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New York City's 51st annual Village Halloween Parade—one of the most anticipated events of the year by locals and tourists alike—will officially take place on October 31 focusing on the theme "Meow," a subtle call out to a comment made by Republican Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance during a 2021 interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
During the segment, Vance spoke about "a bunch of 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."
Perfectly timed to tonight's much anticipated first (and, perhaps, only) Presidential debate between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, the choice of new theme is apparently "not political," said Jeanne Fleming, a director of the parade for 44 years, to NBC 4.
Fleming revealed that the original theme was supposed to be "no sense, nonsense, nonsensical" but, when the old interview resurfaced, the organizers decided to pivot.
"Fleming reiterated to News 4 that the subject is not meant as a direct attack on any political party but rather a sign of the times," reports the outlet. "The black cat is a more traditional tie to witches during the spooky season."
Whether directly partisan or tongue-in-cheek, the organizers are clearly all-in on the motif: this year, the parade will feature a special Cat Ladies Unite section. Plus: participants may opt to purchase a Cat Ladies ticket, although it is unclear what that will include just yet.
Sure, we're still over a month away from the iconic Halloween event, but we just started tingling all over at the mere thought of marching up Sixth Avenue... perhaps dressed up as a fancy cat?