300 Costumes Take Halsted for a Free Halloween Parade

The parade steps off at Halsted and Belmont at 7:00 PM and reaches Brompton an hour later. A Chicago Thriller flash mob, the Lakeside Pride Marching Band, Chicago Spirit Brigade, and the Windy City Rollers work the route in sequence, with decorated jeeps from the Windy City Jeep Club rolling between walking groups. Chicago Full Moon Jam closes the night with a pyrotechnic fire display. More than 300 costumes march, rain or snow does not cancel it, and watching from the sidewalks behind the barricades is free.

Registration opens at 2:00 PM at the tent at 3211 N Halsted, and a bib collected before 6:00 PM is what guarantees a place in the contest, with late check-in possible to 6:15 PM and subject to capacity. Entry costs five dollars and includes a Ferrara candy bag. Five categories run from Character and Creative to Scary, Group, and Youth 13 and under. Finalists take the stage at 8:00 PM in the lot at 3514 N Halsted, awards follow at 8:30 PM, and each category pays 500, 200, or 100 dollars to winners who are present.

Street parking on Halsted between Belmont and Addison ends at 7:00 AM Saturday, and traffic is barred from 10:30 AM until 2:00 AM Sunday, so plan on the CTA. Belmont station on the Red, Brown, and Purple lines is a short walk west of the start, and Addison on the Red line serves the north end. Pets are welcome to march or watch if leashed or carried. The fest opens at noon with 50-plus vendors and trick-or-treating at 25 businesses. Kingston Mines then charges a 20-dollar Saturday cover, admits adults only with photo ID, and takes no reservations, while The Butcher's Tap keeps its kitchen open until 11:00 PM.