Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. That gives Greenwich Village a full day to celebrate before the 53rd Village Halloween Parade steps off on Sixth Avenue at 7 p.m. Time Out puts the parade's crowd at more than 50,000 costumed marchers every year, and its lineup forms down at Canal Street, south of the Village entirely. Before the marchers gather, a community board, a university, a block association and a few rows of decorated townhouses run Halloween on the Village's own streets.
This Saturday, October 31, the Village holds two Halloweens on two kinds of streets. The quieter one runs on side streets and around the park from early afternoon. The famous one takes over one avenue after dark. Most Village households can enjoy both without leaving the neighborhood, as long as they know when each one starts and which subway entrances will be awkward by evening.
Saturday, October 31, hour by hour
| Time | Where | What | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon, 1–4 p.m. or 3–6 p.m. | Washington Square Park and West 3rd Street, Mercer Street to LaGuardia Place | Children's Halloween Parade | NYU and Manhattan Community Board 2 |
| 3–10 p.m. | West 11th Street, Washington Street to Greenwich Street | Car-free street event | West 11th Street Block Association |
| All day | West 10th and West 11th streets, Sixth to Seventh avenues | Townhouse decorations | Individual homes |
| 5–10 p.m. | Spring Street station | Downtown C trains skip the stop | MTA |
| 6:30–9 p.m. | Sixth Avenue and Canal Street | Costumed lineup for the parade | Village Halloween Parade, Inc. |
| 7 p.m. onward | Sixth Avenue, heading north | 53rd Village Halloween Parade | Village Halloween Parade, Inc. |
The afternoon belongs to Washington Square
The neighborhood's Halloween begins at the park. Manhattan Community Board 2's October 16 bulletin calls the NYU and CB2 Children's Halloween Parade "the daytime (PG-rated) alternative to the celebrated nighttime parade for adults." It takes place in Washington Square Park and on West 3rd Street.
Two official listings give different hours. The board's bulletin says 3 to 6 p.m. The NYC Department of Transportation's Trick-or-Streets listing closes West 3rd Street between Mercer Street and LaGuardia Place from 1 to 4 p.m. The board's bulletin links to a save-the-date flyer. Families planning around a nap or a soccer game should check that flyer before choosing an arrival time, and arriving by 1 p.m. covers both windows.
The format has stayed close to the same for decades. NYU's event page says the afternoon usually opens with a parade around the edge of the park, followed by free candy, face painting, carnival rides and live entertainment. NYU reimagined the 30th edition as a virtual show in 2020. On that same page, CB2 Chair Valerie De La Rosa describes the event's run this way:
"For 35 years, the Children's Halloween Parade has brightened the neighborhood with creativity, magic, and community spirit."
That is 35 years of a neighborhood-scale event held on the same date as the city-scale one. The two run on separate schedules, so a family can do both.
West 11th Street closes to cars for seven hours
The second neighborhood event sits in the far West Village. The West 11th Street Block Association has a DOT permit to run a street event on West 11th Street from Washington Street to Greenwich Street, 3 to 10 p.m. The listing doesn't say what's planned or whether there's a cost. It does say the block stays open to people on foot from mid-afternoon until well after the parade has started across town.
The block is part of Trick-or-Streets, now in its fifth year. Through the program, DOT turns Open Streets, plazas and other corridors into car-free spaces for harvest and Halloween activities all October. The agency describes it as adding pedestrian space on and before "one of the busiest nights of the year for NYC's streets." Across the citywide list, only two October 31 entries fall inside the Village's boundaries: the NYU and CB2 parade and the West 11th Street block.
The decorations make up the third part of the day, and they're on the residential blocks a few avenues east. A Mommy Poppins guide published October 4, 2026 names West 10th and West 11th streets between Sixth and Seventh avenues as the Village blocks to walk. It recalls past years' displays, including a giant pigeon peering out of townhouse windows, an outdoor restaurant staffed by well-dressed skeletons and colorful Day of the Dead decor. The guide's advice is to look up, because some of the best work climbs the sides of the houses.
