Even though it is September, it looked more like the Halloween Day Parade arrived early, but in Soho instead of the Village. The marchers down West Broadway from Houston to Grand Street were a part of the 2nd Annual Deitch Art Parade produced by Deitch Projects, Creative Time and PAPER magazine. Showcasing 75 "acts," the parade included artists, performers, designers, and every day New Yorkers (two young women marching as zombie school girls answered an advertisement on craigslist to join the parade).

Less on the typical float and banner side, the 75 "acts" were more on the glittery and outrageous side. The parade began with a Yoko Ono imagine banner and progressed to increasingly unusual participants, including a marionette, sailors riding an octopus bicycle, "The Bob Snead Corporation loves Wal-Mart and Wal-mart loves me" donning Wal-Mart Uniforms and handing out the smiley face stickers associated with the corporation’s low prices, a reflective serpent of mirrors, "Unicorns from outer space," and half clothed police.

The bystanders seemed to enjoy the sights of the parade, crowding into the streets at times in order to get the best view. But, the cars caught in the traffic jam caused by the parade certainly didn’t feel the same way. As for the art, it certainly made a statement, or two, that were IOYO—Interpret On Your Own.

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/09/10/art_on_parade.php