Photo by Steven Pisano on Flickr
Cat ladies are having a moment. In response to the sexist trope put forward by Republican Vice President candidate Sen. JD Vance, who called Democrats “childless cat ladies” who should have fewer voting rights, the theme for this year’s annual Village Halloween Parade will be “Meow,” a celebration of the “inner cat lady in everyone.” Leading the parade this year as grand marshal is Tony Award-winning actor André De Shields, who recently starred as Old Deuteronomy in “CATS: ‘The Jellicle Ball.’”
According to the parade organizers, this year’s parade invites participants to “embrace their inner feline” and don their “finest tails and whiskers,” as a nod to witches, black cats, and all those who defy the norm.
“This Halloween, we step out of the shadows and onto the streets to celebrate our inner Cat Ladies,” parade director Jeanne Fleming said. “Whether you’re a solitary soul or a playful spirit, tonight we come together — quirks, claws, and all. So put on your whiskers and tails and join us as we dance in the moonlight. After all, there’s a Cat Lady in everyone, just waiting to come out.”
On Thursday, October 31, the parade kicks off at 7 p.m. along Sixth Avenue and moves from Canal Street to 15th Street. Anyone in costume can join the parade, with line up beginning south of Spring Street at 6:30 p.m. The parade is free to attend and participate but there are various VIP ticket packages for prime viewing.
An official after-party will be held at Webster Hall with a $5,000 cash costume contest.
Now in its 51st year, the Village Parade attracts 70,000 participants and over a million in-person spectators. The parade is a constant in New York, even through tough times, like after September 11.
During that year’s parade, the thousands of police officers stationed along the route were a reminder that the world’s safety had been compromised, 6sqft reported.
“That was like a healing ritual,” Fleming told 6sqft in an interview last year about the 2001 parade. “We started the parade, and I told the band to play ‘New York, New York’ slow like a dirge, and it was really weird; you could hear a pin drop, and as we moved along you could hear people letting out their breath. It was like people had been holding their breath for weeks.”
“By the time we finished, there was finally a sense of, ‘We are going on. We’re New York,’” she added.
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