As we turn into Varick Street in Lower Manhattan, a gore-splattered surgeon – his face peeling – is dragging a corpse down the sidewalk. Behind him, a bow-tie wearing, opaque-eyed zombie with dental health issues (half his mouth is missing) is checking his phone.
Recoiling, my husband makes one final escape attempt: “Do we have to take part? Can’t we just watch?”
Foolish man. I’m sporting black velvet wings and a silver updo. Like a schlock-horror teen approaching THAT abandoned forest cabin, surely he realises there’s no turning back now?
“Over my dead body. I’ve waited years for this,” I tell him. “Besides, these people need us.” Beneath my teenage son’s Joe’s “Vendetta” mask, I sense a sardonic eyebrow raised.
Tonight, 60,000 spooks, kooks and the occasional smutty nun will put on one of the biggest Halloween parades on the planet. And we’re the opening act.
The roots of NYC’s Village Halloween Parade extend back to 1973, when Greenwich puppeteer and mask-maker, Ralph Lee, took his kids and several of his creations on a spooky mooch around the neighbourhood. The following year, the march from Lee’s home to Washington Square Park was 200-strong. Featuring dozens of Ralph’s giant puppets and masks – and a bloke in a seven-foot-high lobster suit, borrowed from a Sam Shepard play – the Village Halloween Parade was officially spawned.
In 1985, the procession relocated to Sixth Avenue where, under artistic director Jeanne Fleming, it has metamorphosed into the city’s largest participatory parade. Free to join on the night, the only rule is “no costume, no entry.”
With imagination given free rein, the resulting artistry is astonishing. A zombie-eyed Medusa, her green beehive a swirl of serpents, wears a rubber python for a necklace, while a seriously terrifying horned demon, all flayed flesh and fur, sports a garland of dried fruits. Robotic-armed cyberpunks bare grilled teeth at La Catrinas, their exquisitely painted faces a conflict of vibrant petals and brutal stitches. Best of all, though, is a humongous “Wild Thing”, with his baby son, Max, in a crown and white sleepsuit. The devil is in the detail.
For someone who struggles to put on eyeliner, such professionalism could seem off-putting. But here’s the thing: each year a menagerie of puppets, operated by 400 volunteers, forms part of the mile-long cavalcade. So, as no experience or costume is necessary (“Just wear black” made packing easier), I’ve enrolled us into the Ghost-Butterfly swarm.
Signing up via the official website a few months before the event was easy. It’s first come, first served – but there are always cancellations and no-shows, so last-minute volunteers are usually welcomed. And on years where the weather has been foul or the subways have played up, Jeanne and her team have even had to grab people off the street.
Mercifully, before the Flanagan males can flit off, I spot our peppermint-tressed, peacock-feathered butterfly captain, Kristie, who hands us each a vast moth on a 10-foot-pole, and a standard-bearer belt to secure it in. With the cumbersome puppet now semi-supported, manoeuvring it one-handed, while using the other to animate its wings, is relatively easy.
The drums are pounding as we cram into Canal Street. Nearly 60 bands, from bagpipes to samba, will play tonight, and they’re all tuning up. Then the clock strikes seven and we’re off – lunging between gyrating stilt-walkers, a rattling puppet army of 12-foot-tall Dia de los Muertos skeletons and a vast spider-monkey.
All awkward British reserve is jettisoned as we work the two million spectators cramming the sidewalks; mischievously dipping our winged-spectres low to catch them by surprise. “Happy Halloween!” we yell.
Trumpets are blaring; the NYPD is smiling (even when I veer off-courseto spook a spectator-crammed side street: “Mam, please return to the official route. Now.”), and creative energy fills the air. Cats and werewolves are ensuring numerous Donald Trumps meet grisly ends … and, is that really a Trump-tampon, declaring “Make America Menstruate again?”
It’s not all horror: Marshmallow Men wobble, Pac-Men gobble and a Superman-caped Pitbull is along for the ride. And here comes Dorothy, Toto and the Tin Man, too (although the latter looks demented and I think the dog is dead).
Arms aching; bathed in sweat and grinning manically, we frontrunners hit 16th Street in just under two hours. Behind us, that herd of walking dead just keeps on coming. Absolutely knackered but buzzing, it’s been one of the most exhilarating nights of our lives.
Would we do it again? Hell, yes. In an undead heartbeat.
How to join:
The 45th New York City Village Halloween Parade will take place, come rain or shine, on 31 October, 2018. For details on how to take part in or watch the parade, go to halloween-nyc.com. Prospective puppeteers should register ASAP, although due to no-shows, it is often possible to volunteer on the night.
Get involved! Five more Halloween events to take part in
Macnas Halloween parade, Galway and Dublin
Giant puppets will parade the streets, with pyrotechnic displays and live performances on floats under the theme of Out of the Wild Sky, this year’s Halloween event by Galway-based performance company, Macnas. The parade begins at the National University of Ireland’s Galway campus; join or spectate along the route, or get involved as a volunteer steward or makeup artist. The following day, Dublin will host the parade, as part of the Bram Stoker Festival.
• 28 October at 5.30pm in Galway, 29 October at 7pm in Dublin (free), macnas.com
West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval, Los Angeles
One of the largest Halloween street parties in the world, with nearly half a million costumed revellers, live music and cultural performances taking over Santa Monica Boulevard. In previous years, Boy George and a Rocky Horror Picture Show tribute with Tim Curry have performed. All are welcome at this LGBTQ-friendly event, where there’ll also be food trucks, DJs and plenty of after parties.
• 31 October, 6pm (free), visitwesthollywood.com
Samhuinn Fire Festival, Edinburgh
This city-centre festival celebrates the transition from summer to winter, marking what is often called the Celtic new year. A standoff between the kings of winter and summer will be among the traditional Gaelic stories recounted on top of Calton Hill, alongside fire acrobatics, drumming, puppetry and other costumed performances.
• 31 October, 7pm, £6 (£2 low income, under-5s free), beltane.org
The Monster Halloween Ball, Liverpool
The Lantern Company is putting on three days of Halloween family fun at Sefton Park Palm House this year. During the day, there’ll be mask-making and lantern workshops, while after dark monsters big and small can join the parade around the grounds followed by a costume party. Giant lantern puppets will be throwing shapes on the dancefloor, and there’ll also be costume competitions, food and games.
• 24-26 October, with evening parties at 5.30pm and 8pm (From £8.25, under-2s free), lanterncompany.co.uk
Kawasaki Halloween parade, Tokyo
The wackier the costume the better for the Kawasaki parade, just outside Tokyo, with many participants wearing prosthetics, complex theatrical makeup or kitsch, homemade fancy dress. Awards follow the parade in La Cittadella, and club nights and after-parties go on into the night. For inspiration, the website has DIY videos on crafting headpieces from croissants and cuddly toys.
• 28 October, from 2.30pm (spectators free, participants around £7). Children’s parades, 27 October 12pm/1.30pm/3pm, lacittadella.co.jp
Five more Halloween events written by Antonia Wilson
