There’s always a little bit of everything at the Village Halloween Parade, but this year's event is embracing that ethos with “It’s a Potluck" as the official theme.
The world-famous parade returns for its 52nd year, with food rescue organization City Harvest serving as the grand marshal.
The NYPD says it took note of last year’s extra-large crowd, and is anticipating more of the same for 2025, with an increased number of officers on-site and throughout the city.
“We understand that people are going to be a little more livelier than usual with no work and no school the following day,” Chief of Patrol Phillip Rivera told reporters this week. “But we’re going to be prepared and make sure everybody feels safe coming and going.”
If you’d rather avoid the crowds but still want an eye on the spooky fun, this year’s parade will be televised and streamed live at 8 p.m. on NY1.
Here is what all you ghouls and goblins need to know:
Can I march?
It’s free to attend from the sidelines or march, but you’ve got to be in costume for the latter. Tickets with special benefits are available on halloween-nyc.com, starting at $125 for “skip the line entry” that gets you access to a secret backstage entrance and the band lineup area. Arrive as early as 5:30 p.m.
The parade lineup otherwise begins at 6:30 p.m. on Sixth Avenue, just south of Spring Street. Participants should enter the starting area from the south, at the intersection of Canal Street and Sixth Avenue.
What time should I get there to watch?
The parade steps off at 7 p.m., proceeding along Sixth Avenue from Canal Street to 15th Street. But organizers recommend spectators get there earlier if they can, because the crowd sizes may be as impressive as the costumes on the route.
Thursday’s rains should be behind us, and early Friday clouds should be clearing out by evening — which also suggests a very healthy turnout.
The march will end at 11 p.m, but the celebration continues at the official afterparty, the "Vampire Ball” hosted by House of Yes in Industry City, Brooklyn. Tickets are sold out, but if you’ve secured yours, doors will open at 9 p.m. and close at 5 a.m. It’s definitely a denizens-of-the-dark sort of affair.
The person with the best costume will receive a $5,000 prize.
Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
What streets will be closed?
Driving anywhere around the downtown area Friday evening will be ghoulish. Expect tons of traffic.
The city Department of Transportation warns the following streets will be closed: for the formation:
- Sixth Avenue between Spring Street and Canal Street
- Dominick Street between Varick Street and Sixth Avenue
- Sullivan Street between Broome Street and Spring Street
- Broome Street between Sullivan Street and Varick Street
- Spring Street between Sullivan Street and Varick Street
For the route:
- Sixth Avenue between Spring Street and West 18th Street
For dispersal:
- West 16th Street between Fifth and Seventh avenues
- West 17th Street between Fifth and Seventh avenues
- West 18th Street between Fifth and Seventh avenues
- Fifth Avenue between 14th Street and 19th Street
- Seventh Avenue between 14th Street and 19th Street
Elsewhere:
- West 10th Street between Sixth and Greenwich avenues
- Vandam Street between Varick Street and Fifth Avenue
What’s this potluck theme all about?
“It’s rough out there,” organizers say in their theme statement. “People are divided; othering is rampant; online echo-chambers amplify the loudest, angriest voices. Does nothing still connect us?”
But, they note, civilization began when people gathered to share food around the fire: “Conflicts tend to melt away when the simple act of passing a bowl from one hand to the next links us together and reaffirms what makes us human — to welcome the stranger, to spread abundance, to love one another or die.”
That speaks to the selection of City Harvest as the grand marshal. The food rescue group collects food that would otherwise go to waste and delivers it to food pantries, soup kitchens and other partner organizations.
While it was not part of the organizers' vision, federal food benefit programs like SNAP could expire the day after Halloween due to the government shutdown.
This year, City Harvest anticipates collecting and delivering more than 86 million pounds of food.
