In 1974, Theater for the New City organized a Halloween procession with the block associations of the West Village. It started at the theater's second home, at the corner of Jane and West Streets, and wound through the neighborhood to Washington Square Park. In its second year the production won an Obie. In 1976, when the local block association formally took over organizing it, the event had already split in two. One half was an informal puppet parade for Greenwich Village children. The other was a late-night costume ball for adults.
Fifty years later, the Village still keeps Halloween on that split schedule. On Saturday, October 31, 2026, the 53rd annual Village Halloween Parade steps off at 7 p.m. and heads up Sixth Avenue. The children's half of the day starts hours earlier on West 3rd Street. The adult ball, now in its 50th edition, takes over East 10th Street at 3 p.m. Several other blocks between the Hudson and Avenue B close to cars in between.
How the Village Splits the Day
Theater for the New City's founder, Crystal Field, explained the reasoning in a 2001 piece for New York Theatre Wire. Theater for the New City quotes her on its 2026 event page, where she says the adult ball was planned "so that when the little ones slept, the adults could go dancing and partying in an indoor, more sophisticated set up."
"The ball has endured."
The same thinking still sets the hours. Manhattan Community Board 2 describes the NYU and CB2 Children's Halloween Parade as the "daytime (PG-rated) alternative" to the nighttime parade. According to Village View, that parade grew out of a family-friendly idea from CB2 district manager Arthur "Arty" Strickler. It marked its 35th year in 2025. The big parade now has its own organization, its own grand marshal and its own Sixth Avenue route. Underneath that, the Village still runs Halloween in the same order: children in the afternoon, a ball at dusk, the procession at night.
Saturday, October 31, Block by Block
NYC DOT's 2026 Trick-or-Streets list shows how many Village blocks close to cars before Sixth Avenue does. Here is the day in order, with the closures and the named venue events placed where they fall:
- 1:00 p.m., West 3rd Street. The NYU and CB2 Children's Halloween Parade has West 3rd Street from Mercer Street to LaGuardia Place. DOT lists it from 1 to 4 p.m. CB2's own save-the-date says 3 to 6 p.m., in Washington Square Park and on West 3rd Street, so check CB2's bulletin board before you go.
- 2:30 p.m., Avenue B and East 3rd Street. The Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition runs the Avenue B Open Street from 7th Street to 3rd Street. Around the corner, wild project hosts an event on East 3rd Street between Avenues A and B. Both run until 6:30 p.m.
- 3:00 p.m., East 10th Street and West 11th Street. Theater for the New City's Annual Village Halloween Costume Ball starts outdoors on East 10th Street between First and Second Avenues and runs until 7 p.m. On the far side of the neighborhood, the West 11th Street Block Association has West 11th Street between Washington and Greenwich Streets from 3 to 10 p.m.
- 5:00 p.m., Second Avenue. Saint Speakeasy, the basement room at 136 Second Ave., hosts a "Back to the '80s" dance party until 9:30 p.m. Entry is free with an RSVP on Eventbrite.
- 6:30 p.m., Sixth Avenue and Canal Street. Parade marchers line up here between 6:30 and 9 p.m. You need to be in costume to march.
- 7:00 p.m., both ends of the Village at once. The parade steps off on Sixth Avenue. At the same hour, the ball on East 10th Street ends its outdoor program with the Red and Black Masque, a torchlit ensemble piece with audience participation, and then moves indoors.
- 8:00 p.m., Bleecker Street. Yesterday's, at 157 Bleecker St., starts a ticketed Halloween party for guests 23 and older. It has DJs and open bars for the first hour or two.
- 11:30 p.m. DOT's listed window for the parade on Avenue of the Americas ends.
- Midnight, East 10th Street. Theater for the New City judges its costume contest and awards the prizes.
The schedule starts on the east side of Washington Square in the afternoon, spreads to blocks near both rivers by late afternoon, peaks on Sixth Avenue at night, and closes on East 10th Street at midnight. All day, the East Village holds the event the parade grew out of.
East 10th Street Is Where the Ball Turns 50
Theater for the New City says it has hosted a Halloween celebration every year since 1974. It counts 2020, when the event went virtual, as a "year uncounted," which makes 2026 the 50th edition. The outdoor part, from 3 to 7 p.m., is free. It includes variety acts, the band Star '69 and a children's costume contest judged by Crystal Field, T. Scott Lilly and Terry Lee King. If it rains, the program moves into a big tent.
From 7 p.m. to midnight, the ball moves inside the theater's four-theater complex. Admission is $20, and guests must wear a costume or formal wear. The indoor schedule includes:
- Cabaret sets of 10 minutes each, with Austin Pendleton among more than 40 performers
- A scream contest hosted by Didi Champagne, timed for exactly 10:24 p.m.
- Art Lillard's Heavenly Big Band from 8 to 10 p.m., then Mr. Pablo's Latin Dance Band until midnight
- The Witches' Cauldron, a pop-up restaurant where $5 buys a full dinner of dishes donated by East Village restaurants
The ball's history also runs straight into this year's parade. Theater for the New City lists the puppeteer Basil Twist among the artists whose careers started at the ball. This year the parade commissioned its new lead performance, "Firehorse!", from Twist. Julie Atlas Muz choreographed it, and Barbara Busackino of Tandem Otter Productions is producing it.
Sixth Avenue After Dark
This year's parade theme is "Body & Soul," and the grand marshal is Joey Arias, whom the organizer calls a downtown performance artist and icon. According to the organizer's press release, "Firehorse!" will rehearse on Dominick Street outside HERE Theater during the last week of October. The exact dates and times are still to be announced. Neighbors around Dominick Street may get an early look at the piece before Saturday.
The parade's endpoints depend on which page you read. The organizer's marching instructions run the route up Sixth Avenue from Canal Street to West 15th Street. Its Watch page runs from King Street to West 15th and says the crowds are heaviest between Bleecker and 14th Streets. The city's event listing and the DOT list both cover Spring Street to West 16th Street. If you're watching, you'll find more room south of Bleecker, where every version of the route overlaps and the organizer reports thinner crowds.
Getting Around Your Own Blocks That Night
The organizer's Watch page lists A and C reroutes in Manhattan and Brooklyn from 10 p.m. Friday, October 30, to 5 a.m. Monday, November 2. It also says downtown C trains will skip Spring Street from 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturday. The same page lists the northbound Spring Street platform as exit-only, restricted entrances at West 4th Street, and the 16th Street side of the 14 St/6 Av station as exit-only. Parts of that page appear to carry over from earlier years, so check those details against the MTA before Saturday.
DOT posts its preliminary weekend traffic advisory early in the week and the final version on Friday. That makes Friday, October 30, the day to check the DOT advisory page for the itemized street closures. Last year's closures, as Patch reported them, reached past Sixth Avenue onto side streets including Spring, Broome, Sullivan and West 10th. A car parked anywhere near the route on Saturday afternoon may not be able to get out until late that night.
If you'd rather spend the day just north of the Village, Chelsea Market runs a Halloween program from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and 6sqft reports that Dickson's Farmstand Meats is hosting a movie marathon inside.
If you live here and want to talk about how your block works the rest of the year, from building rules to the right time to sell, Bobby Rehani is glad to compare notes. Let's Connect.
