Hudson Valley Halloween Events to Put on Your October Calendar

Halloween is creeping into the Hudson Valley, and there are plenty of ways to celebrate this October.

Whether your idea of a perfect Halloween involves a parade, pumpkin patch, costume contest, trick-or-treating, a spooky movie under the stars or an actual ghost story, communities around the Hudson Valley have something planned.

What is a Cemetery Crawl? 

So, pick your poison.

• Wicked Wappingers Halloween Festival & Parade: Saturday, October 17 | 12 p.m. at Mesier Park

The parade starts at noon on East Main Street and heads toward Mesier Park, where the festival continues with a pumpkin patch, trunk-or-treat, games, food, vendors, a DJ and costume contests.

It's a family-friendly event, so organizers are asking that costumes and decorations stay on the fun side rather than going full horror movie.

There is also a rain date of October 24.

• Hyde Park Recreation Halloween Party: Saturday, October 24 | 1–3 p.m. at Hyde Park Recreation, 79 Market Street

Hyde Park Recreation is getting into the Halloween spirit with an afternoon packed with fall favorites featuring: hayrides, a pumpkin patch, a costume contest, apple cider, donuts and more.

• Gade-O-Ween at Heritage Financial Park: Sunday, October 25 | 2–6 p.m. at Heritage Financial Park

Halloween meets baseball at Gade-O-Ween, the Hudson Valley Renegades' annual Halloween celebration.

Kids can dress up and go trick-or-treating from 2 to 3:30 p.m., with more than a dozen local businesses participating. Then, at 3 p.m., everyone can settle in for a showing of Halloweentown on the big screen.

There will also be hayrides, games and other activities. Admission is free, although parking costs extra.

• Hocus Pocus Halloween in Beacon: Saturday, October 24 | 11 a.m.–6 p.m. on Main Street

Beacon is turning Main Street into a Halloween playground with trick-or-treating, a Black Cat Scavenger Hunt, a family Halloween celebration, a Hocus Pocus-themed parade and a trunk-or-treat with Beacon first responders.

The parade gets underway at 3 p.m., with a kids and family costume contest later in the afternoon.

• 37th Annual Nyack Halloween Parade: Saturday, October 24 | 5:30–7:30 p.m. on Main Street & Broadway, Nyack

If you want to see people get serious about Halloween costumes, Nyack is the place to be.

The 37th Annual Nyack Halloween Parade brings elaborate costumes, floats, live music, family activities and contests for costumes, floats and pets.

So if your dog has been waiting all year for their big Halloween moment, this could be their Met Gala.

• Warwick Halloween Parade & Costume Contest: Saturday, October 31 | Parade at 5 p.m. from High Street to Main Street to Railroad Avenue

Warwick is saving its Halloween celebration for Halloween itself. The Village's annual parade begins with lineup at 4:30 p.m. and steps off at 5 p.m., followed by a costume contest on Railroad Avenue.

Contest categories include Most Original, Scariest, Best Group/Family and Cutest, with age categories ranging from little kids to adults and families.

Warwick is also creating a self-guided tour of decorated Halloween homes around the village, giving visitors another reason to wander around and check out the local Halloween displays.

• Mall-O-Ween Spooktacular: Friday, October 30 | 4–6:30 p.m. at Poughkeepsie Galleria

Sometimes the weather has other plans for Halloween. That's where mall trick-or-treating comes in.

The Poughkeepsie Galleria's Mall-O-Ween Spooktacular gives families a weather-proof place to celebrate, with trick-or-treating throughout the mall, a mad science show, spooky music and a costume contest.

And the best part? It's free.

The Hudson Valley has no shortage of ways to celebrate Halloween this October.

You can march in a parade, enter a costume contest, hunt for pumpkins, go trick-or-treating, watch Halloweentown at a baseball stadium, bring the dog to a parade or spend an evening hearing ghost stories.

The only real problem?

There are a lot of Saturdays in October, but apparently not enough of them.