Clifton Halloween Parade & HarvestFest 2026: Your October 25 Guide
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
From the Halloween parade this Sunday to the 5K in mid-November, almost every community date on Clifton's fall calendar ends up at the same place, the City Hall Municipal Complex at 900 Clifton Avenue. The Clifton Recreation Department's Annual Halloween Parade and HarvestFest on Sunday, October 25, starts that run. Costume contestants register at seven meeting spots along Van Houten Avenue, six street corners and one parking lot, each marked by a neighborhood storefront or a school.
Once you know your meeting spot, the rest of Sunday is easy. Then it helps to know the City Hall complex well, because you'll be back there twice more before Thanksgiving.
According to the Clifton Times announcement, the parade steps off at 12:15 p.m. at the corner of Richardson Scale Park and Van Houten Avenue. It heads down Van Houten Avenue to the City Hall Municipal Complex, where costume judging takes place. The parade features the CHS Mustang Marching Band, along with special guests, floats, cars, and plenty of costumes.
You can't register ahead of time, online or otherwise. Everyone entering the costume contest has to be at their assigned spot between 11:30 a.m. and noon and register there before the parade starts. Anyone not registered before the parade begins isn't eligible for judging.
Here is the city's list of meeting spots:
| Category | Meeting spot on Van Houten Avenue | Landmark |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 0–3 | Corner of Sago St. | Total Garment Cleaners |
| Ages 4–5 | Edible Arrangements parking lot | Edible Arrangements |
| Ages 6–8 | Sebago St. | Instant oil-change shop on the corner |
| Ages 9–12 | Penobscot St. | John D. Pogorelec Jr. Law Offices |
| Floats & Families, 2–6 people | Orono St. | In front of Fashion Carpets |
| Pets | Monhegan St. | School #13 |
| Teens & Adults | Machias St. | School #13 |
Each costume can be entered in only one category, either individually by age group or as a family in the Floats & Families group. Families with kids in different age brackets should settle this before Sunday. You can split up and send each child to their own meeting spot, or enter together as one family unit at Orono Street. You can't do both.
The pet category has its own corner, at Monhegan Street by School #13. Teens and adults register at Machias Street, also by School #13. The city lists both groups at the same school, so expect costumed dogs and costumed adults to be registering in the same area.
The deadline for groups, mascots, and organizations to sign up to march was October 13 with the Recreation Department, so the lineup is now set.
In severe weather, the city scales the event down to just the costume contest and holds it in the Clifton High School gymnasium. Registration keeps the same 11:30 a.m. to noon window, and judging follows the Mustang Marching Band's 12:15 p.m. performance.
The Recreation Department's weather hotline is (973) 470-5680. It's worth a call Sunday morning if the sky looks uncertain, before you get everyone into costume and drive to Van Houten Avenue.
HarvestFest begins at the City Hall Municipal Complex at 11:30 a.m., before the parade even steps off, and runs until 4:30 p.m. Families who aren't marching can spend the morning at the complex and catch the parade as it arrives.
What the city lists for the afternoon:
The announcement is clear that HarvestFest is cash only, with no ATM on site. With most games and rides between a quarter and two dollars, a few small bills and a roll of quarters will get you further than one large bill a booth may have trouble breaking.
The Recreation Department also says it is always looking for volunteers, vendors, and nonprofit organizations, at (973) 470-5956. Local groups that want a table next year can start with that number.
The 24th Annual Apple Pie Baking Contest is part of HarvestFest, and unlike the costume contest, it requires online pre-registration. According to the Clifton Recreation calendar, registration closes Friday, October 23, at 4:00 p.m. That's tomorrow for anyone reading this on Thursday. Sign up through cliftonrec.com.
How Sunday works if you're entering:
The pie schedule changes completely in bad weather. If the costume judging moves indoors, the pie contest moves with it to the Clifton High School gym at 333 Colfax Avenue. Pies are then due between 11:30 a.m. and noon, and winners are announced at 1:00 p.m. A baker planning on the 1:00 drop-off could miss the rain-day judging entirely. Check the hotline before you leave home with the pie.
The City Hall complex where the parade ends is also where the next two Recreation Department events begin.
Saturday, November 7: Peddler's Village Apple Festival bus trip. The Recreation Department runs a family day trip to the apple festival at Peddler's Village in Lahaska, Pennsylvania. The $22 per person cost includes school-bus transportation. Meals and shopping are extra, and the listing warns that some vendors are cash only, which echoes HarvestFest. The pre-trip meeting is at 8:15 a.m. at the Lester F. Herrschaft Center for Seniors, which the calendar lists at 900 Clifton Avenue. The bus leaves at 8:30 a.m. sharp from the senior center lot at Linzenbold Drive and Dog Pound Road. Riders have to be back at the bus by 5:00 p.m. for the trip home, which arrives around 6:45 to 7:00 p.m. Anyone under 16 needs an adult. Online registration ends November 5, or sooner if the bus fills.
If you plan to eat at Peddler's Village, the listing notes that Earl's and the Cock & Bull restaurant require reservations in advance.
Sunday, November 15: 27th Annual Clifton 5K Stampede & Health Walk. The Recreation Department and the Clifton Roadrunners Club host the race from the City Hall complex. Race-day registration opens at 7:30 a.m., and the calendar lists the event from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. The course is USATF certified and part of the USATFNJ Grand Prix Series. Awards go to the top three male and female finishers in each age division, from 10 and under through 85 and over. There are also awards for the first police officer, firefighter, doctor or chiropractor, and educator to finish, plus the Matt Lalumia Award for the first active military member or veteran. After the race there's music, a raffle, and health booths with snacks.
The 5K has its own deadline that falls during Halloween week. Applications postmarked by Wednesday, October 28, are guaranteed a T-shirt. Fees go up as race day gets closer, so check the current price on the official RunSignup registration page before you sign up.
Put together, the next four weeks look like this:
If your group still has energy after the 4:30 p.m. wrap-up, Clifton has a new option for dinner. The Clifton Times reports that Shinjuku Station Revolving Sushi Bar opened Monday, October 12, at The Promenade Shops, 850 Route 3. It's the brand's second New Jersey location.
The format suits a group of kids still wound up from the parade. It's all-you-can-eat revolving sushi, and some dishes arrive by train and robot. The Clifton location is also the first in the brand to serve Japanese BBQ at dinner, so the adults have a reason to go besides the conveyor belt.
If the Van Houten Avenue parade gets you thinking about which Clifton blocks your family keeps coming back to, I'm glad to talk them through with you, in English or Spanish, whenever it suits you. Cesar Rosado works with Clifton families year-round. Let's Connect.
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