The Village Halloween Parade fills Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village with goblins and ghouls on Halloween night, October 31st.
This year it brings Latin and global roots traditions to the street. Mexican mariachi, Dominican Diablos Cojuelos and Afro-Brazilian Maracatu all march.
There are also hundreds of Giant Puppets, more than fifty bands playing all kinds of music, floats, all kinds of dancers, and thousands of your fellow New Yorkers (needs no explanation).
Anyone can march, as long as you are in costume. Just enter the lineup. The creativity of New York is over-the-top. It’s also safe and sane (or maybe safe and insane). It’s really a great New York vibe.
53rd Village Halloween Parade 2026
A mile-long, free costume parade of giant puppets, live bands and tens of thousands of marchers including Mexican, Dominican and Afro Brazilian traditions this year.
Sixth Avenue (from Canal St to 15th St)
Greenwich Village to Chelsea
Sat, October 31, 2026 | 7pm
FREE
After the parade, marchers melt out into Chelsea and head back to the Village for an all-night street party.
This year’s Grand Marshal is Downtown Performance Artist Joey Arias.
Body and Soul: The 2026 Theme
This year’s theme is Body and Soul. The parade honors those who came before by bringing them back to life through costume, music and movement.
The skeletons that lead the parade act as the All Souls of Hallow’s Eve, standing between the physical world and the spirit realm.
Honoring ancestors is a thread that runs through Mexican Day of the Dead, Brazilian Maracatu, and many other traditions. On this night, the parade shares that spirit with the whole city.
The Latin and Global Roots Groups Marching
NYC Mariachi Inc
Founder Alvaro Paulino Jr. directs Mariachi Tapatio and the all female Mariachi Las Tapatias. He has toured the world with Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez and with the Latin star Luis Miguel.
Expect trumpets, violins and full voiced Mexican song rolling up 6th Ave. They are both great NYC mariachi groups. Expect to see Día de Muertos mariachis. You encounter them all over the Latin world these days.
Los Moñuses Internacionales
This world-renowned Dominican cultural group keeps the Diablos Cojuelos tradition alive, representing Espaillat Province on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast, east of Puerto Plata.
Their name is confusing because Los Monos are the carnival character in monkey suits, but Los Moñuses Internacionales are Diablo Cojuelos.
If you know this Dominican Carnival devil, you know the color and the noise. Seeing it in Greenwich Village on Halloween night is a New York original.
Diablos Cojuelos (limping devils) are most associated with El Vegano, the Dominican Carnival in La Vega, generally considered the oldest carnival celebration in the Americas.
The story is that Diablo Cojuelo was a prankster in heaven. When the others got fed up, they pushed him out of heaven and he landed so hard on Earth that he hurt his leg. That’s why he limps.
One damaged leg is also a traditional sign of those who travel the crossroads between the worlds of the living and the dead. It is the mark of a spiritual character.
Oppressed peoples often use humor as a survival mechanism because laughing is the best medicine. The over-the-top costumes mock Spanish luxury. The scary masks are derived from African traditions. Diablo Cojuelo uses a vejiga (cow bladder) as a weapon to clear a path through the crowds so the Carnival Procession can pass. The strike is supposed to drive out bad spirits and cleanse your body. They hit you on the butt or the legs, but it hurts.
Diablo Cojuelo has a cool dance like their body is having an earthquake. You see that same shaking in Dominican dembow. It represents possession.
Maracatu Baque
Maracatu Baque draws on the Maracatu Nação tradition of Brazil, the urban form of Maracatu from Recife. Its rhythms are driven by alfaias, caixas, gonguês, agbês, and ganzás percussion. The Brazilians seem to be able to make incredible rhythms from almost nothing.
The group presents Maracatu as more than a performance. It is procession, movement, ancestry and community, one of Brazil’s most significant Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions. The procession takes the form of a regal parade. Look for The Royal Court, The Dama de Paço whose Calunga doll represents the ancestors, and the percussion that follows them.
Brazil’s Afro culture is more Kongo oriented because Central Africa is closer to Brazil. Traditional Kongo religion and related religions in the Americas practice ancestral veneration (once universal among humans) and are deeply tied to the earth.
The Calunga doll is a reference to the Kalûnga, the watery boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead. In traditional Kongo culture, the Kalûnga is the Atlantic Ocean. Kongolese knew that people taken away across that ocean, never came back. They saw it as a journey to death. But it turns out there was life on the other side. Maracatu and the Calunga doll are beautiful manifestations of this second life.
