Hundreds of thousands came out in costume to the West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014.
More than 500,000 people turned out Friday night at the West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval, billed by organizers as the world's largest Halloween festivity.
The carnaval ran from 6 to 11 p.m. on Santa Monica Boulevard between Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard.
"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast member Lisa Vanderpump was crowned as queen of the carnaval.
"It's just such a vibrant city West Hollywood, and I'm so proud of it tonight because everyone really makes an effort and it is so progressive," Vanderpump said.
The carnaval celebrated the Greek mythological figure Medusa, known for her charms and whose long flowing hair was changed into serpents.
For the first time, a live-stream was broadcast of the carnaval.
"The community's commitment to letting people be who they are, it is really what West Hollywood is all about," Mayor John D'Amico, who had dressed as Mayor Antoinette, said.
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Another new element were the "Eventstigrammer" stations on the carnaval route to capture photos for display at instragram.com/wehocarnaval.
Carnaval-goers were invited to upload photographs of their costumes to social media sites with the hashtags #wehohalloween and #wehocarnaval.
There were six stages featuring performance artists, DJs, musical performers, dancers, contortionists and aerialists.
