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The 28th annual Haunted Halsted Halloween Parade October 31st 2025 in Chicago’s landmark LGBTQ Northalsted neighborhood. The Northalsted Halloween Parade takes place from 6 pm-10 pm. Chicagoans bring out their weird wild and spooky every year in Boystown. A wonderful cross-section of Chicago converges in Boystown for the Northalsted Halloween Parade each year. From drag queens to kids to pets this annual Boystown event inspires some of the most stunning costumes in Chicago. So make sure you swing by the costume store beforehand!Stay close to Northalsted and enjoy the Halloween Parade at its best. Try the Majestic Hotel on West Brompton or the Hotel Zachary on North Clark Street. Check out the top 10 hotels in Lakeview for more options.
The free-to-watch parade ranked one of the top ten in the US by Fodor’s Travel has a spectacular Costume Contest with hundreds of entrants (Sign Up Free) featuring $4000 in cash prizes and concludes with an awards presentation hosted by NBC5’s Matthew Rodrigues and the Dancing Diva Batty Davis. and a live performance by musical duo Molly & Alex.
Attending
When
Friday October 31 Halloween Night 6:30 pm-10:00 pm.
Participation
Spectator Admission is free & all ages
Contest Participation is free & all ages
Where
Registration & Parade Starts at: Halsted & Belmont. Sign up to participate between 6:30-7:30pm. Look for Registration tent.
Parade Ends at: Halsted & Brompton
Awards Show & After Party: Parking Lot 3514 N. Halsted
Weather
The parade will go on despite rain or snow.
Haunted Halsted The Main Parade
When it comes to the holy day of Halloween Chicago’s gayborhood is dead serious. This is the only parade in the city that happens on Halloween night whenever Halloween falls. Chicagoans bring out their weird wild and spooky every year in Boystown.
The annual parade kicks off on October 31.
$4000 in Prizes & After Party
$500 First Place $250 Runner Up in 5 Categories!
ScaryDragCreativeYouthCosplayGroup <6 and Large Group 6+
Registration & Parade Starts at: Halsted & Belmont
Parade Ends at: Halsted & Brompton
Awards Show & After Party at: Halsted & Roscoe
Marching in and attending the parade is free but you’ll have to register if you want to march or perform in the parade. The costume contest is also free but with over 2000 entrants you’d better have a damn good costume.
Event Schedule
6:30 pm – Costume Contest Registration – Halsted & Belmont
7:30 pm – Parade Kickoff at Halsted & Belmont
8:00 pm – Parade Ends at Halsted & Brompton
8:30 pm – Awards Show Begins at Halsted & Roscoe
10:00 pm – End of Event
The costume competition covers 5 categories: Character Creative Scary Youth (<13) and Group. Each category will have a $500/$200/$100 prize winner for 1st place/2nd place/3rd place respectively.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Northalsted, Northalsted, Chicago, IL, USA, United States
