Village Halloween Parade: Time, Route, Directions, How To Watch

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — After a year hiatus, the Village Halloween Parade is returning to Lower Manhattan on Sunday for its 48th rendition.

Tens of thousands will flock to Greenwich Village's 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) clad in spooky costumes with puppets, dancing and music for the annual celebration.

This year the parade's themes are "LET'S PLAY!!!" and "All Together NOW!" Organizers of the event say to think Wheel of Fortune, kissing booths, and a deck of cards to understand the aesthetic of the "LET'S PLAY!!!" theme, while the "All Together Now!" theme speaks to the community coming together in its return from the pandemic.

The Village Halloween Parade was canceled for the first time in its history last year due to coronavirus.

The parade is a free public event, but only those wearing costumes and masks are welcomed to actually join the procession.

"This year’s Parade is dedicated to the Children of NYC who could not celebrate Halloween last year," the organizers of the event wrote on its website. "This year we are inviting them to design the giant Puppets that lead the Parade!"

Here's everything to know about the Greenwich Village parade on Sunday.

Parade Time And Route

The parade starts at 7 p.m. and ends around 11 p.m, but it generally takes until around 9 p.m. for the parade to start moving from its gathering place on 6th Avenue between Spring Street and Canal Street.

The parade runs straight up 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) from Spring Street to 16th Street. The streets are most crowded between Bleecker and 14th Street.

How To Get To The Parade

By Subway

• 6th Avenue (B,D,F,Q) to 23rd, 14th or West 4th Street Stations
• Seventh Avenue (1,2,3,9) to 23rd, 18th, 14th, Sheridan Square or Houston Street
• Eighth Avenue (A,C,E) to West 4th Street, Spring (this station is closest to the Line-Up area) or Canal Street Stations

By PATH from New Jersey

• Take the 33rd Street Train to one of the 6th Avenue Stations at 9th, 14th or 23rd Streets.

By Bus

• Buses along 6th Avenue will be re-routed from just after 6:00 pm until the parade is over, other routes are suggested.

Service changes:

• The L train will run on a normal service schedule on Halloween night, which is about every 5-8 minutes in the evening. FYI: L trains always run every 20 minutes between 1 and 5 a.m., and that will be the case that evening as well.
• Trains will bypass the Spring St C/E in the southbound direction from 5 to 10 p.m.
• The northbound side of the Spring St C/E will be exit-only.
• After 10 p.m., southbound A trains run local from 59 St to Canal St.
• After midnight, northbound A trains operate via the Rutgers Tube.
• After midnight, southbound F trains operate via the Cranberry Tube.

How To Watch

The Village Halloween Parade will be telecast live on NY1 from 8 to 9:30 p.m.