtains the greatest interest by media and the highest participation. An important result for a manifestation which was born in 1973 by an idea of a puppet maker, who wanted to celebrate this event together with his family and friends. With the passing of time it is become a huge event, also thanks to the Theater for the New City which, starting from the third edition, decided to transform the event into something bigger, including it in its cultural events’ program. The following year another non profit organization was created, independently from the Theater for the New City, to deal with the realization of the parade, making it become a global event, and permitting it to win important prizes and to gain an ever-increasing attention.

The topic moment of the event is the parade, which takes place on the Sixth Avenue: every year over 50.000 people take part in it wearing weird costumes in order to impress and, following Halloween tradition, to scare. Everyone can participate, you only need to find the best way to express your creativity creating an original and impressive costume. Every year participants can take inspiration from a different theme to realize their costume, and this year’s edition will have as a main theme a classic Halloween symbol: the ghost. The parade will be characterised by many weird costumes, and although it seems impossible to decide which one is the best, a prize will be awarded to the most original one. However, the competition is not the main part of this big feast: the people who decide to take part in the parade wish above all to have fun and to spend a carefree day, and the parade mission is that of giving back the city to its inhabitants, who have the opportunity to “invade” it and to recover possession of it. Also, being a big cultural event, the New York Parade is seen by organizers as a means to contribute the city’s spirit and economy.

Apart from the 50.000 people who will play an active role in the event, the parade attracts every year a huge numbers of onlookers (more than 2 millions), thanks to the weird costumes, dances and music that characterize it, but above all thanks to the big puppets which are prepared in summer and fall, and are then unveiled at the Parade on Halloween night. These puppets, which are one of the most important features of the feast, take inspiration from the theme of the year, and are realized by emerging artists (they receive a financial help by the Puppet Commission) in order to generate an unforgettable event for children and for the grown-up.

New York, the big apple, is a metropolis in which visitors can find many interesting things to see and to do. If you want to experience this city’s mood and traditions, as well as its grandiosity, the Halloween parade might be the ideal event for you. There will be many visitors in this period, thus you’d better book in advance a cheap hotel.

Tickets: free for onlookers, various prices for participants
Date: 31st October 2008
Location: Greenwich Village, New York, USA

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This article was written by Michele De Capitani with support from http://www.flashbooking.com for any information, please visit New York hotel reservations or for travel insurance visit Hostels in New York City.