USA: DESPITE THREATS OF FUTURE TERRORIST ACTS LOOMING HALLOWEEN PARADE AND CELEBRATIONS GO AHEAD

Record ID: 352081

  • Title: USA: DESPITE THREATS OF FUTURE TERRORIST ACTS LOOMING HALLOWEEN PARADE AND CELEBRATIONS GO AHEAD
  • Date: 5th November 2001
  • Summary: (W2) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 31, 2001) (REUTERS) 1. YOUNG BOY AND GIRL IN COSTUME ESCORTED BY MOTHER 2. YOUNG GIRL IN COSTUME GETS CANDY FROM WOMAN 3. BOY IN GORILLA MASK 4. LITTLE BOYS IN COSTUME WITH MOTHER, RITA DEBONO 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) RITA DEBONO SAYING: "Yeah, we're just going to his
  • Embargoed: 20th November 2001 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVAC4JHNQA7DC4N87Q5V9BZLJ5VG
  • Story Text: Despite the threats of future terrorist acts looming
    over an already devastated New York City, Halloween trick or
    treating and the beloved Halloween Parade through Greenwich
    Village went ahead as originally planned. However this time
    parents approached the traditional activities with a bit more
    caution than usual.

    Halloween festivities are a tradition throughout the
    United States and one that children have become accustomed to
    trick or treating for candy and other goodies.

    No matter how devastating the last few months have been for
    New Yorkers, there was nothing that was going to stop them
    celebrating Halloween on Wednesday (October 31).

    Dressed in costumes from military wear to Superman
    outfits, the youngest of New Yorkers were all over Manhattan's
    upper west side going from store to store and building to
    building in search of treats. Store owners stepped out of
    their stores with baskets of candy for the kids.

    The children were escorted by adults who had a lot more on
    their minds than sweets for their kids. One of those people
    was Rita DeBono who said that her kids were off to trick or
    treat in one building, very closely supervised. "Well, with
    all the things that's going around you never know what there
    might be in the candy and stuff so just for them to have a
    little spirit of Halloween it's enough."
    One very well aware 11-year-old boy, Aaron Fils-Aime, knew
    all too well about the threats that are out there. "I'm being
    very careful with the candy because I don't want anybody
    putting any poison or something that will make me sick inside
    of it."
    A New York tradition, the famed Greenwich Village
    Halloween Parade went off with all the glory of years past.

    Thousands of people marched up 6th avenue in brightly colored
    costumes, marching, playing instruments, doing their best
    dance moves and going all out.

    The parade is well known for its puppetry and outlandish
    costumes. A large puppet of a mythical bird, the phoenix
    rising from the ashes symbolized the theme of this year's
    parade. People waved banners around while the crowd was
    entertained with smaller puppets brought in close over the
    crowd.

    But there was still the ever present danger brought on by
    Osama Bin-Laden. A poster was in the crowd with his face that
    read, "Your next stop, hell." A small group of men mocked the
    Taliban calling themselves, "The Towel Band".

    Taj Zehra summed up the determination of New Yorkers when
    she was asked if she had any security concerns. Zehra boldly
    responded: "Obviously everybody was concerned but I said what
    the hell, you need to live it up, you can't just hide out."
    As the sophisticated puppets rolled on, it appeared as
    though the parade succeeded in taking the New Yorkers minds
    off terrorism, even if just for a moment.


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