Underground Horns
This Brooklyn brass band plays Afro Funk Latin and New Orleans grooves, with funk, jazz and hip hop mixed in. Their sound puts African and other world rhythms at the center of the street party.
Look for the famous New Orleans bounce dancing in the second line following the band. It’s pure joy.
Day of Dead Skeleton
The Day of the Dead presence is part of a longer pattern. The parade built its 50th anniversary celebration in 2023 around Day of the Dead.
La Fortaleza Restaurante also sponsors the parade, bringing Mexican Day of the Dead music and art to the route.
Firehorse Leads the Way
The parade is led by Firehorse, a new puppet performance commissioned by MacArthur Fellow and master puppeteer Basil Twist. Julie Atlas Muz choreographed it for the Chinese Year of the Horse. There are lots of Chinese descendants in Latin America.
The dancing Firehorses clear the path for the costumed marchers who follow.
Basil Twist is one of the world’s great puppeteers. His work brings joy. Julie Atlas Muz is a performance artist who does some incredible things. At Art Basel Miami, I once saw her enter the room naked inside a giant bubble, and then take a space shuttle, astronaut, and flag toys, out of her you know what. No idea how she did that, but she is entertaining and still part of NYC’s underground art scene. Love art dealer Jeffrey Deitch’s picture of her leaning over his desk.
The Vampire Ball
House of Yes and David Kiss produce 7 stages of music for the Village Halloween Parade Pre- and After-Parties with a Blood Rave and Dungeon
Industry City
Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Fri-Sat, October 30-31, 2026 | 9pm – 5am, 21+
$75+
51st Village Halloween Parade 2024
The 51st Village Halloween Parade 2024 celebrates the theme “MEOW,” in a parade up Sixth Avenue, from Canal St to 16th St, through Hudson Square/SoHo, West Village/Greenwich Village, to Chelsea on Halloween Night, Thursday, October 31, 2024 from 7-9pm. FREE with purchase options.
The Parade calls on cat ladies to unite! There is even a special section in the Parade for Orange Cat Ladies. This is obviously a reference to the tired old man’s attack dog who hates “childless cat ladies” and their friends. We love cats. “Meow!”
The 2024 Grand Marshal is André De Shields, the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning American actor.
After Party
The Official NYC Halloween Parade AfterParty is Webster Hell, at Webster Hall in Manhattan’s East Village. There is the traditional Virgin Sacrifice (fake blood) and a $5,000 cash costume contest. That must be good. It’s on Halloween night, Thursday, October 31, 2024. 9pm doors. From $38.
It’s fun because Webster Hall is nearby and has many rooms, so can walk around the disco inferno all night. Every restaurant, bar, and night club in New York City is having Halloween parties, so if you can’t get into Webster Hell, you can find your own version of hell in the city.
Village Halloween Parade General Info
What you need to know, before you go.
Lineup
The lineup is on Sixth Avenue at Canal St. Enter from Sullivan, East Broome, or Canal Streets. It’s best to come from the east or the south. Lineup starts at 6:30pm and ends at 9pm. You must be in costume to march.
Watch the Parade
The Parade marches up Sixth Avenue from Canal St up to 15th St. Parade viewing starts at King St (just below Houston St). You can watch from either side of Sixth Avenue. We recommend the east side because it’s easier to filter back into The City, unless you prefer the West Village.
It’s also broadcast live on NY1 cable at 8pm.
Halloweeny VIPs
The Parade lineup usually isn’t bad, but if you wannabe a VIP and skip the line ($125), want to watch near the reviewing area ($250+), or just support this iconic New York City event, visit halloween-nyc.com
Getting There
Don’t drive. Repeat. Don’t drive. The area is packed with people and traffic turns The City into a parking lot. One more time, together now. Don’t drive.
Take the bus or subway. Check halloween-nyc.com for station changes.
A Scary Story
On my first year in New York City, I was afraid to go out on Halloween because I thought the New Yorkers would eat us up. The second year, my wife had a connection at the Jefferson Library on the parade route, so we went. We were amazed by the creativity of the costumes, and enjoyed the really good vibes that lasted through the night.
After the parade, marchers and viewers filter out into Chelsea and Greenwich Village until the wee hours. You come across stranger things like intersections where a dozen costumed Spidermen are having a mock battle. Sometimes you just can’t believe your eyes, but its really fun. So go girl. Go boy. Go whatever. You’ll be glad you did.