Thousands attend the 51st Greenwich Village Halloween Parade in New York

GREENWICH VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) — Thousands of people took part in the 51st annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade in New York City on Thursday evening, wearing costumes inspired by this year’s “cat lady” theme.

The NYPD was prepared as always when the sun sets and the werewolves come out.

The theme this year was “Meow!” and celebrated the inner “cat lady” in everyone.

“From the moment the line was said about childless cat ladies — from Taylor Swift to the littlest cat lady — everyone was on board with this,” said Jeanne Fleming, director of the Village Halloween Parade.

The parade brought to life a celebration of cat-inspired artistry, individuality and bravado.

Leading this year’s Halloween parade as grand marshal was Tony Award-winning actor André De Shields, best known for his role as Hermes in the Broadway musical “Hadestown” and most recently as Old Deuteronomy in “CATS: The Jellicle Ball.”

The parade was even sponsored by Smalls, a cat food company.

Alex Kahn of Processional Arts Workshop said they created puppets, including 32 life-size cats for the parade.

Along with the cats, floats and women carry brooms, a tribute to the sweeper puppets from the early days of the parade.

Ahead of the big event, the NYPD said security would be tight and there was expected to be a large turnout due to the unseasonably warm weather.

“There’s a lot that goes into making sure it’s a safe night,” said Tania Kinsella, first deputy commissioner of the NYPD.

Some even traveled from all over the world and across the country to bring their best costumes to the parade.

“We are from Whitley Bay in England,” said one family.

“We actually live in South Carolina and flew to New York this year to participate in the parade,” Mike Mullaney said.

But before the annual tradition got underway, there was a special, less spooky event for the kids: the 34th annual NYU Children’s Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village.

The fun started at 3pm in Washington Square Park. Children and families were encouraged to show off their amazing costumes as they marched along the edge of the park.

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