The entrance to HERE is around the corner from 145 Sixth Avenue, on Dominick Street. This fall, the grand marshal of the 53rd Village Halloween Parade performs inside that theater. The puppets that will lead the parade up the avenue on Saturday night were commissioned from his collaborator on that show.
The grand marshal is Joey Arias. The parade's homepage calls him a "Legendary Performance Artist and Downtown Icon" and notes he is "currently appearing at HERE Theater in Arias with a Twist." HERE credits that show to Basil Twist and Joey Arias together. Twist, the MacArthur "Genius" puppeteer, was commissioned to create this year's lead performance, Firehorse!, with choreography by Julie Atlas Muz and production by Barbara Busackino of Tandem Otter Productions. So the front of this year's parade is a creative partnership that already has a home a few blocks from the parade's start. Because Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, a Village resident can follow it from Friday's show through Saturday afternoon on West 3rd Street to the march itself.
A Friday show, and a Saturday that runs all day
Last year Halloween was a Friday, and amNewYork's 2025 guide covered a parade that took over a work night under the theme "Potluck." This year the parade steps off at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, and the theme is "Body & Soul." With the holiday on a weekend, the neighborhood's daytime events and the evening march land on the same date, one after another.
Friday is the warm-up. HERE lists two performances of Arias with a Twist on Friday, October 30, at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. There is no performance on Halloween night, and the next one listed is Wednesday, November 4. If you want to see the grand marshal's show before he leads the parade, Friday is the night. The run continues through December 20 for anyone who would rather wait until the costumes are put away.
The 2026 parade press release says the Firehorse! puppets are rehearsing on Dominick Street outside HERE during the final week of October. The release presents this as a preview for members of the press, with dates and times still to be announced. Anyone walking past the theater this week may see work in progress. It is not a scheduled public event.
Saturday, from the arch to Sixth Avenue
The day starts with the youngest costumes and ends with the largest crowds. Here is how Saturday runs:
- 1:00 p.m., Washington Square arch. The 36th Annual Children's Halloween Parade, run by NYU and Manhattan Community Board 2, gathers families at the arch. According to NYU's event page, it is one of the city's largest free children's events on Halloween Day.
- 1:30 p.m., West 3rd Street. The fairgrounds open, and free trick-or-treat bags, performances, games and rides take over West 3rd Street between LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street after the parade. The city's Trick-or-Streets calendar lists the same block for the event from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
- 3:00 p.m., West 11th Street. The West 11th Street Block Association has the block between Washington Street and Greenwich Street on the city's list from 3:00 to 10:00 p.m.
- 6:30 p.m., south of Spring Street. Costumed marchers line up on Sixth Avenue south of Spring Street. The parade asks them to approach only from the south, at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue. The parade's participant page says line-up runs from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
- 7:00 p.m., Sixth Avenue. The parade steps off and heads north from Canal Street to 15th Street.
- 8:00 p.m., NY1. The live broadcast begins on Spectrum NY1, the presenting sponsor and official telecast partner.
One timing detail needs checking. A September save-the-date posted on the Community Board 2 bulletin board still lists the children's parade from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. NYU's own page and the city's street calendar both give 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Families planning around nap schedules should confirm with NYU before heading to the arch.
Look at the times together. The children's events on West 3rd Street end about three hours before the evening parade starts, and the West 11th Street block event runs until well after it begins. West Village families can go from the arch to their own block and still have time for dinner before Sixth Avenue fills.
Where Sixth Avenue gets crowded
The marching route and the viewing route have different boundaries. The parade gives the marching route as Canal Street to 15th Street. The city's official event listing frames the viewing route as Spring Street to West 16th Street. NYC DOT's Trick-or-Streets calendar lists Avenue of the Americas from West 16th Street to Spring Street, 7:00 to 11:30 p.m.
The parade's own Watch page says the streets are most crowded between Bleecker and 14th Street, and that the parade usually ends around 11:00 p.m. That puts the thickest crowd in the heart of the Village, along the avenue past the Jefferson Market Library stretch and up toward 14th. For residents, this works in two directions. Blocks south of Bleecker give an easier view, and errands that need to cross Sixth Avenue go more smoothly before 7:00 p.m. than after. The Watch page still describes the start at King Street and links to an older transit page, so the 2026 press release and the participant page are the reliable references for this year's route.
Watching costs nothing, and no ticket is needed to watch or march. For anyone who wants to skip the crowd, the parade's ticket page lists marching line-skip entry at $125, VIP standing admission at $250 and a VIP seated section at $450. Village Halloween Parade, Inc. is a nonprofit, and it receives partial public support from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
A haunted house on East 4th Street, two nights only
For residents who would rather spend Halloween week indoors with candles than outdoors with a few hundred thousand people, the Merchant's House Museum on East 4th Street runs Candlelight Ghost Tours on Thursday, October 29, and Friday, October 30. Fifty-minute tours start every half hour from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. and cost $45, or $35 for members. The tours tell the story of the Tredwell family, who lived at 29 East 4th Street for nearly 100 years, and the reports of strange activity there since Gertrude Tredwell died in 1933. At 9:30 p.m. there is a 90-minute SUPER SPOOKY tour with paranormal investigator Dan Sturges, who has investigated the house since 2007. It costs $70, or $60 for members. The visitor entrance is currently at Manuel Plaza, 35 East 4th Street.
Thursday's tours fall on publication day, and Friday's overlap with the two Arias with a Twist performances at HERE. On a Village Halloween weekend, a candlelit house on East 4th Street and a cabaret on Dominick Street compete for the same Friday evening.
What to confirm before Saturday night
A few logistics were still open in the days before the parade. NYC DOT's weekly traffic advisory, the usual place for street-closure detail, covered Saturday, October 17 through Friday, October 23 in its most recent edition. Check the DOT advisory page and the MTA's service alerts on Saturday for parade-night closures and any station changes near Christopher Street, West 4th Street or 14th Street.
One MTA notice already posted does not apply to Saturday night. Overnight D and F work runs Monday through Friday, 9:30 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., during the weeks of October 19 and October 26, and the last overnight window ends Friday morning, October 30.
The official afterparty is listed two ways. The parade homepage advertises The Vampire Ball at Industry City, 21 and over, with doors at 9:00 p.m. The press release names House of Yes and a "House of Hallucinations," 18 and over, with doors at 10:00 p.m. Both are in Industry City in Brooklyn, so anyone planning a late night should check the venue's ticket page directly.
The parade's homepage says it goes ahead rain or shine, "OR WIND!!!!" The Firehorses step off from Canal Street at 7:00 p.m. and head up Sixth Avenue, past the Dominick Street corner where Basil Twist and Joey Arias share a stage.
Halloween is one of the best nights to see how the Village works block by block, and that local knowledge is what Dana Sapir brings to every conversation about Manhattan's downtown neighborhoods. If you have been thinking about your next move in Greenwich Village, book a private consultation, and we can talk it through after the parade.
