PHOTO: New York City's Village Halloween Parade. (Courtesy of YouTube)
New Orleans, Louisiana
Every year, 48 days before Easter, people come to NOLA for the barely-there costumes and to acquire a collection of beads in celebration of Mardi Gras. Since 2007 (with a two-year hiatus in between) the folks of New Orleans have done an outstanding job of matching the grandeur of Fat Tuesday with the annual Krewe of BOO parade and festival.
This year's festivities will be held on Thursday, Oct. 30, kicking off the weekend-long Voodoo Fest, which will see major musical acts Outkast, Skrillex and Foo Fighters. Purchase a Krewe of BOO membership for $575 before the 30th and you get a spot on one of the parade's floats, VIP ticket into the parade's after party with open bar access, and a three-day pass to Voodoo Fest, plus a few other neat treats.
If you're unsure what to wear as a costume this year, this city will have you covered-figuratively and literally. Given the fact that Mardi Gras is a few months away, you'll have plenty of options to choose from at any one of New Orleans many costume shops.
Not planning to attend Voodoo Fest? The French Quarter has plenty of spooky things to see, such as the area's many voodoo shops. There are also numerous haunted walking tours in town, including a city of the dead cemetery tour with the Voodoo Bone Lady or search for ghosts and vampires with the French Quarter Phantoms.
Lahaina, Maui, HI
The island of Maui is probably the last place anyone would think to visit for a wildly entertaining Halloween holiday. Alas, they'd be wrong. Previously dubbed the "Mardi Gras of the Pacific," the Lahaina Halloween carnival held its humble beginnings in 1989 and ran strong through 2007, garnering upward of 30,000 people on Front Street, the short road of shops and restaurants that borders the Pacific Ocean.
But when the annual family-fun events of the day turned into a "Girls Gone Wild" frenzy by night, the Maui Cultural Resources Commission voted to have the party's permits revoked-a few online videos of the raucous street affair back then point to it being a good decision at the time. After a few quiet years, the city's mayor and the Office of Economic Development on Maui brought the Halloween street festival back to life.
For the free event, the city closes Front Street early in the afternoon, and the Keiki (children's) Parade begins roughly at 4 p.m. There's an area for keiki ghost stories, face painting for the kiddies, and live music at Banyan Tree Park. All of the restaurants and bars have some sort of amusing activities going on, as well, although be prepared to pay a door fee.
The boat tour company Pride of Maui also offers a Halloween Cruise that starts at Maalaea Harbor and makes a stop in Lahaina for some Front Street excitement before cruising back to the other side of the island.
Salem, Massachusetts - Haunted Happenings
The festival in Salem isn't so much an elaborate parade and an evening of partying in the streets, as it is an informational awakening to the history of Salem and its relationship with witches, warlocks and all things supernatural. What's more, this city's Halloween events run the entire month of October and bring in over 1 million people.
On Halloween, families can spend the day at the Haunted Happenings carnival, followed by some good old-fashioned trick-or-treating at the hands of singing pirates in Historic New England's Phillips House.
Looking for more adult-type fun? Boston's 92.9 radio station hosts a party with a beer garden and five stages of live music into the evening hours, as well as an official Salem Witches' Ball, which not only offers a night of music, food and drink, but also free psychic readings, a drum circle performance and other magical rituals, and a costume contest where the winner gets $1,000. Tickets for the ball are $154.
If you'd rather a less costly event, you can join in on the 23rd Annual Temple of Nine Wells Samhain Magick Circle, which begins with a guided walk to Gallows Hill Park, followed by a candlelight procession (a $5 donation is requested).
Other activities found prior to Halloween include a Ouija board event, the 8th Annual Harvest Fest (held on Oct. 25), a graveyard walking tour, and re-enactments of the hanging judge at the House of Seven Gables (Oct. 24 and 25).
The month's festivities end with a bang from the grand finale fireworks show on display above the North River, held at 10:30 p.m. on the Oct. 31.
West Hollywood, California
Be prepared to see a lot of skin and nearly 500,000 people at WeHo's Halloween Carnaval. This is the largest Halloween party in the world and in the last few years it's gotten bigger, better and crazier-keep in mind these past few years have been mid-week events. Imagine what it will be like with the big event being a Friday night!
The festivities begin at 6 p.m. on Santa Monica Boulevard and go until 11 p.m. with a parade of the most elaborate, and sometimes creatively wacky, costumes kicking off the night. Each year is a different theme and a new honorary "Queen of the Carnaval" is crowned-last year Queen Latifah accepted the crown for the 1950s Noir-themed event.
The numerous stages along the one-mile stretch of boulevard offer partygoers six stages of live music, DJ sets, and performance artists. In 2010, the largest performance of "Time Warp" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show made the Guinness Book of Records.
New York, NY - Village Halloween Parade
Show up in costume on 6th Avenue and Canal in Greenwich Village between 6:30-8:30 p.m. this Oct. 31 and you're welcome to join the procession of the 41st annual Village Halloween Parade. You may not be able to say you "made it" in New York, but you will undoubtedly have a good time. Plus you'll walk alongside some wonderfully creative puppeteers and their gigantic puppets, which will likely be a new experience for you.
This year's Garden of Earthly Delights theme seems a rather unusual one for Halloween. But it should be interesting to see how the event's designers turn 6th Avenue into a giant mysterious garden with street blossoms, tall grasses, and an oversized animated Tree of Life that will dangle tempting fruit above the more than 50,000 festival goers.
Whoopi Goldberg will serve as the Grand Marshall for the 2014 parade, which starts at 7 p.m. and goes until 11 p.m.
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