PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Pac-Man chased his ghosts up 7th Avenue. A crowd of Statues of Liberty glowed mint-green under the streetlights. And a former city comptroller walked the route dressed as a house.
The Park Slope Civic Council’s Halloween Parade marched through the neighborhood Saturday night, Oct. 31, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The council has put on the parade every year since 1986 and calls it “perhaps the largest children’s Halloween march.” This year’s theme was “The Haunted Forest of Brooklyn.”
Marchers lined up at 7th Avenue and 14th Street at 6 p.m. The parade stepped off at 6:30, headed north on 7th Avenue to 3rd Street, then turned left to finish at the Old Stone House in Washington Park. The council said an orange-and-black vintage Ford would lead the parade and the Brooklyn Conservatory would play spooky music at the finish.
What we saw on 7th Avenue
The Civic Council’s own banner came first, carried by volunteers in orange. Behind it came a steady stream of homemade costume engineering. Three sheet ghosts in pale blue, red and pink, with giant cartoon eyes and string lights at their hems, drifted past with a yellow Pac-Man close behind. “There’s the waka waka waka!” someone shouted from the sidewalk. “There he is!”
Towering puppets swayed above the crowd. “Puppets by Whitebird Productions,” one of their handlers told NYC In Focus, waving at the camera. “Lea Levine, shout out. Happy Halloween from Whitebird!”
A troupe in full-body LED suits glowed against the dark avenue. A whole group came as Lady Liberty, robes and crowns lit from inside, torches held high. Stormtroopers raised glowing lightsabers. Jellyfish made from lit-up umbrellas floated by, trailing streamers. PS 107 families marched behind their school banner, and kids carried glowing light-box costumes that made the sidewalk crowds stop and point. “So cool!” one onlooker said.
The energy kept building as the parade turned west onto 3rd Street. A dance troupe in purple, green and pink danced down the block, and farther along, dancers outlined in glowing green light strips put on a show. At the finish by Washington Park and the Old Stone House, a purple-lit stage drew a packed crowd.
Brad Lander, in a house
Brad Lander was among the marchers, wearing a cardboard house with drawn-on windows and a red front door. Lander is the Democratic nominee for Congress in New York’s 10th District and served as New York City comptroller from 2022 through 2025. Here is the full interview with NYC In Focus, as spoken:
Lander: I’m in the house!
Howard Weiss: Awesome, thank you so much. What do you have to say for everybody?
Lander: Oh, what a great Park Slope Halloween parade is, you know, the best thing of all. What a great night. [inaudible] tonight, and then the marathon tomorrow, and then the election Tuesday. I can’t wait.
Howard Weiss: I’m Howard. Nice to meet you.
Lander: Nice to meet you. Happy Halloween.
The New York City Marathon runs Sunday, Nov. 1, and the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
“Everybody showed up”
Howard Weiss, who covered the parade for NYC In Focus, said the night showed how strong and welcoming the neighborhood’s community is. He said several blocks held their own block parties around the parade, and that neighbors compete over who has the best-decorated house. “Everybody showed up,” Weiss said, “even Brad Lander.”
Watch the full video: Park Slope Halloween Parade 2026 (video by Howard Weiss).
Sources
- Park Slope Civic Council: Halloween Parade event page (time, route, “since 1986”)
- Park Slope Civic Council: “Halloween Parade 2026! The Haunted Forest of Brooklyn” (theme, vintage Ford, Brooklyn Conservatory)
- Brad Lander on X (current title) and his Jan. 2, 2026 farewell as comptroller
- Interviews and observations: Howard Weiss, on scene on 7th Avenue, Oct. 31, 2026
Photos and video: Howard Weiss / NYC In Focus. Available for licensing: howard@nycinfocus.com.
