Everyone is welcome to join our Children’s Halloween Parade. We line up at 4:30 on 89th Street and 37th Avenue and march down to 76th Street where JHBG hands out 3,200 goodie bags. Please join or donate to help support the parade.https://jhbg.org/about/donate.
Bag packing at PS 69 at 5 PM in the cafeteria. Join us.
Jackson Heights Halloween Parade Returning With More Spirit, Largest Crowd Expected Yet
At a prior Jackson Heights Halloween Parade (via Jackson Heights Beautification Group)
New York City’s second-largest Halloween parade is returning to Jackson Heights for an ever-spirited 28th year.
The Jackson Heights Beautification Group, which organizes the popular annual parade, says it is anticipating its largest crowd yet in an event that typically sees more than 3,000 attendees.
The parade will start at 5 p.m. on Oct. 31 and groups meet at 4:30 PM at the usual corner of 89th Street and 37th Avenue. Everyone is invited to attend. Costume-clad marchers will then march down the avenue to the parade’s end at 76th Street. Anyone can join in along the way.
At the end of the route, 3,200 bags of candy will be handed out to participating trick-or-treaters—one of the parade’s many highlights.
Nuala O’Doherty, president of the JHBG, says the parade’s growing numbers are a result of the many schools that it partners with for the event.
The group gives each participating school a set of balloons in a specific, identifying color for the march. Schools also carry large banners and come with its bands and dance groups to the parade.
“It’s kind of a show of local school pride, so every year it grows a bit,” she said.
Each year local school groups are organized by helium balloons of different colors. This year’s participants include IS 145 (Maroon), IS 230(royal blue), PS 69 (black), PS 89 (Tan), PS 148 (yellow), PS 149 (orange), PS 212 (light green), PS 222 (light blue), PS 228 (white), PS 280 (Purple) Performing Arts Conservatory of NY (gold), JH Early Learning Center (Red), 82nd Street Academics (dark green), Girl Scouts (pink), TRCS (silver), St. Joan of Arc (dark blue), Lexington School for the Deaf (brown), Garden School (blue), Ft. Prep Academy (green) and other groups.
Len Maniace, former president of the Jackson Heights Beautification Committee who now serves on the board of directors, first walked in the parade over a decade ago with his own children.
Despite the parade having grown exponentially since then, Maniace says it always felt like it filled the streets. He sees the event as a great opportunity to get dressed up and be a little silly.
“It is just so much fun in the neighborhood’s backyard, on our main street,” Maniace said.
“The other thing that’s so cool about it—everybody in Jackson Heights participates. It really is every group you could image so it’s really a great neighborhood celebration on top of the Halloween parade.”
The bags will be packed and large puppets will be made at PS 69 on October 30th at 5 PM. Volunteers are welcome to come and help. For more information e-mail Nuala O’Doherty at INFO@JHBG.ORG.