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MEGA-PUPPETS
FALL/WINTER 2007- ISSUE NO. 22
Contents • Editor's Note
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THE GROWTH OF HALLOWEEN ITSELF
by Rolande Duprey
Within
the life of the NYC Parade, Halloween itself has become
very commercialized, second only to Christmas as the
most profitable holiday in the U.S. The ʻHaunt Industry'
boasts tradeshows, haunted houses and events, and a long
list of product manufacturers, some of whom produce giant
puppets.
Unlike other Halloween events, or Macy's Thanksgiving
Day Parade, the Halloween Parade has successfully eschewed
commercialism. If someone wants to be a sponsor, they
need to participate creatively, and with participation
comes the possibility of being satirized. "Nobody can
use our audience – it's trick or treat: the sponsors
don't get the "treat" of our audience's enthusiastic
response, don't get the treat (of sponsorship and the
audience's approval), unless they do a trick. They have
to do something fun," says Jeanne Fleming. "Nobody can
take over the event, no patron, no sponsor. We don't
solicit. It takes a very unique sponsor to be able to
deal with the fact that they will not be able to control
the circumstances surrounding their image. They don't
know what will happen." One year, Ben and Jerry (of Ice
Cream fame) joined in as "Ghost Cows," or Giddy Cows
- cows that were late in coming in from pasture that
year. Instead of saying, "moo" they said "boo." Another
year, Jet Blue staff were choreographed and danced in
airplane costumes, complete with airport lights. "We
never know how much money we will have to work with—it
varies from year to year how much we will have to pay,
but we never go over budget," confides Jeanne.
Sophia
sees the commercialism of Halloween as a good thing for
puppet designs. The growth of the industry has made technology
more accessible to artists. |
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