Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the Village gets the whole day instead of a weeknight squeezed in after work. The schedule has a direction to it. Things start in the early afternoon around Washington Square, east of Sixth Avenue. They move west to a closed block of West 11th Street near the Hudson. At 7 p.m. the 53rd Village Halloween Parade starts up Sixth Avenue, and the avenue stops working as a crossing.
For anyone who lives here, one question shapes Saturday: which side of Sixth Avenue do you want to be on when the parade starts?
Saturday, October 31, in the order it happens
| Time | What | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 p.m. or 3 to 6 p.m. | NYU and CB2 Children's Halloween Parade | Washington Square Park and West 3rd Street | City permit and Community Board 2 list different hours |
| 3 to 10 p.m. | West 11th Street Block Association street closure | West 11th Street, Washington Street to Greenwich Street | NYC DOT Trick-or-Streets |
| Any time before dark | Stoop walk | Perry, Charles, Grove, Bedford, West 10th and West 11th Streets | 2026 neighborhood decoration guides |
| 6:30 to 9 p.m. | Parade lineup for costumed marchers | Canal Street and Sixth Avenue | Village Halloween Parade |
| 7 to about 11 p.m. | 53rd Village Halloween Parade | Sixth Avenue | Village Halloween Parade |
Start east, at Washington Square
The children's parade is the earliest event of the day. Manhattan Community Board 2's October 16 eblast lists the NYU and CB2 Children's Halloween Parade for 3 to 6 p.m. in Washington Square Park and on West 3rd Street. The city's Trick-or-Streets listing gives a different window. It shows a permit for West 3rd Street, from Mercer Street to LaGuardia Place, from 1 to 4 p.m. The two sets of hours overlap only from 3 to 4 p.m. If you have small children, arrive in the early afternoon and check with CB2 before you leave.
It is also the only one of the day's events held entirely east of Sixth Avenue. Families who start here will cross Sixth by daylight on their way west, hours before barricades go up for the evening.
West 11th Street stays open to people until 10 p.m.
The West Village's own block event is close to the river. The West 11th Street Block Association has a Trick-or-Streets permit to close West 11th Street from Washington Street to Greenwich Street from 3 to 10 p.m. That's seven hours, which is long by the city's standards. On the same Saturday list, the West 22nd Street closure in Chelsea runs 4 to 8 p.m., and Carnegie Hill Neighbors' block of East 92nd Street runs 4 to 5:30 p.m.
The 10 p.m. end time is the important part. The block stays closed to traffic for three hours after the parade starts. That gives everyone west of Sixth Avenue a place to spend the evening that has nothing to do with the crowds on the avenue.
The stoops in between
The walk from Washington Square west to West 11th Street goes through the blocks the 2026 Halloween guides return to most. Vivere NY's guide to decorated houses, updated this month, lists these West Village stops:
- West 11th Street between West 4th Street and Seventh Avenue
- Perry and Charles Streets between West 4th and Bleecker, described with heirloom pumpkins, cornstalk arches and skeletons hanging from second-story shutters
- Grove and Bedford Streets, with lanterns and floating ghost installations
- West 10th Street between Fifth Avenue and Greenwich Avenue
Mommy Poppins' 2026 decorations guide points to the same area, naming West 10th and West 11th Streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. The Vivere guide says the displays are at their best from October 20 through 31, so Saturday is the last day to see them.
Look at the map and the order becomes clear. West 10th Street starts at Fifth Avenue, a short walk from Washington Square, so it comes first. Take it west across Sixth Avenue toward Greenwich Avenue, then continue to Perry, Charles, Grove and Bedford, and end on West 11th Street near the Hudson. That route crosses Sixth Avenue once, in daylight. Every display on these lists is on a residential stoop, so watch from the sidewalk.
At 7 p.m., Sixth Avenue closes to pedestrians
The parade starts at 7. This year's theme is "Body & Soul," which the organizers describe as reconnecting body, imagination and dance. Joey Arias is Grand Marshal. The parade will be led by dancing "Firehorse" puppets, commissioned from puppeteer Basil Twist, choreographed by Julie Atlas Muz and produced by Barbara Busackino.
The official Watch page says spectators can watch from either side of Sixth Avenue between King Street and West 15th Street, and that the parade ends around 11 p.m. The city's street permit covers more ground, closing the Avenue of the Americas from Spring Street to West 16th Street from 7 to 11:30 p.m. For about four hours, that whole stretch belongs to the parade.
NYC Tourism's 2026 parade guide is direct about crossing:
"Don't plan on crossing Sixth Avenue anywhere along the route during the parade, as authorities barricade the thoroughfare."
So the afternoon plan matters. If you're on West 11th Street at 7, you have the block party until 10 and the stoops all around you. If you're at Washington Square, you're east of the barricades until late in the evening. Anyone with dinner plans or a babysitter on the other side should cross before 7.
If you want to watch, Time Out's 2026 guide says Bleecker Street to 14th Street is the most crowded stretch. It suggests Spring Street to West Houston, or 14th to 15th Street, as easier places to stand. Both are at the ends of the route, away from the center of the West Village.
If you'd rather march, the parade is free, but you must be in costume. Marchers line up at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue between 6:30 and 9 p.m. The organizers enter the lineup from the east and south via Sullivan, East Broome and Canal Streets, and say the event has zero tolerance for alcohol. The organizer's tip for groups is to "meet somewhere away from the line-up and walk to the line-up together."
Getting home on the subway
The subway changes run all weekend. According to the organizer's Watch page, A and C trains will be rerouted in Manhattan and Brooklyn from Friday, October 30 at 10 p.m. until Monday, November 2 at 5 a.m. Uptown A trains will run via the F from Jay St-MetroTech to W 4 St-Wash Sq. On Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m., downtown C trains will skip Spring Street.
For station entrances, last year is the best guide available. On Halloween night 2025, the MTA said stairways at 14 St/6 Av, West 4 St–Washington Sq and Spring St could become exit-only or entrance-only, with intermittent closures to manage crowds. Those were 2025 rules. Check mta.info on Saturday before relying on the West 4th Street station.
The organizer's advice applies to residents too: "Don't bring your car to the Parade!" With Sixth Avenue closed from Spring to West 16th, cars on either side of the avenue will have a hard time getting across.
Halloween is one of the few days a year when the townhouse blocks between Perry Street and West 11th Street are full of foot traffic, and the stoops and ironwork are on display. If you own one of those houses, or are thinking about the blocks behind the decorations, Phyllis M Mehalakes is glad to talk through what makes them different. Let's Connect.
