New York City's 52nd Village Halloween Parade ready to 'thrill' again
GREENWICH VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Thousands of New Yorkers in costumes are expected to attend the 52nd annual Village Halloween Parade on Friday.
The parade transforms Sixth Avenue into the city's biggest block party as goblins, ghouls and zombies take over.
Part of the monster celebration includes 100 New Yorkers dancing their way up the parade route to Michael Jackson's iconic "Thriller."
It all started close to 20 years ago as a grassroots group with a speaker in the back of a punch buggy, but when Jackson died in 2009, it exploded in popularity.
That's when Erin Hamilton got involved with Thriller NYC and decided to formalize the performance, making it bigger and better.
"It's this cool thing in New York where you can bring 100 New Yorkers who maybe would have walked past one another on the subway, but now here you are in this room, and you have this awesome experience together," Hamilton said.
In addition to the costumes and dancers, this year's procession will feature 14 floats, which are being created in Clifton, New Jersey.
The parade starts at 7 p.m. at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue and goes up to 15th Street.
It is free for everyone, whether watching from the sidelines or joining in costume.
This year's theme is "It's a potluck!" and the Grand Marshal is City Harvest. The organization works to rescue fresh produce and deliver it for free to New Yorkers across the five boroughs.
Restaurateur and philanthropist Simon Kim will represent City Harvest in the parade.
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