Jackson Heights Children's Halloween Parade: Saturday Noon

This year the Jackson Heights Children's Halloween Parade starts at noon, not after school: on Saturday, October 31, 2026, costumed kids gather at 89th Street and 37th Avenue and march west along 37th Avenue to 76th Street. It is the 35th edition, it costs nothing, and the Jackson Heights Beautification Group says the whole thing is paid for by local merchants. If you are hunting for a halloween parade near me in Queens with small children, this daytime slot is the easiest one in the borough.

In most years Halloween falls on a weekday and the parade steps off in the late afternoon. In its Fall 2026 newsletter, JHBG spells out the change plainly: because Halloween lands on a Saturday, the parade begins at noon. The city's street-event permit, number 934669, covers 12 to 2 pm and closes 89th Street from 37th to 35th Avenue plus 37th Avenue from 89th Street down to 76th Street, so plan on roughly two hours from line-up to the last stragglers.

A daylight parade changes the experience for the better if your kids are small. Costumes are visible, nobody needs a flashlight, and toddlers who would melt down at 7 pm are still running on their morning nap. It also leaves the evening free for trick-or-treating on the side streets, or for heading into Manhattan later if older kids want to see the Village parade on Sixth Avenue.

Each year the parade names local marshals, and the 2026 list reads like a portrait of the neighborhood. Donald Preston and Katha Cato founded the Queens World Film Festival and have run it for more than 15 years. NYPD Detective Bayron Gonzalez of the 115th Precinct's community affairs office coordinates the police services the parade cannot run without. Council Member Shanel Thomas Henry, newly elected, is also honored.

The fifth marshal is the emotional one. Edwin Westley O'Keefe, the parade's long-time co-director, is stepping away from that role after this year's march, and JHBG is naming him marshal as a thank-you. JHBG itself was founded in 1988, when residents began caring for Travers Park on their own, and the parade grew out of that same volunteer habit.

The parade lines up on 89th Street near 37th Avenue, at the eastern end of the neighborhood, and heads west. That stretch of 37th Avenue is Jackson Heights' everyday main street, lined with bakeries, pharmacies, dollar stores and Latin American cafes, so the kids march past the same storefronts their families shop at all week. The route ends at 76th Street, a short walk from the Roosevelt Avenue transit hub.

For spectators, the blocks between 77th and 82nd Streets are the most convenient, because they sit closest to the 82nd Street and 74th Street stations and have the most places to grab food. Families who want to march should arrive at 89th Street before noon. Parents with strollers can walk alongside, and older siblings are welcome to join in costume.

The tradition that makes this parade different is the goody bag. The night before, JHBG asks volunteers to give two hours to fill 3,000 trick-or-treat bags for parade day. That number is the best guide to how big the parade has become: it is a neighborhood event, but a big neighborhood. If your family wants to help, email info@jhbg.org to sign up for bag-filling or day-of help.

Because the bags are finite, the honest advice is to get to the line-up early rather than joining at 80th Street halfway through. The walk from 89th to 76th is about two-thirds of a mile, very manageable for a four-year-old in a pumpkin suit.

A noon parade means lunch is part of the plan. Arepa Lady at 77-17 37th Avenue is the neighborhood's famous stop, the restaurant version of Maria Piedad Cano's long-running arepa cart from under the 7 train. It sits a block from the finish. Lety Bakery at 77-07 37th Avenue is right next door for pastries, and Due Fratelli at 76-23 37th Avenue is literally at the end of the route if the kids want pizza and pasta.

Near the start, Gata Golosa at 89-01 37th Avenue sits on the line-up corner, which makes it a natural meeting point for families coming from different trains. Jahn's at 81-04 37th Avenue sits mid-route for anyone who would rather sit down between 81st and 82nd Streets. Expect all of them to fill up right after 2 pm, so either eat before the 12 pm step-off or wait until 2:30.

Take the 7 train. The 90th Street–Elmhurst Avenue station drops you closest to the line-up at 89th Street. The 82nd Street–Jackson Heights stop sits mid-route, and the 74th Street–Broadway station connects to the E, F, M and R at Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue, two blocks from the finish at 76th Street. Street parking on 37th Avenue disappears for the closure, so leave the car at home.

Travers Park at 33-16 78th Street, on 34th Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets, is the best regrouping spot after the march: it is a few blocks north of the end of the route and has the space for kids to burn off sugar. Pick a specific gate on 34th Avenue as your meeting point, because the playground fills fast on a sunny Saturday.

Skip this parade if you want huge puppets or a night-time spectacle. It is a family march of costumed kids and neighbors, not a show. Come for exactly that reason. Jackson Heights is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, and you can expect the costumes to reflect that mix, from superheroes to homemade catrina face paint. The parade takes two hours, and you will see half the block you live on.

If rain is in the forecast, the noon slot at least means the temperature is usually kinder than an evening march. A plastic poncho over the costume is the smart backup.

Date and time: Saturday, October 31, 2026, starting at 12 noon. Permit window 12 to 2 pm. Start: 89th Street and 37th Avenue. Finish: 76th Street and 37th Avenue. Cost: free. Funded by local merchants. Organizer: Jackson Heights Beautification Group, PO Box 720253, Jackson Heights, NY 11372. Info@jhbg.org. Trains: 7 to 90th Street–Elmhurst Avenue or 82nd Street; E, F, M, R or 7 to Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue and 74th Street.

Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for a quieter lunch spot off 37th Avenue or a trick-or-treat route through the garden co-op blocks once the parade wraps up.