Halloween Parade 2008

I have attended the annual Village Halloween Parade for many years, battling the crowds. Unless one arrives very early and jockeys for a good viewing position, it is virtually futile to attend. Nearly all the side streets on both sides of 6th Avenue for the entire parade route (of nearly 1.5 miles) overflow with people and are cordoned off early by the police. Like myself, most city residents I know have essentially given up on attending. I now typically just peruse the streets after the parade ends - costumed participants continue to mill around until the wee hours of the morning.
However, since the inception of this blog, I have obtained a press pass, allowing me to roam freely among the paraders. This privilege is extraordinary as the parade has become virtually unmanageable with the enormous number attending - estimated at 2 million. The history of this parade is an artistic one, so the costuming is particularly creative - many plan for this in advance with enormous amounts of preparation. There are floats and very elaborate displays. The standards are high and the number of participants is huge - it is difficult to see more than a small fraction of the outstanding costumes. Tomorrow I will post another collage as Part 2 and a gallery of photos on my Flickr site ...

NOTE: A history of the parade, with links and photos from the past two years can be found on my previous postings: Halloween Parade Preview 2006, Halloween Parade 2006, Village Parade 2007 Preview, Village Halloween Parade 2007, Village Halloween Parade 2007 Part 2.