New York Daily Photo Analytics

Monday, November 03, 2008

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.

11 comments:

NutsInNY said...

Thanks, borrowed for Nuts In NY.

http://www.nutsinny.com/all-nuts/soup-to-nuts-vote-early-vote-often-edition

DD at NINY

Anonymous said...

Much more mysterious and beautiful costumes then previous years. Your camera does them justice.

Anonymous said...

Those pictures are great, and the quality of the costumes looks top notch. I especially like the Cleopatra/Egyptian outfit... The colors really come out in your photography of it.

IdoNOTwantKids said...

If anybody has any pictures of a giant condom wearing a www.IdoNOTwantKids.com t-shirt, PLEASE let me know. That was me. Thanks!

PS: You can contact me directly on my site: www.IdoNOTwantKids.com (so I don't get spammed by putting my email here)

Lorelai said...

How did you get a press pass by doing your blog??

Anonymous said...

You can actually get in without a press pass. Shhh!!! Just put on a costume of some sort and get in at the beginning and you can roam freely. You could probably even sneak in at some point if in costume. They're not that strict. Just keep moving!

Unknown said...

Great collage! Well done!

Fashion Schlub said...

Fabulous shots - almost like being there! I love Flush Gordon (ha, sorry, couldn't resist).

Beth in NYC said...

I tried the parade one year and gave up for the reasons you mentioned, Brian. Better to look at photos like the ones on your blog. Then again, Anonymous' suggestion seems like an interesting challenge for next year... :-)

dianasfaria.com said...

these are great shots, brings back memories too!

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