| Issue #31, October 27, 2006 |
When In Manhattan...
By Oliver Peterson
Halloween
It’s autumn again. Along with being my second favorite month of the year and the last before we really begin to hit the cold season, October closes with a bang. Halloween is one of those holidays that people either love or hate. My mother thinks it’s unpleasant and spooky, but I happen to like the celebration of our darker side. Yes, I know it was originally about harvest, but we now have a month loaded with horror movies, ghastly decorations and ghoulish costumes and accessories from K-Mart and the Sag Harbor Variety Store. It’s always fun. It gives us an excuse to step outside our usual selves. It allows us to embrace fear and death and the horrors of life without the depressing truth of 24-hour news channels, John Mark Karr, Iraq, Israel, BTK, and the rest of the awful things we see and hear about daily. Halloween falls on a Tuesday this year, but if you can get into the city, it will be worth the trip.
I’ve already covered it in this column, but if you don’t already know, the annual Halloween Parade is one of the best parades in the world. Marchers gather south of Spring Street and begin marching at 7 p.m. This years theme is “The Village Hearth,” to pay tribute to the holiday’s ancient Celtic roots. In those days, villagers celebrated the end of autumn by gathering around a communal fire. They would bring home embers in hollowed, decorated gourds with which to light their own hearths. Designs on the gourds were created to honor Brigid, goddess of the hearth. This is where the Jack-O-Lantern tradition began. The old tradition will be recreated in the West Village with new puppets, and marchers will likely use the theme in costumes and regalia. This parade is always wild, packed with revelers, and a ton of fun. The surrounding neighborhood won’t be short of action, either.
Whether you get to town on Tuesday or not, another holiday event that has been running since the 5th is the Crazy Dreams Halloween Funhouse at CSV Cultural Center on Suffolk Street on the Lower East Side. Working with the idea that Halloween should be fun, not terrifying for kids, the Funhouse is a collection of rooms featuring different, creative, and interactive activities. Kids aged 2-10 can dance with a scarecrow, sing along with Jacko (don’t worry, not Michael) and the Enchanted Lanterns, enjoy the Hall of Magical Mirrors, climb the giant spider’s web, party in the Glowing Bubble Chamber, play in the Wobbleberry Ball Pit, make friends in the Monster Zoo, and more. With every ticket purchased, your child will receive a special gift. The Funhouse was created by Timothy Haskell, known for directing off-Broadway hits like Fatal Attraction: a Greek Tragedy and Roadhouse: the Stage Play. If you don’t have kids, Haskell is also presenting a Halloween treat for adults at the same venue (CSV). Nightmare: Face Your Fear is in its third year and has been called “New York’s Most Horrifying Haunted House.” Not for the faint of heart, or children under 10 (they must be over 16 for late-night shows), “Nightmare” combines urban horror and interactive theater for a unique and psychologically horrifying experience. Like the Funhouse, visitors will walk through 13 room-by-room encounters with “obsessions, anxieties and phobias” that are truly scary for even the most jaded New Yorkers. All of the rooms are new and different than those from previous years. Those with heart conditions, pregnant women, and anyone with a disorder exacerbated by stress and panic should not participate. 2004 and 2005 had sold out engagements and lines running around the block. Make sure to get tickets and plan accordingly.
The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center (CSV) was founded in 1993 as a nonprofit institution focused on the cultivation, presentation and preservation of Puerto Rican and Latino culture. It is equally determined to work multi-culturally and inclusively promoting artists and performance events that reflect the diversity of the Lower East Side and the city as a whole. This one will get a column of its own soon.
CSV is located at 107 Suffolk Street, (212) 260-4080. Go to CrazyDreamsFunhouse.com, (212) 929-2963, SmartTix.com, HauntedHouseNYC.com, or call 212-868-4444, for prices, tickets, and schedules.
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