Heard about the Village Halloween Parade?

Of course you have. Odds are, you've even attended it.

Here is the rundown on this year's parade, if you somehow don't already know what's up. There will be hundreds of puppets, 53 bands playing all different types of music, dancers and artists, and thousands costumed New Yorkers.

Seriously, only those in costume are welcome.

The Village Halloween Parade is the nation's most wildly creative public participatory event. It's a pretty amazing event that draws more than 60,000 costumed participants and an estimated 2 million spectators.

It's the biggest Halloween parade in the world, and the only major nighttime parade in the United States. 

Do you know how the parade started, though? Or what's up with all those huge puppets that are a part of the parade every year?

We've answered these questions and more below. Read on to learn 5 facts about New York City's Village Halloween Parade.

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1. It was started by mask maker and puppeteer Ralph Lee in 1974

Could you believe the Village Halloween Parade really has such modest beginnings? What's now the largest Halloween parade in the United States started as a walk from house to house in Ralph Lee's neighborhood for his kids and their friends.

Here's how it evolved to its massive size and swell of today.

After Lee's third year of the local promenade, Theater for the New City produced the event on a grander scale as part of their City in the Streets program. The parade covered many more streets in Greenwich Village and attracted more participation because of the Theater.

In the fourth year, the Parade formed into a non-profit organization and discontinued involvement with the Theater for the New City and produced the Parade on its own.

[via Halloween-NYC]

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2. The puppets have been growing ever since the first parade

The giant puppets? They're not just a random, fun Halloween decoration. They're floating atop the parade every year for a reason.

The artists and technicians at Superior Concept Monsters, who design these puppets work all summer and fall to bring them to their full puppet glory. Around 600 volunteers assist in the various stages of building, assembling and operating the puppets and costumes today.

Where did the idea for puppets originate? 

Remember Ralph Lee, the puppeteer who started the parade? When Lee started the parade in 1974 in the courtyard of the Westbeth Artists Housing, he had accrued more than 100 masks and puppets, which he waved proudly during the first ever parade.

Lee was an award-winning puppet and mask maker, and the founder and director of the Mettawee River Theatre Company. To say that Lee's puppet making tradition continued would be the understatement of the year.

[via 6sqft]

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3. Celebrities are often at the parade, but disguised

This doesn't count the parade's grand marshal, which is an attending celebrity not in disguise. This year's grand marshal will be Jonathan Goldsmith and last year's grand marshal was Whoopi Goldberg.

It's a well known fact that plenty of celebrities live in NYC, especially in Greenwich Village. Since everyone at the parade is all decked out though, it's hard to spot when there are celebrities there, marching among us.

"This is a night when people can go out and almost be themselves and people don't believe them," said Jeanne Fleming, the parade's artistic and producing director.

When Dee Snider from Twisted Sister showed up one year, he found tons of people dressed like him. Gene Simmons came one year, but everyone thought he was only dressed as Gene Simmons.

When Ed Koch was mayor, he used to come to the parade dressed as himself, but no one believed it was him.

"Koch would ask revelers, 'How'm I doing?' and they'd actually tell him," Fleming said.

All we can say is, be wary when you see someone dressed like a celebrity. It might actually be that celebrity. Who knows? Maybe Donald Trump will even be there, but we predict if you try to investigate every costumed Donald Trump you'll have to have your head on the swivel all night.

[via amny]

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4. The only year the parade didn't run was 2012

The Village Halloween parade has run without skipping a year, every year, since it started in 1974, besides its unprecedented cancellation in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy.

Only seven weeks after the tragic events of fall 2001, Mayor Rudolf Giuliani insisted that the village parade should still take place, because it'd be a healing event for New York.

Hundreds of millions of eyes from all over the world had eyes on NYC on Halloween in 2001, as the Parade provided visual evidence that NYC would survive in the face of the tragedy on September 11th. 

That year's parade had a giant Phoneix puppet rising from ashes. 

In 2005, the Parade paid tribute to New Orleans and invited Katrina evacuees to join the Funeral Procession Tribute to the city. More than 8,000 evacuees came for the Parade and Benefit.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy forced an unprecedented cancellation of the Parade. As a result, the Parade suffered serious financial losses, and had to call for public support to make the parade happen again in 2013.

Sure enough, as a result of a successful Kickstarter campaign, the Parade did go down in 2013, and its theme was Revival. 

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5. It's the only parade in the country with an artistic base at its heart

The Village Halloween parade has truly maintained Ralph Lee's original vision. Its employees are committed to the cultural and imaginative life of NYC, and the continuation of such large-scale participatory events.

They believe that when artistically inspired, events that occur on such a large scale can play a huge role in the resurrection and rejuvenation of the city's spirit, economy, and the quality of its peoples' lives.

That's why it's the only parade in the country where people are invited to reach into their imaginations and pull themselves out, and then wear that imaginative self around all night long.

The Parade is also committed to offering its participants a sense of freedom and spontaneity, to play, and renew their relationship with the city.

This year's theme is "Shine a Light!" after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous quote, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

[via Halloween-NYC]

Check out 7 Ways to Absolutely Have the Best Time Ever at the Village Halloween Parade. 

[Feature Image Courtesy Culture Craver]