Nyack’s famous annual Halloween parade, hosted by the Nyack Chamber of Commerce, is the second-largest Halloween parade in the New York City area, trailing only the 51-year-old Greenwich Village parade. Each year, the Nyack parade seems to grow bigger and better, evolving from its humble beginnings in 1986. That first parade was so well planned that the organizers confidently called it the “first annual,” knowing many more would follow. They were right.
But what was that first parade like?
Early Rockland County Halloween Parades
Before 1986, Nyack’s Halloween parades (or “Hallowe’en,” as it was once spelled) were small affairs compared to today’s event. Other nearby towns, like Piermont, Spring Valley, and Suffern, had already established annual parades. Spring Valley held its first large Halloween parade in 1929, featuring free movies, bands, a parade, and a block party. Ten years later, the event drew a crowd of 10,000. By 1954, Piermont’s parade was well-established, and by the mid-1950s, Suffern’s parade attracted 1,500 spectators. Over time, other communities joined in, including Pearl River, Clarkstown, Valley Cottage schools, New City, and the Central Nyack Engine Company.
Liberty Street School Parades
Starting in at least the 1930s, Nyack’s Liberty Street School hosted annual Halloween parades for its younger students. These parades grew more elaborate over the years. By 1959, they featured marching bands, and in 1981, six different Halloween parades took place in the Nyack area. The largest one began at the corner of Cedar and Main Streets, near the original site of the Nyack Farmers Market, and was open to preschoolers through fourth graders. While most of these events were held during the day, Piermont and Sparkill were known for their night parades.
Theater Halloween Events
In the 1930s, local theaters introduced Halloween parades of their own. Nyack’s Rockland Theater on North Broadway started early with a 9:30 a.m. parade inside the theater, followed by contests like apple bobbing. Afterward, children watched a selection of cartoons and short films. During the 1940s, the theater hired filmmakers to capture the children’s festivities, which were later shown on the big screen. Similar events took place at the Broadway Theater in Haverstraw and the Lafayette Theater in Suffern, with local businesses covering the costs.
Ready, Set, Ghoul
Nyack’s first official Halloween parade burst onto the scene in 1986, much like a flash of lightning on a stormy night. That year, Halloween fell on a Friday, the perfect setup for what was billed as a “splashy event,” according to Mark Williams, the Executive Director of the Nyack Chamber of Commerce. Terry Hecker, the event organizer, aimed to create a family-friendly celebration that would also ensure a safe Halloween for everyone. Nyack Trustee Emily Feiner, who also served as one of the costume judges, said it best:
“Nyack is a colorful village; we will have a lot of colorful characters in the parade.”
As a special highlight, Nyack actor and comedian Sandy Baron, co-star of the 1986 vampire movie Vamp, served as the parade’s first grand marshal. That same evening, Cinema East, located in the Nyack Plaza, showed Vamp at midnight after its regular feature, Children of a Lesser God. The theater, decked out for Halloween, welcomed guests with a lobby decorated with 15,000 Hershey Kisses.
The First Parade: Not Just for Kids
That night, a crowd of 5,000 gathered for the parade. Under clear, crisp skies, the parade began at the Pavion Factory (then a cometics company and now the site of the Pavion apartment complex), heading east on Cedar Hill Avenue before turning north onto Broadway and finally making its way dup Main Street to Franklin Street. Earlier in the evening, a haunted house at Nyack Baptist Church—located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and North Broadway—kicked off the festivities. Buses shuttled children in costumes to the start of the parade, with candy, including another 15,000 Hershey Kisses, provided by Bauman Gallery.
Although the parade was family-friendly, it wasn’t just for children. Adults also got into the spirit, dressing up as Tina Turner, a box of McDonald’s fries, a piano, witches, devils, clowns, and even the cast of The Wizard of Oz. One float showcased a Transylvanian graveyard with vampires, while six friends dressed as a six-pack of “Chernobyl Beer.” A gorilla on stilts towered over the crowd, leaving kids in awe.
“This is the best, the absolute best,” said Susan Gelb of Nyack. “I think this is a real community event at its greatest. Adults are here, and they can go on and party, but the kids are here too.”
1986 Halloween Parade Costume Contest
After the parade, costume judging took place in the Nyack Plaza parking lot. The grand prize went to three sisters from Philadelphia, who dressed in bloody sheets and carried a severed head in a bucket. They won a three-foot-tall jar of Hershey Kisses and a $50 U.S. Savings Bond. Nyack resident Jerry Fenton, dressed as Merlin the Magician in a costume created by his wife, Janet Fenton, for a production of Camelot, won the adult category. His prize was a weekend at the Hershey Poconos Resort, donated by Travel World in Valley Cottage. Other awards were given for the most original, the worst, the scariest, and the funniest costumes.
Costumes from the 1986 parade published in the Journal News
Local Restaurants Join the Fun
Nyack’s restaurants also got into the Halloween spirit, hosting costume parties for adults. Longtime residents will remember the River Club (now demolished), Raoul’s (now Hudson House), Via Fettuccini (once in the Nyack Plaza Mall), Slattery’s Pub (now The Greekish), The Coven Café (now Communal Kitchen), OD’s (now Dolce Vita), Old Fashion (now Maura’s Kitchen), and the Skylark (now Breakfast & Burger Club). The only surviving establishment from that era is Temptations.
Nyack’s Halloween Legacy
Nyack takes pride in being a unique village, and its Halloween parade is one of the events that sets it apart. Although the parade was paused for two years during the pandemic, 2024 marks its 35th (or possibly 36th) year. Regardless, it’s time once again for the wacky and weird to take over the streets of Nyack in the largest costumed parade between New York City and Transylvania.
Mike Hays lived in the Nyacks for 38-years. He worked for McGraw-Hill Education in New York City for many years. Hays serves as President of the Historical Society of the Nyacks, and Vice-President of the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center. Married to Bernie Richey, he enjoys cycling and winters in Florida. You can follow him on Instagram as UpperNyackMike.
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Sun River Health and Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty. Sun River Health is a network of 43 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) providing primary, dental, pediatric, OB-GYN, and behavioral health care to over 245,000 patients annually. Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty is the lower Hudson Valley’s Leader in Luxury. Located in the charming Hudson River village of Nyack, approximately 22 miles from New York City. Our agents are passionate about listing and selling extraordinary properties in the Lower Hudson Valley, including Rockland and Orange Counties, New York.
