New York’s Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, considered the largest participatory event in the country with 50,000 costumed revelers typically marching up Sixth Avenue, has been canceled due to concerns over COVID-19, parade organizers said today.
The locally televised parade was to have featured Pose actor Billy Porter as grand marshal, with a theme of “Big Love.”
An official announcement, including details about a substitute special event, will arrive next week, but no one should expect a virtual stream of costumed walkers. Parade Director Jeanne Fleming told the New York Post that the non-profit parade organization “just couldn’t do it online — it’s way too expensive.”
“If I see another video of a person dancing alone in their kitchen I’m going to stab myself or I’m going to cry,” Fleming told the Post. The organizer’s surprise event, she said, will “be COVID safe, and big, but not gathering a crowd.”
The cancelation is especially disappointing this year, Fleming noted, due to the convergence of a full moon, a Saturday night and the looming presidential election.
“It was going to be a big embrace and a pushing out of love right before the election,” Fleming said.
The parade, which invites anyone in costume to join the official marchers, puppets and bands, could have attracted 80,000 people this year, due to the Saturday night timing. The event is typically televised on Spectrum News’ NY1 channel.
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