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Tags: Halloween / Halloween Travel / Parades / Scary Travel / Freaks / New York City Marathon / Marathons / Active Travel / → All Tags
A Hell of a Halloween Weekend in New York
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.
Tags: Halloween / Halloween Travel / Parades / Scary Travel / Freaks / → All Tags
It's Halloween, Do You Have Your Silver Shamrock Mask Yet?
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.
Tags: St. Patrick's Day / Parades / Georgia Travel / → All Tags
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in…Georgia?
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]
Tags: St. Patrick's Day / Beer / Parades / Chicago River / → All Tags
On St. Patrick's Day, Chicago is the Greenest City of All
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.
Tags: Super Bowl XLIII / Super Bowl Travel / Sports Travel / Football / Parades / Phoenix Sky Harbor / → All Tags
Another Super Bowl and Another Parade for Pittsburgh
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]
Tags: Party On / Cultural Travel / Parades / Christmas / → All Tags
Mexico City Will Eat Cake, 22,000 Pounds Of It
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]
Tags: Halloween / Haunted Travel / Parades / → All Tags
Ghost Snakes and Zombie Dancing at the 2008 Village Halloween Parade
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.
Tags: Parades / Columbus Day / → All Tags
Morally Ambiguous Travel: Just Relax and Enjoy New York's Columbus Day Parade
Today, Sunday, October 12, 2008, marks the 516th anniversary of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus's sighting of land in the New World, on the Bahamian island of Guanahani (which he called San Salvador). By this point in our lives, we've all heard the arguments against deifying the man - he wasn't really the first European to reach the continent, his journey ushered in an era of violent colonization, you can't "discover" a place that already has a thriving native population - but for the moment let's just accept that we live in a world of contradictions and enjoy a parade on a brisk fall day.
Tags: Labor Day Travel / Festival Travel / Parades / → All Tags
Labor Day Travel: West Indian American Day Carnival
If you're visiting New York this Labor Day Weekend--or if, as we're told many of you are, staycationing in NYC--the weekend's biggest party is in a place you might not guess first: Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Nearly three million people are expected to turn out for the West Indian American Day Carnival, a four-day celebration of some of the world's most celebratory cultures. If you're at all interested in spicy food, colorful costumes and calypso (and yes, the four billion other genres of Caribbean music), this is not a festival to miss.
The music-and-food extravaganza takes places behind the Brooklyn Museum, August 28-31, culminating in the main event, the showy carnival parade along Eastern Parkway.
Related Stories:
· West Indian American Day Carnival Association [Official Site]
· Labor Day Non-Travel: Americans Bailing on Late-Summer Trips [Jaunted]
· Labor Day Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: West Indian American Day Carnival Association]
Tags: Adult Entertainment / Sex / Parades / Boobs on Bikes / → All Tags
Near Miss: Auckland Will Get Boobs on Bikes Tomorrow
Year after year the same protest goes on in New Zealand: someone tries to ban the Boobs on Bikes parade as an "offensive public event."
And year after year, the courts decide that Boobs on Bikes can go ahead. This year it's an Auckland court saying that since last year over 80,000 people gathered to watch the topless gals (and guys) ride motorbikes through the city streets, it obviously wasn't offensive to everybody.
That means that on Wednesday all visitors to Auckland will probably spot the Queens Street parade, a precursor to the Erotica Expo. Get there early, because those crowds mean it's hard to get a good viewing spot. And there's plenty to be viewed.
Related Stories:
· NZ Court Gives Green Light to Boobs on Bikes Parade [Reuters]
· Boobs on Bikes Ride Again [Jaunted]
· New Zealand Appreciates the Human Form [Jaunted]
[Photo: dgansen]
Tags: Sports Travel / Yankees / 2008 All Star Game / Parades / → All Tags
Yankee Stadium Travel: "Red Carpet" All Star Parade Planned
Major League Baseball announced plans yesterday for a huge parade to commemorate the last season at the original Yankee Stadium. Major League Baseball Executive VP Tim Brosnan says the event "should and will rival the great parades of New York City history."
The parade will be part of the celebrations for the 2008 All Star Game, which is taking place at the stadium on July 15. Unlike the ticker tape bashes held when the Yankees were actually winning games, this "red carpet parade" will be held in Midtown instead of in the Financial District's "Canyon of Heroes."
The parade will travel along 6th Avenue from 40th to 58th Street. Marchers will include the 2008 MLB All Stars along with legendary baseball Hall of Famers. As far as we're concerned, though, the only real baseball parades should involve a World Series win. These MLB execs can throw all the gala corporate-sponsored events they want and it won't make up for the fact that they're demolishing the House That Ruth Built.
Related Stories:
· Yankees Stadium Celebrating with All Star Glory [NY1]
· Sports Travel coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Super Bowl XLII / Sports Travel / History / Parades / → All Tags
Ticker Tape Travel: The Giants Parade Through Manhattan
The New York Giants celebrated their Super Bowl upset today with a ticker tape parade through lower Manhattan. Office workers were hanging out their windows while rabid fans lined Broadway to cheer on game MVP Eli Manning, David Tyree, Justin Tuck and the rest of the team.
While today's was the first ticker tape parade in the city since 2000, they used to be an almost-every-day occurrence. To take a walk through history, you can hike down the Canyon of Heroes, between City Hall and the Bowling Green. Set into the sidewalk are black granite strips with the dates of parades and the people they've honored.
Among the famous folks who've had multiple parades are Charles de Gaulle, Dwight Eisenhower, John Glenn and Amelia Earhart. Adventurer Richard Byrd managed to earn three events with his exploits at the North and South poles. For a full guide to all the history in the area, hit up the Downtown Alliance, which publishes a guide to the Canyon of Heroes.
Related Stories:
· Canyon of Heroes [Downtown Alliance]
· Super Bowl XLII coverage [Jaunted]
· New York Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Swifty]
