NYC Village Halloween parade coming back thanks to generous donor

NEW YORK - After a year off due to the pandemic, the New York City Village Halloween parade is happening after all this year, thanks to a generous donation.

According to organizer Jeanne Fleming, the 48th edition of the annual Halloween parade was in dire straits heading towards the spookiest time of the year.

"I mean, I really didn't think we were going to have a chance," Fleming said. 

By 2019, the last time the parade was held, it attracted a million people. The plan this year was to come back bigger thane ever, but COVID-19 meant they were $150K shy of funds used for everything from city permits to paying artists who create the parade's giant puppets. 

So Jason Feldman, an executive at UBS and Halloween enthusiast sent Fleming an email.

"I think I was literally shaving my head one day, getting ready to go out that evening and in the background, I'm always playing news of some type," Feldman said. "And somebody said there was a shortfall and I said ‘Oh, this is easy.’"

"I knew that we had found someone very special," Fleming said. "He didn't talk about money, he talked about spirit, the soul of the parade and NYC's creative energy."

But eventually, money did come up and Feldman, a 58-year-old who has been attending the parade since he was 14, is donating all of the $150K needed.

"There's all sorts of medicine I guess we're talking about these days, shots in the arm. This is arguable at least from my point of view, the best medicine for our city, right?" Feldman said. 

According to Fleming, this year's parade is dedicated to all the kids who missed out on Halloween last year. On that note, the parade is asking for kids to submit drawings that organizers will turn into giant puppets that will kick off the parade on 6th Avenue.

If you'd like to submit your art, visit Halloween-NYC.com

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