Halloween is always a party in New York, but this year several forces combined to make it even wilder than usual. First of all, it happened to fall on a Saturday this year, drawing that many more people out of their apartments and into the night. Second, the Yankees played the Phillies in Game 3 of the World Series - and won! - giving the barroom crowds a grand reason to order a few ill-advised rounds of shots. And third, the New York City Marathon took place the very next morning, giving the Halloween revelers some great human drama to wake up and soothe their hangovers to. Add to that the extra hour of weekend we got because of the end of Daylight Savings Time and you've got a city with every reason to cut loose. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-11-01T15:26:38-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/31/153559/17

Happy Halloween 2009, everybody! I've always loved Halloween, because it's one of those all-fun, no baggage holidays where you're pretty much required to party and be ridiculous. As the Geto Boys point out, this year Halloween falls on a weekend, ramping up the crazy factor in cities around the world. I'm fortunate to live in New York, home of the legendary Village Halloween Parade, and even luckier to have a friend who lives along the parade route, so we'll be watching from above the fray. It's fun to stand along the sidewalk too, but be prepared for a crush of bodies akin to Times Square on New Years Eve. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-10-31T15:35:59-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/10/143836/799

When we crowned Chicago as the best St. Patrick's Day city, we were mostly comparing it to New York, Boston and Dublin, and have to admit we overlooked one of the biggest Irish pride fests in the country. Thanks to commenter morrrilld for pointing out that Savannah, Georgia, of all places, has the second-largest St. Patrick's Day party in the country.

The city's 185th annual parade is expected to bring out some 400,000 people, and there's no bowing to other cities by staging an early party—Savannah celebrates on the day itself, Tuesday, March 17. And while they may not top Chi-town in the green water department, Savannah does pretty well too, dying the water in Forsyth Park's historic fountain green.

As for where to get your post-parade Guinness, we have to admit we're not too up on the Savannah pub scene. Anyone out there have recommendations for St. Patrick's Day in Savannah? Let us know.

Related Stories:
· Savannah St. Patrick's Day Parade [Official Site]
· On St. Patrick's Day, Chicago is the Greenest City of All [Jaunted]
· Savannah travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: rjones0856] ]]> BS 2009-03-11T08:56:19-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/3/142017/0632

Where's the best place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Many would argue New York, with its two-million-person parade, and seemingly a pub with Guinness on tap for every one of them. Boston's got its share of stout-fueled rowdiness as well, but both of these cities are so Irish-fied already that St. Patrick's Day never really feels like that much of a change—just the same pubs with longer lines. Of course you can always go to Dublin for the genuine option, but that's always dimmed by the realization that the streets are filled almost exclusively with drunk Americans--not so genuine after all.

So for the city that puts on the greenest face for St. Patrick's Day, we nominate Chicago. ]]> BS 2009-03-04T08:56:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/2/2/19566/16456

Pittsburgh is getting used to this winning thing. Now that the low-key rioting has settled down, the Iron City will honor the Super Bowl champion Steelers with a parade through downtown this afternoon.

The Steelers' second Super Bowl championship parade in four years will follow the usual route of the city's St. Patrick's Day parade, starting at noon near Mellon Arena, winding through Downtown and ending at Gateway Center. 250,000 fans braved the cold to cheer on the Steelers after they last took home the trophy in 2006, and a similar crowd is expected today.

Meanwhile 4,000 forgiving fans welcomed home the NFC champion Cardinals at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport yesterday, but Phoenix and Glendale officials said they won't be throwing a consolation parade for the Super Bowl runner-ups.

· Pittsburgh Fans Celebrate But Don't Call It a Riot [Jaunted]
· Steelers Victory Parade To Be Held [KDKA]
· More than 4,000 welcome home Cardinals at airport [AZ Central]
· Super Bowl XLIII coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: AxsDeny] ]]> BS 2009-02-03T08:56:00-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/1/6/122025/6190

Happy Three Kings Day! Spanish-speaking countries all over the world celebrate the appearance of the Magi at the manger today, and nowhere is the party bigger than in Mexico City, which baked an 22,000-pound cake for the event.

The Rosca de Reyes, a sweet bread studded with candied fruit, measures nearly a mile long and contains 1,400 plastic babies akin to those found in King Cakes for Mardi Gras. (But you don't want to find this baby because then you have to throw a party for all your friends on February 2.)

Catch up with the festivities in Mexico City now by heading down the Paseo de la Reforma to the Monumento a la Revolución, a Porfirio Diaz-era structure where the Tres Reyes party moved in 2005 from the Parque Alameda Central. The parade, a relatively new addition to the celebration (dating back to just 2007) looks a lot like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, except for the dudes on camel-, elephant- and horseback. They're the kings of course.

Related Stories:
· Massive 11-Tonne Bread Readied for Traditional Mexico Party [AFP, via Yahoo!]
· Three Kings Ride Through Mexico City for First Time [EFE]
· Mexico City Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Remi.B]]]> egw 2009-01-06T15:30:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/11/1/124715/119

New York has a parade for just about every holiday save Arbor Day, but the one that seems to suit the city best is the annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. This year, a confluence of factors made the parade a bit weirder than usual, creating a timely diversion from regular life so that people such as your correspondent could get out of their heads for a while and appreciate the lengths many New Yorkers go through just to entertain. For starters (and to paraphrase a classic rap track), this year Halloween fell on a weekend, making a traditional party night even more of one. Add to that a highly-charged election with easily-caricatured candidates, an economy in free fall, and the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's Thriller, and you've got the makings of a major Halloween spectacle. Being slightly past whoo-hoo! age, we avoided the six-deep crowd on the sidewalk and enjoyed the parade from a friend's apartment overlooking Sixth Avenue, and while it made for lousy photographs, the elevated perspective highlighted the effort and energy that goes into New York's freakiest mass happening of the year. ]]> Victor Ozols 2008-11-01T12:47:15-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/