This Saturday, October 31, is the 53rd Village Halloween Parade. The procession starts up Sixth Avenue at 7 p.m. Since Halloween falls on a weekend this year, the evening parade is the last of three main street events in the neighborhood that day. The first starts at Washington Square at 1 p.m., a second block closes to cars by the Hudson at 3 p.m., and from late afternoon the events overlap.
For anyone who lives here, the overlaps decide how the day goes. Here they are in order.
1 p.m. at the Washington Square Arch
The day starts with the 36th Annual Children's Halloween Parade, run by NYU and Manhattan Community Board 2. NYU's event page says families gather at the Washington Square Park arch at 1 p.m. The fairgrounds open at 1:30, with activities on West 3rd Street between LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street.
The city has that block of West 3rd Street closed to cars for the event from 1 to 4 p.m. It's listed in NYC DOT's Trick-or-Streets program. This is the fifth year DOT has turned Open Streets, plazas, and other corridors into car-free Halloween and harvest spaces through October. The department says the program adds pedestrian room "on and leading up to one of the busiest nights of the year for NYC's streets."
The 4 p.m. end time is worth keeping in mind. By then the next event is already an hour old on the other side of the neighborhood.
3 p.m. on West 11th Street
The West 11th Street Block Association has its own Trick-or-Streets permit. West 11th Street between Washington and Greenwich Streets is closed to cars from 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday. That's the far western edge of the Village, close to the river, and the window is long. It opens while the children's parade is still running on West 3rd Street. It stays open through the whole evening parade, until three hours after the Sixth Avenue procession starts.
That timing makes this block the bridge between the two parades. A family coming from the West 3rd Street fairgrounds at 4 p.m. has six hours of car-free street to the west. A household that skips the crowds on Sixth Avenue has a closed block with its own hours until 10.
Elsewhere in the area, the same DOT list shows the Annual Village Halloween Costume Ball from Theater for the New City on East 10th Street between Second and First Avenues, 3 to 7 p.m. Farther north, West 22nd Street between Tenth and Eighth Avenues is car-free from 4 to 8 p.m. On Saturday afternoon, block parties fill the streets around the Village as well as inside it.
6:30 p.m., When Sixth Avenue Closes
From here the day runs on the parade's schedule. Marchers have to be in costume and join the lineup at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue between 6:30 and 9 p.m. Then they head north on Sixth. In its 2026 parade guide, Time Out reports that the north and west entrances to Sixth Avenue will be blocked by 6:30 p.m. for lineup.
For anyone west of Sixth, that's the time that matters most. By then, getting from West 11th Street near the river to Washington Square or anywhere east depends on the crossings the parade leaves open. Plan dinner reservations, guests arriving by car, and the walk home from the afternoon events around 6:30, and expect the 7 p.m. start to be later than when the street actually closes.
The parade site has subway reroute details on its Watch page, but that page links to an MTA notice labeled for 2019. Check mta.info on Saturday afternoon for current service before you count on a particular station.
7 p.m. on Sixth Avenue
Different official sources describe the route a little differently, and the differences matter if you're picking a corner to watch from.
| Source | Spectator stretch | Time window |
|---|---|---|
| Parade organizers | King Street to West 15th Street | Starts 7 p.m. |
| NYC events calendar | Spring Street to West 16th Street | 7 to 11 p.m. |
| NYC DOT Trick-or-Streets | Avenue of the Americas, West 16th Street to Spring Street | 7 to 11:30 p.m. |
All three sources agree that the route is Sixth Avenue from the low teens down toward SoHo, and that the night runs until at least 11. They disagree by a block at each end and by half an hour at the finish. If your block sits between 15th and 16th Streets, or between Spring and King, plan for both versions.
This year's theme is "Body & Soul." The organizers say a new Firehorse puppet performance will lead the procession. Basil Twist commissioned it, Julie Atlas Muz choreographed it, and Barbara Busackino produced it. Joey Arias, the performance artist the parade calls a downtown icon, is Grand Marshal. The parade's homepage gives its own forecast as "RAIN or SHINE! OR WIND!!!!"
The parade is run by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The organizers say it is funded in part by public money from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. The parade's sponsorship page posts a 2026 sponsor prospectus and asks potential sponsors to get in touch "right away" to help it continue this year. That's useful to know if your building or business has wanted to support the procession that passes its door.
After 10 p.m.
The West 11th Street closure ends at 10. The Sixth Avenue window runs until 11 or 11:30, depending on which city listing you go by. After that, the Village has two late options.
At the IFC Center, the Waverly Midnights series "Every Day is Halloween" ends its October run on Saturday the 31st. Check the IFC Center schedule for the closing title. For a later night out of the neighborhood, the parade's own Vampire Ball is at Industry City on Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31. It's 21 and over, with doors at 9 p.m., and it runs until 5 a.m.
Before Saturday, and After
Two dates come before and after the long Saturday.
- Friday, October 30. Jefferson Market Garden at 10 Greenwich Avenue closes for the season, a day before the parade. Friday afternoon is the last chance this year to visit the garden.
- Saturday, November 7. Hudson River Park's Pumpkin Smash takes leftover jack-o'-lanterns from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors smash them and the remains are composted. It's at Pier 84 in Midtown.
At The Jane Advisory, we keep track of the block-by-block calendar of the neighborhoods where our clients live, from Trick-or-Streets permits to the last open day at Jefferson Market Garden. If you'd like help finding a West Village block whose Saturdays suit how you live, Connect with Jane.