Taken together, these three stops add up to an afternoon loop on foot. Start at Washington Square, head west along the West 10th and 11th Street blocks between Sixth and Seventh, and finish on West 11th near the river while its block is still closed to cars. All three are on the Village's own streets, and all three are free to look at.
The parade forms outside the Village and arrives after dark
The nighttime parade borrows Sixth Avenue and keeps its staging south of the neighborhood. Only people in costume can join the parade. The public lineup runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Sixth Avenue and Canal Street, and the organizer asks entrants to approach from the east or south. The organizer's site says the parade starts at 7 p.m., rain, shine or wind.
This year's theme is "Body & Soul," built around embodiment, imagination and dance. The parade's message, as Time Out quotes it, is "Dance your body and find your soul!" Three names lead the 2026 lineup:
- The Firehorse. New this year, a Firehorse puppet performance leads the parade. It comes from master puppeteer Basil Twist, choreographer Julie Atlas Muz and producer Barbara Busackino of Tandem Otter Productions.
- Joey Arias. The downtown performance artist is this year's grand marshal.
- Processional Arts Workshop. Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles, the official parade puppeteers, are staging an "Out of Body" procession of glowing sleeping figures.
Behind them is Village Halloween Parade, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit led by artistic and producing director Jeanne Fleming. Public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, cover part of the cost, and the organizer also asks for donations. Watching and marching in costume are both free. The organizer also sells paid options, including a $125 skip-the-line ticket.
Official sources give slightly different endpoints and end times. The organizer and Time Out list the route as Sixth Avenue from Canal Street to 15th Street. The city's event page describes the viewing route as Spring Street to 16th Street and lists 7 to 11 p.m. DOT lists the event on Avenue of the Americas from West 16th Street to Spring Street, 7 to 11:30 p.m. In practice, for someone living between Sixth and Seventh, the avenue is busy from early evening until close to midnight.
Getting home across Sixth Avenue
The subway changes start the night before. The organizer's getting-there page lists the MTA's 2026 Halloween weekend changes, running from Friday, October 30 at 10 p.m. until Monday, November 2 at 5 a.m.:
- A and C trains are rerouted in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
- Uptown A trains run via the F from Jay St-MetroTech to W 4 St-Wash Sq, and also stop at 23 St and 50 St.
- Uptown C trains run via the F from Jay St-MetroTech to 34 St-Herald Sq, then via the D to 59 St-Columbus Circle.
- Downtown C trains run via the D from 59 St-Columbus Circle to 34 St-Herald Sq, then via the F to Jay St-MetroTech.
- On Saturday, October 31, from 5 to 10 p.m., downtown C trains skip Spring Street.
The same page still carries station notes from earlier parades, and the MTA's 2025 Halloween weekend notice followed a similar pattern. Last year, some stairways at 14 St/6 Av, West 4 St-Washington Sq and Spring St could turn exit-only or entrance-only, or close for stretches. In earlier years, the 16th Street side of 14 St/6 Av was exit-only, and the West 4th Street entrances switched between exit-only and entrance-only depending on crowds. These notes describe past years, not confirmed 2026 instructions. Still, they suggest the Seventh Avenue stations will be the easier ones that night. The organizer lists Sheridan Square, Houston Street and 14th Street on the 1, 2 and 3 lines among the open stations.
For a Village household, the practical plan is the one the schedule already lays out. Spend the afternoon at Washington Square and on the side streets. Be on the side of Sixth Avenue you plan to sleep on before the lineup fills at Canal. Then walk over to watch the Firehorse come up the avenue after 7.
If Saturday's walk gets you curious about what those decorated West 10th and West 11th Street townhouses are worth, or what's trading on your own block, The Roya Cohen Team can help. Request a complimentary market valuation and we'll show you how your Village address compares with what has sold this fall.
