Overview New York's Village Halloween Parade is the largest public Halloween celebration in the country and the only major night parade in America. Every October 31 it runs up Sixth Avenue through Greenwich Village, with giant puppets, live bands, floats, dancers and tens of thousands of costumed New Yorkers who march with them. Puppeteer and mask maker Ralph Lee started it as a neighborhood walk, and Village Halloween Parade, Inc., a non-profit arts organization led by Jeanne Fleming, produces it today. On site Marchers line up at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue and step off at 7pm, heading north to 15th Street past barricades packed with spectators. Each year's theme is told through giant pageant puppets and original choreography, and dozens of bands and floats fill the route. A VIP viewing area sits beside the live telecast. Brands can present the parade, sponsor a float or a branded puppet troupe, sample product along the route, partner in the VIP area or run digital billboards across the five boroughs. Audience About two million people watch from the sidewalks, and more than 80,000 in costume march. The crowd is New Yorkers of every age and background plus visitors from around the world, and the parade draws families, artists, performers, LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and nightlife regulars. NY1 carries it live, and its website reaches a global audience during October. Talent and Influencers The parade's puppets come from MacArthur Fellow Basil Twist, Processional Arts Workshop, HERE Arts Center's Dream Music Puppetry Program and the Puppeteers Cooperative of Boston. Performance artist Joey Arias is Grand Marshal this year, following Tony winner André De Shields and City Harvest with restaurateur Simon Kim. Susan Sarandon hosted its first national broadcast, and Z100's Elvis Duran has served as Grand Marshal. Track record The parade has marched through Greenwich Village for more than half a century. It went ahead weeks after 9/11 at the mayor's request, brought Hurricane Katrina evacuees and Haitian artists into the line of march, and came back from the Superstorm Sandy cancellation with a Kickstarter. It holds an Obie Award and a Municipal Art Society award, and New York declared the week before Halloween "Halloweek" in its honor. Brand presence Spectrum News NY1 presents the parade and its live telecast. Current sponsors and partners include WKTU, Z100, Rivian, Espolòn Tequila, The Dominick Hotel, House of Yes, The Rudin Foundation, The Durst Organization, Li-Lac Chocolates, Kostume Kult and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. Past partners include Pepsi, Ford, BMW, JetBlue, Ben & Jerry's, MAC Cosmetics, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Bacardi, Starbucks, Under Armour, Zappos and Monster Energy.