The Park Slope Civic Council's annual Children's Halloween Parade steps off at 6:30pm on Saturday, October 31, at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 14th Street. This year's theme is The Haunted Forest of Brooklyn, and an orange and black vintage Ford will lead the marchers north through the neighborhood.

The civic council has organized the parade every year since 1986 and describes it as perhaps the largest children's Halloween march around. Anyone who wants to walk in it should arrive by 6pm to line up at the starting point. The listing on the council's calendar runs the event from 6:30pm to 8pm.

The route

The parade travels north on Seventh Avenue from 14th Street to 3rd Street, turns left onto 3rd Street, and finishes at the Old Stone House and Washington Park, between Fourth and Fifth Avenues. When marchers reach the Old Stone House, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music will be playing spooky music for the crowd that gathers at the finish.

For spectators, that means the full length of Seventh Avenue between 14th and 3rd Streets is the place to stand, with the 3rd Street block leading to the Old Stone House filling in toward the end. Families who want to watch the start and then see the finale can walk down a side street to Fifth Avenue and head north to 3rd Street, staying clear of the parade itself.

Trick-or-treating on Seventh and Fifth

The parade has long been paired with an afternoon of trick-or-treating at local stores. According to the civic council, merchants on Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue hand out sweets and treats to costumed children every year, and the sidewalks fill up with kids in the late afternoon before the march begins.

Build a parade float on October 24

The week before the parade, the civic council is hosting its Fall Civic Sweep on Saturday, October 24, from 10am to 2pm, in front of the Old Stone House at 336 3rd Street. From 11am to 1pm, families can bring an old stroller or a Radio Flyer wagon and turn it into a Halloween parade float. The council supplies the materials.

The sweep itself is a twice-yearly neighborhood clean-up, and the October 24 edition adds a lineup of other activities:

  • Neighborhood clean-up in one-hour shifts, with all tools provided (sign up on the civic council's site)
  • A free daffodil bulb giveaway for spring gardens
  • Electronics drop-off courtesy of LES Ecology
  • Free compost from the Master Composter Program at LES Ecology
  • A cold-weather gear collection benefiting CHiPS: bring coats, hats, gloves and warm sweaters
  • Tree bed care tips, and information on adopting a spot through the Sanitation Foundation
  • Children's art projects

Who is behind it

The Park Slope Civic Council has worked on behalf of the neighborhood since 1896. Along with the Halloween parade and the spring and fall sweeps, it runs Park Slope Super Stoop Day, Mulchfest, an annual house tour and the Food for Thought fundraiser. Proceeds from the spring house tour fund the council's community grants. Last year the council awarded more than $10,000 to community gardens, food pantries, arts groups, school projects, after-school programs and senior centers.

Applications for the 2027 round are open now through Wednesday, November 25, 2026. Schools and nonprofits serving the greater Park Slope area can apply for grants of $500 to $1,500 for a specific project or general operating costs. Winners will be presented on Saturday, February 6, 2027, at 9am, during the council's breakfast meeting at the Old Stone House. Questions go to grants@parkslopeciviccouncil.org.

Getting there

The parade start at Seventh Avenue and 14th Street is a short walk from the 15 St-Prospect Park station on the F and G lines and from the 7 Av station on the F and G at Ninth Street. The finish at the Old Stone House on 3rd Street is closest to the 4 Av-9 St station (F, G, R) and the Union St station on the R.

Plan your Halloween

Line up by 6pm on Saturday, October 31, at Seventh Avenue and 14th Street to march; the parade starts at 6:30pm and ends at the Old Stone House, 336 3rd Street. Float-making runs 11am to 1pm on Saturday, October 24, at the same Old Stone House address, during the Fall Civic Sweep (10am to 2pm). The civic council also welcomes parade volunteers; details and sign-up links are on its website at parkslopeciviccouncil.org.

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