Which is considered the largest Halloween parade in the U.S.?

The Greenwich Village Halloween Parade is considered the largest Halloween parade in the United States.

The New York City event began in 1974, when Greenwich Village puppeteer and mask maker Ralph Lee organized a small procession featuring handmade puppets. It grew into a major annual spectacle along Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, blending puppetry, music, theater, and elaborate costumes.

The parade is widely described as the world’s largest Halloween parade and the only major nighttime parade in the United States. Organizers report roughly 50,000 costumed participants, while crowd estimates have reached about 2 million spectators. Anyone in costume can generally join the procession, making it unusually participatory for a large city parade.

A common mix-up is confusing it with New York’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is larger in overall national visibility but celebrates a different holiday. The Greenwich Village parade is also sometimes called New York’s Village Halloween Parade; both names refer to the same event.