Satire - The Art of the Prank

September 21, 2026

Attempting to Humor the Humorless

There’s a long history of clowning for social justice. We need more of it. Thank you Felipe.

Send in the clowns: the new guard of activists combating the right, by Morgan Jerkins, The Guardian, September 16, 2026.

A growing cohort of performers ‘clown’ as a means to innovate traditional protest and create social change

On a humid morning on 15 July, Tillie the Clown, a Brooklyn-based drag performer whose real name is Taylor Horne, was waiting to be let inside a New York City council meeting. Horne had started getting into character at 5am, for a makeup and clown-costuming process that would take two hours. It would be another 10 hours before Horne was allowed to address the city council about the passing of Romanch’s Law, which would phase out and ultimately ban New York’s horse carriage industry.

Read whole article here.

September 21, 2026

The Joke’s on Who?

When will “cancel culture” evolve and stop trying to canceling speech that’s clearly and obviously protected by the 1st Amendment?

The price of campus humorlessness, by Washington Post, September 8, 2026.

The University of Washington pays $600,000 to a professor it investigated for poking fun at a land acknowledgment.

One way to identify ideologues is that they won’t tolerate ribbing. After the University of Washington recommended that computer science professors include in their course materials an acknowledgment of “the Coast Salish peoples of this land,” one instructor responded with a parody statement on his syllabus.

That angered the university administration, which launched an investigation. But now the professor has prevailed in court, winning $600,000 in damages and legal fees, as well as securing a vow by the university to allow his parody statement. Read whole article here.

April 1, 2026

Gothamist covers Joey Skaggs’ 41st Annual April Fools’ Day Parade

New York City’s greatest pranks, from fantastical parades to a phony Mets star, by Samantha Max, Gothamist, April 1, 2026

Trump’s Military Parade at the 33rd Annual April Fools’ Day Parade

Artist and activist Joey Skaggs has been inviting members of the New York City media to his annual April Fools’ Day parade along Fifth Avenue since 1986.

Press releases archived on Skaggs’ website describe the event as an attempt to “bring people back in touch with their inherent foolishness” and celebrate “the public’s right to laugh in the face of authority.” Past parades have included a President Donald Trump look-alike contest and a Y2K-themed end-of-the-world party. This year’s press release invites participants to ponder “what’s real and what’s not” at a parade led by the president himself, followed by a screening of the “Melania mockumentary” and a reading of all redacted names in the Jeffrey Epstein files, other than victims.

Read the rest of the article here.

March 25, 2026March 25, 2026

Media Alert: New York City’s 41st Annual April Fools’ Day Parade, 2026 – Details

The New York April Fools’ Committee Proudly Announces
NEW YORK CITY’S 41st ANNUAL APRIL FOOLS’ DAY PARADE, 2026

“What’s Real and What’s Not”

Photo from the 33rd Annual April Fools’ Day Parade, 2018

WHAT:
An emergency civic drill disguised as a parade. The public is invited to participate in or out of costume, with or without a float.

WHEN:
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Noon Assembly | Step-off shortly after

WHERE:
– Assembly: Fifth Avenue & 59th Street
– Route: Fifth Avenue (brief stop at Trump Tower)
– Finale: Washington Square Park

WHO:
– Self-appointed Grand Marshal: President Donald J. Trump
– Theme Song: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”
– Marching Band: Recently pardoned January 6 participants

WHY:
Because truth is optional, elections are negotiable, and democracy is now a limited-time offer.

VISUALS:
– Collapsed Statue of Liberty float
– Rusted “Drill Baby Drill” oil derrick
– AI oracle dispensing nonsense
– Barbed-wire cage to collect illegals along the route
– Flyover confetti drop of shredded Constitution
– Demolition Derby with celebrity and political look-alikes on e-bikes

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK FINALE:
– Crowning of the King of Fools
– Recalled Food BBQ
– Immunization Lottery
– Greenland Resettlement Kiosk
– Public reading of all formerly redacted names from the Epstein Files

SPONSORS:
Select billionaire members of the President’s Board of Peace

PARADE ANNOUNCEMENT
PARADE ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO

CONTACT:
Joey Skaggs, Committee Chair
212-254-7878 | info@joeyskaggs.com
aprilfoolsdayparade.com

March 16, 2026March 16, 2026

Spectacular Spectacle Coming April 1

New York City’s 41st Annual April Fools’ Day Parade looks at “What’s Real and What’s Not”, by New Jersey Stage, March 13, 2026

(NEW YORK, NY) — New York City’s 41st Annual April Fools’ Day Parade returns on April 1, 2026. In an era when truth is optional, elections are negotiable, civil rights are conditional, and reality itself has been rebranded as “fake,” the parade once again pokes fun at the past year’s displays of hype, hypocrisy, deceit, bigotry, and downright stupidity because the alternative is despair.

As always, participation in the parade is open to the public. Costumes, floats, look-alikes, whistleblowers, dis- information specialists, and bewildered bystanders are all welcome. The April Fools’ Day Parade Committee accepts no responsibility for emotional whiplash, existential dread, or sudden moments of clarity. Read the whole article here.

April Fools’ Day Parade website.