No city celebrates Halloween quite like New York City. So if you’re in Manhattan on October 31, take note of all the fabulous activities and events on offer
Saturday October 31 promises to be a major fun-filled holiday in New York City, and there are numerous events and parties to enjoy. New Yorkers will dress up and celebrate all week long, culminating, of course, on Saturday night, with parties everywhere.
A signature Halloween Event is Greenwich Village’s Halloween Parade, an unmissable parade of hauntingly scary characters that is the largest celebration in the city. The Parade stretches a mile along Sixth Avenue at Canal Street and starts at 6.30pm, so make sure to get there early. Only those in costume are welcome to participate in this exciting event, which includes hundreds of puppets, 53 bands, dancers and artists. The 42nd annual Parade has a theme, Shine A Light and it will travel on 6th Avenue North of Spring Street all the way to 16th Street from 7pm to 10.30pm.
Because of its popularity (the Halloween Parade attracts more than 50,000 people every year), you can expect a colorful, crazily dressed crowd. If you’re not keen to brave the masses, you can watch the televised parade from a cosy restaurant or bar.
The Parade’s Official After Party at Webster Hall is one of the biggest and the best parties on offer every year. This year’s event promises to be even bigger, better and more ghoulish than ever. The person donning the best costume on the night will win $5,000, and the events on offer are fitting for an all-out wild Halloween event. There’s a virgin sacrifice, a blood bath basement floor and more to keep guests entertained.
Of course, the NoMad Masquerade Ball is an exclusive highlight of the evening, and if you were lucky enough to get tickets to enjoy this prestigious charity event for Citymeals-on-Wheels, you’ll be partying up a storm on the restaurant’s first and second floors enjoying live entertainment by the likes of the Chris Norton Septet, Annie Bea and DJ Matt Seigel, as well as tricks performed by Theory11 and Dane White, and delectably gruesome treats from top chefs.
Another major charity Halloween event this year is the Blood Ball, benefiting Delete Blood Cancer at The Box. Tickets start at $250, but all proceeds go towards registering potential bone marrow donors who can help save the lives of those with blood cancer. The event, which is sponsored by Veuve Cliquot, Belvedere Whisky and Godiva Chocolates amongst others, will feature cocktails, circus acts, burlesque and much more. Guests not only enjoy a series of superlative Halloween-worthy events, but get to make a major difference. The Blood Ball is a celebrity hang-out, so you can mingle with the best of them while partying up a storm.
Another fabulous entertainment offering is Queen of the Night, an interactive dinner theater held in the Paramount Theater close to Times Square. The production, which is apparently based on Mozart’s The Magic Flute, offers a series of bizarre experiences that take the audience right out of their comfort zone. This is interactive theater at its scariest and most fascinating, an authentic Halloween adventure that is not for the faint-hearted.