Get Your Scare on and Join the Village Halloween Parade

You either love it or you hate it, but it’s probably safe to say that Halloween in New York is not like Halloween anywhere else. Today’s the big day, and with the plethora of catalogues that start arriving in July, pop-up Halloween stores, and events around the city, Halloween has reached the status of a seriously major occurrence. (Many of us grew up in an era where our moms just threw together a few sheets to make us into ghosts, and that was it.)
And with Halloween comes the biggest Halloween event of all—New York City’s Village Halloween parade.(It's included in the book "100 Things to Do Before You Die."
This year marks the event’s 36th anniversary, with the theme “Terra Incognita”; it celebrates the ancient mariners exploring undiscovered waters. (Interpret as you wish.) The parade, which wends its way up Sixth Avenue, starts south of Spring Street and north of Canal Street. Revelers can gather between 6:30 and 8:30 pm; the parade officially kicks off at 7:00 PM.
The spectacle offers one of the more over-the-top, exhibitionist Halloween events anywhere in the country—all in the confines of an organized event. Along with the marchers, musical acts, circus performers and puppeteers--one of the parade’s highlights—join the throngs.
Parade-ers have to be in costume to join, but spectators--sometimes more than 2 million of them--are welcome. Only costumed participants are allowed in the parade itself. Abandon normal clothing, all ye who enter there.
Not brave (or foolish) enough to participate or watch it in person? Never mind--it’s being broadcast on NY1 from 8-9:30 pm tonight.

March, Then Relax: Columbus Day Parade and A Ritzy Spa Week Come to New York

Is it really Columbus Day already? Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were frolicking by the shore and eating ice cream cones with nary a thought for fall?
Well, here it is, and if you’re still having trouble adjusting to autumn, New York’s Columbus Day Parade should help you realize it’s really here. The parade, which has been around since 1929, wends its way up Fifth Avenue today (11:30 AM-3:00 PM), starting at 44th Street and heading north to 79th Street. (Hey, weren’t we just watching the Labor Day Parade?) Politicians, marching bands, and even the occasional celebrity participate in this homage to the building of this country and Italian-American relations.
If the thought of all that marching just wears you out, it’s also the beginning of Spa Week in New York (Oct. 12-18). A multitude of ritzy treatments are going for $50 a pop at some of the city’s most exclusive salons--Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa at the Plaza; the Lia Schorr Day Spa; and The Salon & Spa at Saks Fifth Avenue, to name a few. (These treatments can normally climb into the hundreds of dollars.) Posh-sounding treatments (Geisha facial, anyone?) are included, although some of them, truthfully, sound like they should be done at your doctor’s office rather than at a spa (Botox? Colonics?)
To each her own.
Spa Week extends across the state as well (as well as other states); you can check out the website spaweek.com, for more information.