The Puppets of the Village Parade:
a studio tour with Halloween Parade founder Ralph Lee

In 1974, Ralph Lee, in conjunction with the Theater for the New City, organized the first Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, which began in the courtyard of the Westbeth Artists Community before snaking through the neighborhood to Washington Square Park. During Lee’s tenure the parade grew from a small community event featuring his intriguing masks and giant puppets into one of New York City’s major festivals, attracting over 250,000 people and media attention from around the world. For his work on the parade, Lee received a 1975 Village Voice OBIE Award and 1985 Citation from the Municipal Arts Society, and in 1993 he was inducted into the CityLore People’s Hall of Fame. Enjoy exclusive access into Lee’s Westbeth home and studio, where many of his puppets from the Village parade and other outdoor spectacles adorn the space. Talk with Lee about the history of the parade, the Greenwich Village arts scene, and his artistic vision that created a downtown Halloween institution.