When did Merrick last get its costume parade and its trick-or-treating on the same day? It didn't happen last year. Halloween 2025 was a Friday, and the Merrick Chamber of Commerce held its annual parade on Saturday, Nov. 1, the morning after the candy had been handed out.
In 2026, Oct. 31 is a Saturday, and the Chamber's events calendar lists its Halloween Parade on that date. Last year the parade served as a postscript to Halloween. This year it's the main event, and Merrick's two public libraries and the Chamber's fall festival fill the days before it.
Why the Calendar Lines Up This Year
The 2025 parade was held on a Saturday morning, the day after Halloween. The Herald's coverage of that day describes local businesses handing out candy and treats to everyone who came. Its photos include a family of distant relatives of Boris Karloff, the actor who played Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film, who came dressed as wolves and as the monster himself.
This year the parade and the holiday are on the same day. For families, a child can march in the morning, keep the costume on, and go door to door that evening, all on one date. Everything leads up to Saturday.
Saturday Morning, Loines Avenue Park to Broadcast Plaza
The Chamber's own calendar entry gives the date but no time or route. A listing on South Nassau Moms gives the parade as free, running from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. It's listed as stepping off from Loines Avenue Park and finishing at the gazebo at Merrick Avenue and Broadcast Plaza. Because those details come from a community listing and not the Chamber itself, check the Chamber's page or social accounts the week of the parade before you set a meeting spot.
The gazebo is where the 2025 parade wrapped up, with merchants giving out treats there. The route itself has moved over the years. A 2013 Herald account describes a parade co-sponsored by Merrick Herald Life that started at Purick Park and headed south on Merrick Avenue to Veterans Memorial Plaza. The Herald called it an annual event in both 2013 and 2025, 12 years apart, and over that time the starting point and finish line changed. Both routes run along Merrick Avenue.
The Days Leading In
The lead-up starts at the train station and moves through two library buildings. Here is the week in order. Times are as each organizer lists them.
Thursday, Oct. 22. Merrick Library runs Creepy Slime Lab for grades 2 through 6, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Oct. 25. The Merrick Fall Festival sets up at the Merrick Railroad Station at Sunrise Highway and Merrick Avenue. Carnival rides open at 6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The street fair runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 28. Merrick Library hosts family Halloween Bingo, 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. North Merrick Public Library runs its Spooky Walk, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 29. Merrick Library offers Halloween Babies, Books, & Blocks in the morning and Monster Basket Weaving in the afternoon.
Friday, Oct. 30. Merrick Library holds a preschool party in the morning and shows a classic film after lunch.
Saturday, Oct. 31. North Merrick Public Library's Halloween Storytime and Parade and the Chamber parade both run in the morning, followed by trick-or-treating.
The weekend at the station opens the week. The library schedules are where it gets crowded.
Wednesday Is the Night to Plan
Oct. 28 has the most overlap. Merrick Library's Halloween Bingo is in the Children's Workshop and requires registration. Registration opened Oct. 15 for library-card holders and opens Oct. 22 for everyone else. If you don't have a Merrick Library card, today is the first day you can register for Bingo.
At the same hour, North Merrick Public Library's Spooky Walk opens at the North Merrick Community Room and Outdoor Pavilion. The library describes a spooky path, pumpkin voting, refreshments and family photo spots. Decorated or carved pumpkins can be dropped off that afternoon from 3 to 5 p.m. to be part of the display. The event page labels the walk as in-person but also mentions an online-event link, so check with the library on how attendance works before you go.
The two schedules leave some room. Bingo ends at 7:15, and the Spooky Walk runs until 8. That leaves 45 minutes after Bingo for families who want to do both. A pumpkin dropped off in North Merrick at 4 p.m. will be on display for voting that same evening.
Thursday and Friday Fill In the Gaps
Thursday at Merrick Library is set up by age. Halloween Babies, Books, & Blocks is for children up to 18 months, 10:30 to 11:15 a.m., with no registration needed. Monster Basket Weaving is for grades 2 through 6, 4 to 5 p.m., and does require registration. Both are in the Children's Workshop.
On Friday morning, Merrick Library's Preschool Halloween Party for ages 2 to 5 runs 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. in the Community Room, with registration required. That afternoon, Merrick Library's Black & White Friday Frights shows "The Night of the Hunter" from 1 to 2:45 p.m. in the Community Room. No registration is required. It's the one item on the week's calendar aimed at adults.
Saturday Morning Has Two Parades
The overlap the week builds toward comes on Halloween itself. North Merrick Public Library lists its Halloween Storytime and Parade for children up to age five, not yet in kindergarten, on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Outdoor Pavilion. Kids come in costume for Halloween stories and then go trick-or-treating through the building. The Chamber parade is listed for 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The two windows overlap by half an hour, so families with a preschooler will need to pick one or plan the trip between them.
What Comes After Saturday
In 2025, the parade came after the holiday. This year, the only thing on the calendar after Halloween is North Merrick Public Library's Pumpkin Smash on Nov. 8, which the Spooky Walk page points to as the follow-up. Any pumpkin still on a front step after the 31st now has a place to go a week later.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., Oct. 28, 3 to 5 p.m. | Pumpkin drop-off for Spooky Walk | North Merrick Public Library |
| Wed., Oct. 28, 6:30 to 8 p.m. | Spooky Walk and pumpkin voting | North Merrick Community Room and Outdoor Pavilion |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 10 to 11 a.m. | Halloween Storytime and Parade | North Merrick Outdoor Pavilion |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., as listed | Merrick Chamber Halloween Parade | Loines Avenue Park to the gazebo at Merrick Ave. and Broadcast Plaza |
| Sun., Nov. 8 | Pumpkin Smash | North Merrick Public Library |
The Chamber parade's listed start is 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 31 at Loines Avenue Park.
Robyn Goldowski follows Merrick's community calendar as closely as its sales. If your house sits along the parade route or near one of these library events and you'd like to know what it's worth this fall, start with an instant home valuation and Robyn will follow up with the local detail behind the number.
