Where does Halloween in Greenwich Village start in 2026? It starts on West 3rd Street at 1 p.m., six hours before the first costumed marcher heads north from Canal Street.
October 31 falls on a Saturday this year. That puts the neighborhood's two Halloween parades on the same day, a few blocks apart, with a hard deadline between them. The NYU and Community Board 2 Children's Halloween Parade has West 3rd Street between Mercer Street and LaGuardia Place from 1 to 4 p.m. The 53rd annual Village Halloween Parade steps off at 7 p.m. The deadline falls between those two events. By 6:30 p.m., the north and west entrances to Sixth Avenue are blocked for the lineup. The day moves west across the Village, and by evening Sixth Avenue divides the neighborhood more firmly than it does any other night of the year.
The Afternoon Belongs to West 3rd Street
The children's parade is one of a long list of Halloween street closures on NYC DOT's Trick-or-Streets calendar for October 31. In Greenwich Village, it is the event that brings the neighborhood out in daylight. The block runs from Mercer to LaGuardia Place, just south of Washington Square Park. That keeps the afternoon on the east side of Sixth Avenue, where the evening procession does not reach.
A short walk down LaGuardia Place to West Houston brings you to one of the area's newest rooms. Saint-Denis, a wine bar and bistro from Golden Age Hospitality, the group behind Le Dive, Lucy's and Bar Bianchi, opened at 490 LaGuardia Place on September 22, according to Eater NY's September openings roundup. The menu runs to French drinking snacks: tuna carpaccio, a Lyonnaise salad, escargots and chicken paillard, with cocktails listed at $21. On a Saturday when the evening plan depends on which side of Sixth Avenue you end up on, it is a natural late-afternoon stop east of the route.
By 6:30, Sixth Avenue Is a Border
The evening procession is built from the south. The organizer's march instructions put assembly at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue between 6:30 and 9 p.m. Marchers coming from the east or south walk straight in, and anyone arriving from the west is directed to enter via Canal Street only. Participants are let into the procession in groups of 1,000 to 2,000 at timed intervals after the 7 p.m. start. The organizer advises meeting your group away from the lineup and arriving together. Time Out's October 2026 guide gives East Broome, Sullivan and Canal Streets, east of Sixth, as the ways in once the avenue closes.
Once the parade is moving, the crowd is thickest in the middle of the neighborhood. The organizer's Watch page names the stretch between Bleecker and 14th Streets as typically the most crowded. Time Out suggests the Spring to West Houston blocks or the 14th to 15th Street end for more room. Watching from home is also an option, since NY1 airs the parade from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
Getting across the avenue is the part that needs planning. NYPD has not published a 2026 crossing plan as of this writing. The most detailed precedent is the department's 2019 parade advisory, which listed these pedestrian crossings on Sixth Avenue:
- Prince Street and Charlton Street, in both directions
- West 4th Street, eastbound only
- Washington Place, westbound only
- West 11th, 13th, 14th and 15th Streets, in both directions
That advisory left closures to NYPD's discretion, so the list shows how the night has worked before, not a promise for this year. In the central blocks, the two crossings each ran in one direction only. Going east at West 4th and coming back west at Washington Place meant two different corners.
The subway was managed the same way in 2025. MTA's Halloween 2025 notice warned that stairways at 14 St/6 Av, West 4 St–Washington Sq and Spring St could be exit-only or entrance-only and could close intermittently. Downtown C and E trains bypassed Spring Street from 5 to 10 p.m. No 2026 notice had been posted as of October 10, so last year's pattern is a guide until the MTA updates it.
What Comes Up the Avenue
The 2026 theme is "Body & Soul," and the organizer has commissioned a new opening act. Firehorse is a puppet performance by Basil Twist, the MacArthur-recognized puppeteer, choreographed by Julie Atlas Muz and produced by Barbara Busackino of Tandem Otter Productions. It marks the Year of the Horse, and the dancing horses clear the path for the costumed marchers behind them.
