VIDEO: It Rained on the Halloween Parade, But the Band Played On

The Queer Big Apple Corps musicians stay dry as they perform beneath the awning of Tribeca Grill. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib 

Posted
Oct. 29, 2023

It rained on the annual Washington Market Park parade. But that didn’t stop the music. 

For years, The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps band (now called The Queer Big Apple Corps) marched costumed kids and their families down Greenwich Street for partying and more performing in the Halloween-festooned park.

But on this wet Sunday afternoon, the musicians stayed dry beneath the Tribeca Grill’s wraparound awning, brass facing Greenwich Street, percussion at the corner, and other wind instruments, plus pompom shakers and color guard twirlers on the Franklin Street side. It took up to four leaders to help the differently facing musicians keep the beat together. But they managed, as their uplifting sounds and infectious rhythms filled the neighborhood, undampening spirits even on this soggy day.