Hotels near Krewe of BOO!

The Krewe of BOO! is the official New Orleans Halloween parade, and it is the single event that turns the city's Mardi Gras machinery toward ghosts and ghouls. The krewe became the city's official Halloween parade in 2007, and on Saturday 24 October 2026 it rolls at 6:30pm, just after sunset. Admission is free and the crowd is mixed: families with trick-or-treat bags at the start, costumed adults with drinks further along. More than 1,000 participants take part, including marching bands, dance troupes and stilt walkers, and riders throw Halloween beads, toys and candy from the floats.

The floats themselves are the draw. They are built by Kern Studios, the same company behind many Mardi Gras parades, with werewolves, vampires and skulls sculpted in 3-D fiberglass and papier-mache. According to the official Krewe of BOO! route, the parade assembles on Elysian Fields Avenue, turns onto North Peters Street and Decatur Street past Jackson Square, rejoins North Peters to Canal Street, makes a U-turn at Burgundy Street and then follows Tchoupitoulas Street to Andrew Higgins Drive in the Warehouse District. The full route runs roughly 3 miles (about 5 km).

This Halloween parade New Orleans locals treat as the start of the season also anchors a weekend of side events. The Monster Mash after-party starts at 8pm on 24 October at Generations Hall, 310 Andrew Higgins Boulevard, near the end of the route, with general admission and VIP tickets sold separately. The day before, Friday 23 October, a free Cocktails in the Courtyard happy hour with a jazz second line runs from 3pm to 6pm at Pat O'Brien's on St. Peter Street.

Pro Tip: Stake out a spot on Decatur Street between Jackson Square and the French Market by 5:30pm. The floats reach this stretch early, the street is narrow enough to catch throws, and you can walk to Frenchmen Street for dinner afterwards instead of fighting Canal Street crowds.