Halloween in New Paltz
Upstate NY Village has Free and Low-Cost Events for All Hallows’ Eve
Nov 16, 2008
Visitors to and residents of New Paltz alike can parade down Main Street in costume, review a myriad of jack-o’-lanterns on display, and visit any of several haunted attractions. The village streets are alive with trick-or-treaters and many residents decorate their homes in spectacularly horrific fashion to honor the day.
Halloween Parade
The annual Halloween parade is a free form event wherein the line between spectator and participant is often blurred. The event starts in the Middle School parking lot at 6PM, and as it proceeds down Main Street many of the onlookers join in the procession. This can lead to a fair chunk of uncostumed marchers as the excitement sweeps up passersby, but the enthusiasm rarely wanes as the parade concludes at the village’s fire house with a giveaway of apples and candy by the local Lion’s Club; it is the first official event of many offered on Halloween in New Paltz.
Night of 100 Pumpkins
This carved pumpkin exhibition started in 1990 at The Bakery, a downtown eatery with ample outdoor space to display the seasonal art. The exact number of pumpkins entered in the competition varies from year to year, but the entries always range from the traditional to the bizarre. Viewing the pumpkins is free, as is the apple cider.
The Huguenots founded New Paltz in the 1600s, and Huguenot Street, an historic district, always creates a specialized tour just for Halloween. In the spirit of the season, visits to the stone houses of Huguenot Street near Halloween focus on ghosts, possible hauntings, and strange events from the area. In 2008 the cost was seven dollars for adults and three for children.
Other Haunted Attractions
- Teen Seen Haunted House: The New Paltz Youth Program runs a haunted house at its youth center, still referred to by its former name, the “Teen Seen.” The house is transformed and almost entirely run by the teenagers who use the program, and the dollar or two for admission is used to improve services for the area’s youth.
- Haunted Hasbrouck has its roots in a haunted house that was run for twenty-five years before neighbors got frustrated with the traffic; thereafter it moved to the playground at Hasbrouck Park. The advantage for the organizers is that they are now able to obtain donations for this free event.
Walking the streets of New Paltz on Halloween is always a treat, as many costumed characters, ranging in age from toddler to college-aged and beyond, roam the byways searching for treats. In response, residents often put up elaborate decorations ranging from zombie jamborees to disturbingly realistic accident scenes.
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