It’s back. The most anticipated event of the year returns after being cancelled by COVID-19 last year. The Throggs Neck Halloween Parade and Costume Party has been an annual Throggs Neck tradition for decades. The parade and costume party is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30, from noon to 4 p.m.
The community event, first held in the 1980s, kicks off with a parade that starts at noon, with marchers — parents and children alike — in place on Harding Avenue in front of St. Frances de Chantal School before a quick march through the community. The goblins and witches will march to East Tremont Avenue, then to Sampson Avenue and over to the Cross Bronx service road and back to Throgs Neck Boulevard. Throgs Neck Boulevard between Schurz and Harding avenues will be closed off for a party adjacent to the Throgs Neck Little League field. There will be amusement park rides, spin art, games, face-painting courtesy of the Westchester Square Zerega Improvement Organization, music, popcorn, food, free raffles and the ever popular Build-A-Bear.
The event is hosted by state Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, City Councilman Mark Gjonaj and the Throggs Neck Business Improvement Association. After the parade and during the festivities, there will be a costume contest with first, second and third places for a number of different age categories. Winners will take home cash prizes. A committee of three independent judges will choose the best costumes.
“The event is about one word: fun,” Benedetto said. “We want everyone just to have a fun day.”
The parade every year is a true community effort, said Benedetto, with the assemblyman recalling that his oldest daughter once took home a prize in the costume contest years ago. The assemblyman said the effort receives help from a large cohort of volunteers that includes individuals, schools and community organizations. Other prime sponsors include Schuyler Hill Funeral Home, Ensign Engineering and Con Edison.
