The Jackson Heights Halloween Parade turns 37th Avenue into a runway of capes, masks and homemade monsters every October 31.
The whole neighborhood is invited to put on a costume and walk it. It’s NYC’s best Halloween Parade for small children.
35th Jackson Heights Halloween Parade 2026
A costume march down Jackson Heights main avenue
37th Ave (from 89th St to 76th St by P.S. 69)
Jackson Heights, Queens
Sat, October 31, 2026 | 12- 5pm
FREE to the costumed
The Parade usually gives goodie bags to the kids at the parade’s end (until they run out).
The Parade Everyone Walks In
The Jackson Heights Beautification Group, a neighborhood civic, environmental and arts organization, bills this as the largest children’s parade in the city. Everyone is welcome to join in costume.
Past editions have drawn thousands to 37th Avenue. Costumed kids and adults fill the street, from superheroes to spooky ghouls. The parade’s own organizer says it is funded by the merchants along the avenue.
Families from many different cultures line up and march together here. That is the Jackson Heights way.
Learn the Thriller Dance
The parade has added a Thriller dance moment. The parade inviters marchers to learn the moves and show them off along the route. Practice before you go.
Keep the Party Going After the Parade
The World’s Borough Bookshop, at 73rd St and 34th Ave, hosts a Halloween Parade After Party on Sat, October 31, 2026 starting at 3pm. DJ Chulo Noir spins spooky tunes, and the bookshop asks guests to come in their spookiest costume.
What a great opportunity to get your kids excited about reading. Loving to read was my mother’s greatest gift. It made me the writer I am today. Reading actually changes brain structure in good ways. Make it a family tradition and watch your children blossom!
Jackson Heights Halloween Parade
Halloween derives from the old Celtic (European) winter festival, Samhain. Ireland was practically the end of the world. Old traditions survived there. Samhain traditions were brought to New York City by Irish immigrants. Here it developed into the Halloween we know today, and went global.
Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) is a Pan-Latin festival whose Mexican tradition has gone global. It’s a celebration of family members who have passed away. We remember our ancestors and tend their graves. The images can be frightening to young children, but there is actually nothing bad or scary about it.
One of the surprising things about Samhain, Halloween, and Day of the Dead is how similar the traditions are. When you go back far enough, most human cultures are very similar.
The Parade is produced by The Jackson Heights Beautification Group. Thank you!