NYC Halloween Parade 2026: Start Time, Route and How to Watch the Village Parade Tonight

New York City's biggest Halloween night arrives at 7 p.m. tonight, when the 53rd annual Village Halloween Parade steps off in Greenwich Village. Organizers say only marchers in costume may join the parade itself, alongside hundreds of puppets, 53 bands, dancers and artists, under this year's theme, 'Body and Soul.'

The route runs north on Sixth Avenue from Canal Street to West 15th Street, and the parade typically runs until about 11 p.m. Anyone in costume who wants to march can join the lineup on Sixth Avenue between Spring Street and Broome Street between 6:30 and 9 p.m.; organizers direct marchers to approach Sixth Avenue from the east or the south, from Canal Street or east on Sullivan or Broome, because Spring Street and the smaller formation streets are closed at both ends.

For spectators, published guidance puts the busiest stretch of the route between Bleecker Street and 14th Street, and the early blocks fill first. Sixth Avenue between Canal Street and West 15th Street is closed from 7 to 11 p.m., with formation and dispersal streets around the route also restricted and further closures possible at NYPD discretion, so drivers should give the Village a wide berth tonight. Watching from home is an option as well: Spectrum News NY1's television coverage begins at 8 p.m., an hour after the step-off.

Tonight's parade lands in the middle of a stacked city weekend — the New York City Marathon follows on Sunday morning — and on a clear, dry Halloween night, with the station's live weather feed showing 53.8 degrees and no precipitation at early evening. Costumes, in other words, will not need rain gear.