MEOW! Calling cats, kittens & cat ladies to Village Halloween Fete
Halloween revelers will be in full feline fashion flair on Oct. 31 when the 51st annual Greenwich Village Halloween parade invites creative puppeteers, and costumiers to the biggest ghoul show in the nation.
Meow is the theme of the carnival which begins at 7 p.m. from Manhattan’s Spring St. along Sixth Ave. to 16th St. offering a bewitching, spooky, jaw-dropping, spontaneous, masquerade of satirical perspectives.
Actor Andre DeShields was recently named to bring drama to the head turning, rain or shine spectacle. He will likely add theatrical antics to his role as grand marshal.
Usually presented live on television via New York One at 8 p.m. reporters and anchors from the station customarily dress to characterize recognizable images.
At numerous points along the route the scribes often spotlight individuals and groups who have created a world revered pageantry of ghoulish troubadours.
Among the usual skeletons, headless vampires, comic book characters, coffins, cob webs, walking dead beats etc, this year a new section invites tourists and spectators to join a cadre billed “Cat Ladies Unite.”
Named to mimic the political utterance of political candidate Sen. J D Vance who described female opposition to his diatribe as “childless cat ladies.”
During an address to his Republican supporters he referenced the Democratic Party and “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.”
In his address, the chosen GOP for the second highest position in America and vice presidential hopeful to Donald Trump stated his position while bolstering assurances on issues related to feminism.
Social media pounced on the reference with women aligned to mobilized to respond to the notion that females without children can effectively decide policy.
Within hours of the noxious commentary, influencer and pop singer Taylor Swift dispatched a photo she punctuated with the image of a kitty cat.
Her singular declaration fueled solidarity with women identifying as proud cat women.
Like-minded women joined a movement that has become a campaign game-changer and the impetus of the Halloween parade.
It is no wonder the provocative, comedic, entertaining promoters seized on the opportunity to theme Meow, for this year’s spectacle.
Organizers maintain that the parade does not endorse any particular candidate but they are intent on connecting with the voting public.
“We’re playing on the notion of the black cat. We’re not being political.”
“The cat lady represents people who don’t have children, people who live alternative lifestyles and people who don’t fit the normal view of what a family looks like,” Elissa Stein, an organizer said.
Therefore “they’ve become symbolic and emblematic in a way of people not in the conventional, old-fashioned mold of what’s titled as normal.”
Although the black cat has always maintained a place in the Halloween zeitgeist, this year’s theme bewitchingly associates rhetoric of the seasons — politically and culturally.
In addition, among the scary views, there will be pumpkins, prince and princesses, and a few positively non-political performers.
Reportedly, the parade attracts two million observers.
Black Solidarity Day Previews Election Day
Since 1969 students and conscientious Americans have been adhering to a concept of abstinence from shopping and regular routine on a day known as Black Solidarity Day.
Borne from an idea seeded by Douglas Turner Ward’s fictional play “A Day of Absence,” Panamanian Dr. Carlos Russell influenced hundreds then thousands now millions to impact the economy by holding a moratorium on shopping or spending money on the first Monday in November.
Dr. Russell was an ambassador to the United Nations and a professor at Brooklyn College when he conceived the annual.
Intended to meditate on the meaning of social justice and civic engagement in a multi-racial democracy, it’s true focus is to “highlight racial injustices, societal inequities, and to illuminate how Black voices are integral to American life.”
One day prior to election day, college campuses across the nation will honor the concept on Nov. 4 by hosting forums, tours, exhibitions, tributes, and a myriad of activities celebrating the accomplishments of Black citizens as well as steering clear from corporate enterprises.
For more information on the genesis of the day, check the usual online sources.
Catch You On The Inside!
