Tarrytown Takes On Halloween Once Again—And Wins!

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October 26, 2025

By Barrett Seaman—

More than a thousand scary creatures, interspersed by 128 phantasmagorical floats, rumbled their way from Patriots Park down Broadway and Main Street in Tarrytown’s 23^rd annual Halloween Parade on Saturday. Lining the route were an estimated 15,000 exuberant spectators—a number representing nearly 130% of the village’s total population. What was near sensory overload for the crowds behind the barricades was a daunting challenge for the village’s police, fire, recs & parks EMT and DPW departments.

The village has been planning this year’s event since the last candy wrappers were swept up in 2024. Overwhelmed by a crowd estimated at 20,000 that attended the 2023 parade as the nation emerged from the pandemic, Tarrytown’s leaders have since treated the parade as the complex logistical challenge it has become. They hired engineering and consulting firm Stantec to map out traffic patterns and parking. They staged extra port-o-potties from the train station to the Warner Library. Supported by Metro North, which added extra cars both ways, they launched a campaign to encourage visitors to take the train to Tarrytown, rather than drive. Train cars before and after the event, said Village Administrator Rich Slingerland, were “packed in both directions, north and south.”

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The preliminary review, says Slingerland, is that “all went as planned.” Still, they will do a deeper dive in the next few weeks “to see what improvements or changes are warranted.” As long as visiting parade goers insist on driving, however, Tarrytown will be a fortress for at least four hours on parade day.

For those inside the walls, it is likely to be yet another joyous siege. Local merchants—especially bars and restaurants—do gangbuster business. At the end of the route, crowds fill the entire block in front of a bandstand, dancing to music and applauding the winners of various prizes. Awards were given in six categories: large, small and mini floats, groups with more than ten participants, costumes and cars.

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