The Processional Arts Workshop, led by puppeteers Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles, is building a piece called "Out of Body." The theme page describes about a dozen glowing sleeping figures, a tilting house and everyday objects brought to life. Leading the procession is Grand Marshal Joey Arias, the cabaret singer, jazz vocalist and downtown performer. The organizer notes he is currently appearing at HERE Theater in "Arias with a Twist."
That show title is a fitting link, because the parade's best-known Village moment is also Twist's work. Zohra, his giant spider marionette, comes down from the clock tower of the Jefferson Market Library. As amNewYork explained, she appears when the parade reaches Sixth Avenue and West 10th Street and stays visible while the parade goes by. West Side Spirit's 2024 coverage photographed her above the crowd. Twist's own 2025 calendar listed the spider for 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. that night. The 2026 announcements headline Firehorse and do not mention Zohra by name. For now, the corner at West 10th Street is a strong bet but not a confirmed one.
Paid access is available for those who want it. The organizer's ticket page lists a $125 March entry that skips the lineup, $250 standing VIP viewing and $450 seated VIP viewing. VIP tickets come with a spot near the live telecast, non-alcoholic refreshments and dedicated portable restrooms. Seated tickets add a director's chair and VIP gifts. Watching from the curb is still free, and the parade goes ahead rain or shine. The nonprofit organizer receives some public funding through the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the City Council and takes donations to cover the rest.
Picking a Side for Dinner
Since crossing points may run one way and get crowded, it makes sense to decide on dinner before the parade starts. September brought new options on both sides of the route.
| Restaurant | Address | Opened | Side of Sixth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Denis | 490 LaGuardia Place, at West Houston | September 22 | East |
| El Camarón Peludo | 20 Cornelia Street, between Bleecker and Sixth | September 16 | West |
| Santo Taco | 232 Bleecker Street, at Carmine | September 25 | West |
El Camarón Peludo comes from the team behind Taqueria Ramirez, Carnitas Ramirez and Socceria: co-owners Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar, with chef Carlos Barrera. It is a seafood-focused wine bar serving peel-and-eat shrimp, sardine tacos, aguachile tostadas and natural wines. Cornelia Street sits a few steps off the avenue, between the Bleecker-to-14th stretch where crowds peak and the quieter blocks to the south.
Santo Taco's third location took over the former Dig space at Bleecker and Carmine. Its signature is a steak trompo taco, with New York strip and sirloin cooked on a spit. Owner Santiago Perez co-founded Cosme with chef Enrique Olvera. Both west-side spots are a few minutes' walk from the route, which makes them convenient for anyone planning to watch from the west curb and stay on that side.
The Weeks Leading In
The Saturday is the peak, but October in the Village has been building toward it on the same blocks. The Washington Square Park Conservancy's free Dog Halloween Costume Contest is on Garibaldi Plaza on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to noon. The participant line opens at 9:30 a.m., and contestants need to be in line by 10:30.
Village Preservation's October 2026 programs include its ninth annual Village Underground Comedy Night on Wednesday, October 21, at 6 p.m. The lineup was still being finalized when the program was posted. The same group runs free "Houdini in Greenwich Village" walking tours on Saturday, October 24, and Thursday, October 29, both at 2 p.m., with preregistration required. All of it happens in Washington Square and the streets around it, east of Sixth Avenue. Those blocks hold the costumed afternoon on the 31st before the crowds move west to the avenue after dark.
Much of the Village's year follows that same pattern, with the everyday rituals in the park on one side and the big annual events on the other. Our Greenwich Village neighborhood guide covers the blocks on both sides.
If your plans for this fall involve a Village home, whether that means a place for family visiting for parade weekend or a change of address in a neighborhood you already know well, At The Firm is here to help. Request a private consultation, and we will talk through the blocks east and west of Sixth Avenue with the same attention to detail.
