Halloween Fest, featuring costume parade and floats, returns to downtown Riverhead Oct. 25

Riverhead’s Halloween Fest, including its popular costume parade, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 4 to 10 p.m. (Rain date Sunday, Oct. 26.)

This year’s event may even include a fireworks show to close out the night, Main Street Agency’s Diane Tucci told the Town Board at its work session this morning. Tucci said she is still working on fundraising for the display, but she said she felt confident about the prospects. 

All the activities will be in the town square: musical performances on the showmobile, downtown restaurants selling food, kids activities. 

“We’re bringing back the lamp post decorating contest,” Tucci said. 

Contestants will decorate the lamp posts that don’t have “Hometown Hero” banners on them, she said. There will be a $150 prize for the best-decorated pole. Golden Acres Farm will be putting corn stalks on all the poles that have the “Hometown Heroes” banners on them, Tucci said.

New this year will be a “pumpkin derby” — a race of pumpkins on wheels. Council Member Joann Waski suggested the pumpkin derby, Tucci said.

“I found another state where they have a Halloween party and they do a pumpkin derby,” Waski said.

That’s where you take a pumpkin and you put it on wheels, you can decorate it however you want. There’s different age groups, even adults. You push the pumpkin and the pumpkin first across the finish line wins.

It has to take place on a bit of a slope so they roll downhill, Waski said.

“Does the pumpkin need to stay on the cart to win?” Council Member Denise Merrifield asked, laughing.

“You get a pumpkin about this big around,” said Supervisor Tim Hubbard, cupping his hands to indicate a small sized pumpkin.  “It’s nice and light to push.”

Heidi Behr Way might be the right spot, Tucci said. She said if the board is OK with it, she will speak to Police Chief Ed Frost about it.
“I want to get the pumpkins donated so it won’t cost families anything to be in the race. People can just show up and have some fun with it,” she said.

The fireworks in the river at Alive on 25 went off really well, Tucci said. That’s where they’ll be shot off again. She’s been talking to the same fireworks company. 

“We really want to ramp up the parade this year Looking to make the parade route longer so people can really show off the floats they put so much effort into building,” Tucci said.

“I really hope people pull it out for the floats and participation in that,” she said. When I started this it was when it transferred from the Poe Festival, Tucci said, referring to a company the town had contracted with to put on an Edgar Allen Poe-themed downtown event. 

“I created the Halloween Festival, and my goal was to have the biggest and best Halloween parade on the island, Tucci said.

“I think it’s great if we have the fireworks for this, if we’re able to pull that off,” Waski said. “Because this is going to be the last event downtown before the shovel goes in the ground for the new town square and all the exciting things that are happening downtown. Like we’re going to go out with a bang and I think it’s going to be fabulous,” Waski said.

“This has always been my favorite event,” Hubbard said. “My family as a group gets together in costume for it. We’ve been in every parade. Hubbard said the  Halloween parade reminds him of the Main Street parades of his youth because of how big it is and the size of the crowd it draws.

“The coffin races and organized trick-or-treating are postponed for 2025 to allow enough time and resources for ample planning and safety preparation,” Tucci said after the work session.

“Organizers are working with community partners to bring them back in the future as part of Halloween Fest traditions,” she said.

The Halloween Fest website will have updated details posted as they are confirmed, she said.