The Friends of Washington Market Park held their back-to-back Halloween events this weekend, with Pumpkin Carving Contest on Saturday and the annual parade and concert on Sunday.

The carvers were exceptional this year; see all the winners on their instagram site here. There were 92 entries in all, with awards in five categories, including most creative (below with his dragon) as well as a top overall winner (the family below, who brought in the headless horseman). The judges had it tough. They were: Lindsey Peers from The Craft Studio on Duane; Jamal Patterson, our district manager for the Parks Department; Rina Collins from Book Nook and Wise Wonder on Warren; Nico Victorino, principal of PS 150; and Mark Lee, president of Downtown Soccer League.

And once again, the Queer Big Apple Marching Corps led folks down Greenwich into a the park, where they did an hour-long set of their arrangements — pop tunes crafted into marches. As my son said, “Any song sounds triumphant when a marching band plays it. I would go to battle with Kesha if it’s played like this.”