# About last night : Halloween’s parade @NYC

Halloween in the US is not to be missed .. Something that is not really overly celebrated in France, I was super excited at the prospect of celebrating my first Halloween in NYC! To really soak up the New York “Halloweenesque atmosphere”, there’s nothing like the enormous parade, which attracts over 2 million people every year to the big apple… To take part in the parade, there is one condition. Dress up..

Let’s get ready for the parade !

Step 1 : Find a costume…this is the topic on everyone’s mind in the weeks leading up to D-day, and its something that here, they take very seriously!!!
Step 2 : Buy said costume in one of the numerous fancy dress stores in the city. Take your credit card, or a wallet full of cash, (if you want the real deal, it does not come cheap) and be patient. If you are serious and organised, do not leave it till the last minute, (as I made the mistake of doing) as the shops are literally crawling with shoppers. One hour and a nervous breakdown later I eventually left the shop with my outfit. Done!
Step 3 : On the night itself, armed with your scary costume and mask, (that you can’t see out of) find the start of the parade. This isn’t an easy task for novices like myself, and the even bigger challenge ? Taking part in it… The Parade usually starts at around 7pm on 6^th av and lasts until 11pm. Be prepared to be patient, and probably get knocked around in the crowds. I suggest anyone suffering from agoraphobia or claustrophobia to stay at home.. I have seriously never seen so many people, honestly I almost left…

The parade :

Many streets are blocked, the subways are absolutely packed and thousands of people climb behind the barricades, frantically trying to get a glimpse of the parade, the costumes and the groups of performers and dancers in the moving show… If you want to take part in the parade yourself, you have to start at the very beginning and wait in line, several streets back, and equally there are so many people pressed up against the barriers waiting to be given the “green light”, as the policemen only authorise so many people at regular intervals…

We were lucky and did not have to wait too long before joining the parade (yes the French find it difficult to wait in queues for hours.) Once the barriers were lifted, the wall of people (ourselves included) dashed behind the tanks. Eek off we go!!!!

Check this out 🙂

The atmosphere and the energy in New York on Halloween night is quite strange … Meeting all these people disguised as monsters, vampires, super heroes, robots and various other creatures makes you feel like you are in another dimension, or on the set of a horror movie … especially seen as some people are 100% in character, which can be a little disconcerting and scary… There are so many people and that can be unsettling too. Once you have managed to join the parade its quite fun to see everything happening around you, the costumes, the dances, the drums and the tanks…

After several hours of marching bands and music, standing between Batman and “ It the Clown” in the freezing cold, its time to meet at one of the many bars and restaurants in Greenwitch Village, where all the other creatures come together to warm up and finish celebrating Halloween, just like they should. The atmosphere is amazing.

In short, I love it !

xxx