Entertainment

Halloween parades for suburbanites - and their cleverly costumed canines

Posted October 10, 2019 12:45 pm

By Scott C. Morgan

Dogs are invited to come in costume to Long Grove's Halloween Hound Parade. Courtesy of Grimaldi Public Relations

Halloween season is in full swing, and so are costume parades. Here are a few in the city and suburbs - some designed for people, others for cleverly costumed pups.

Check your local park district for more.

For people ...

• A zombie parade is one of the terrifying events of Nightmare on Chicago Street from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, between Douglas Avenue and Villa Street in Elgin. Kids 17 and younger are not admitted without a parent or guardian. Visit nightmareonchicagostreet.com for tickets and information.

The Arts in the Dark Nighttime Parade returns to Chicago's State Street from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19. Courtesy of LUMA 8 and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

• On the family-friendly scale is the Arts in the Dark 2019 Halloween Parade sponsored by LUMA 8 plus the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. This year's theme is a salute to the "Year of Chicago Theatre." The parade travels along State Street between Lake and Van Buren streets in Chicago from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19. Free. (312) 742-7529 or artsinthedark.org.

• An estimated 2,500 kids and parents are expected for the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce's Halloween Festival & Parade from 9:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, in downtown Glen Ellyn. Free. glenellynchamber.com.

• A parade is part of the family-friendly Batfest along the Batavia Riverwalk at Houston Street and Island Avenue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. Free. downtownbatavia.com.

• The Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce's Annual Halloween Walk has a parade for kids and parents from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Jewel Shopping Center, 696 Northwest Hwy., Cary. Free. carygrovechamber.com.

• The West Loop Families Halloween Parade happens from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at Mary Bartelme Park, 115 S. Sangamon St., Chicago. Free admission, but tickets requested. eventbrite.com.

• Families are also the focus of Safe Trick-or Treating with a costume parade from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, in downtown Downers Grove. Free. downtowndg.org.

• On the more grown-up scale is the Northalsted Business Association's 23rd Annual Halloween Parade. See plenty of gender-bending drag and cosplay creations along North Halsted Street between Belmont and Brompton avenues in Chicago at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31 (6:30 p.m. for participants). There are up to $4,000 in cash prizes. Free. hauntedhalsted.com.

The Spooky Pooch Parade returns to the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe on Sunday, Oct. 13. Courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden

... and pooches

• The Spooky Pooch Parade is one of the few times that the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe allows dogs. You can enter your pup as a participant or watch as a spectator. It's from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13. (847) 835-6801 or chicagobotanic.org for entry fees.

• A doggy egg hunt is a bonus for bowsers competing in the Howl-O-Ween Pooch Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at Willow Stream Park in Buffalo Grove. Free. vbg.org.

Balvenie, a Scottish terrier owned by Karen Hull of Chicago, was nationalistically dressed during a previous Pet Costume Parade and Contest at Randhurst Village in Mount Prospect. Daily Herald File Photo

• A Costume Pet Parade is part of the Randhurst Village Fall Fest at the intersection of Rand and Elmhurst roads in Mount Prospect. Canines in costume start the festivities at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19. Free. (847) 259-0500 or randhurstvillage.com.

• A Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade marches through Towne Park in Algonquin from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. There is a $5 entry fee for dogs to compete for prizes. algonquin.org.

The Geneva Park District Howl O' Ween Dog Parade is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. Courtesy of Geneva Park District

• Peck Farm Park in Geneva hosts a Howl O' Ween Dog Parade at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. Free. (630) 232-4542 or genevaparks.org.

• And then there is a Halloween Hound Parade/Pet Costume Parade in downtown Long Grove at 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 27. Free. (847) 634-0888 or longgrove.org.

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