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Whipping winds added an eerie touch to the annual Village Halloween Parade in New York City, yet the event, held in the heart of Greenwich Village, continued with its usual spooky flair.
Thousands lined Sixth Avenue, eager to participate in or witness the 52nd edition of this Downtown tradition.
Beyond the usual array of ghouls and goblins, attendees embraced this year’s “potluck” theme with creative costumes. The parade was led by City Harvest, an organization dedicated to combating hunger by redistributing excess food from eateries and bakeries.
Embracing the theme, Sunrise Windburn from Brooklyn donned a marijuana leaf costume with “420” prominently displayed. “I’ve taken the theme a little further,” she remarked with a knowing smile, confident that others would catch on to her playful interpretation.
Many participants opted for costumes inspired by New York City’s unique quirks. Annette Toribio, a Bronx native, dressed as a giant cockroach, proudly representing a familiar city nuisance. “This is quintessential New York,” Toribio declared, twirling to show off her costume’s waving antennae.
Her husband, opting for anonymity, chose a rat costume. “Rats are a true New York staple,” he noted, highlighting another iconic element of city life.
Toribio’s husband, who declined to give his name, came dressed as a rat. “Rats: a New York institution,” he said.
A couple from Astoria, Queens, rolled with a transit theme at the Village Halloween Parade, with Yaxi Xiao, 29, coming as a MetroCard and Mathew Sanchez, 29, an OMNY card.
“The MetroCard is dying and we had to say goodbye,” Xiao said, as she peeked through her swiping MetroCard.
“Getting with the times,” Sanchez said of his OMNY getup. “I was a longtime MetroCard holder but I had to stay current — New York is changing.”
“And,” Xiao interjected, “maybe now we’ll even have free buses.”
Others threw theme-dressing to the wind, and came as their favorite characters. “I’m so glad to be here. I wanted to see all the costumes,” said Jacob Mesa, 9, of Queens, who attended the parade with his family. “I’m Son Goku,” Mesa said, naming the main character of the Japanese series “Dragon Ball.”
Kerry Burke / New York Daily News
Crowds line the sidewalks and rooftops along Sixth Ave. to watch the Village Halloween Parade on Friday. (Kerry Burke / New York Daily News)
