Arts in the Dark, the nighttime Halloween Parade will march down State Street for a "parade like no other", said Mark Kelly, Arts in the Dark parade Co-founder and Artistic Director.
This year's procession will include more than 90 contingents including musicians, puppets, dancers, stilt walkers, fire eaters, jazz bands and much more.
"It's one of the signature events in the city. We're celebrating our arts community and we do it in a very funky way on State Street at night," he said.
This magical evening procession celebrates Halloween as the “artist’s holiday” and draws together participants from cultural organizations, youth programs, and aspiring artists in every field and from every ward of Chicago.
"When we talk about the cultural landscape of the city of course we think of the Art Institute, The Goodman, Steppenwolf, and we love all those but creativity lives and is fermented in neighborhoods and in youth organizations." said Kelly.
Named ‘one of the best Halloween celebrations in the world’ by UK-based Wanderlust Magazine and included in USA Today’s 10 best Halloween parades, this dazzling production delights an audience of over 10,000 gathered along State Street.
For the first time, this year’s parade will feature 8 Creative Guilds made up of creative professionals from different organizations who will unite to represent their respective fields, coming together to celebrate solidarity. These guilds include architects (nearly 100 individuals wearing their own sculptural headpiece creations), photographers, audio makers (interviewing the parade audience members to create a podcast), as well as writers, poets, visual artists, theater professionals, and film makers. Artists will bring a 50-foot cosmic serpent, a 40-foot glow worm, a motorized bathtub, and 16 giant skeletons into the mix.
"The museum of contemporary photography of Columbia College has organized 120 photographers across the spectrum and there will be a paparazzi unit coming down the parade. You'll see them coming-boom, boom, flash, flash all these cameras. They will document the parade from the route and they will do an exhibit after the parade," Kelly said.
This year’s parade will feature 3 colleges, 8 high schools, 20+ dance companies, and 15+ music groups across many genres. Students at Columbia College used the parade as part of one of their classes.
"Our students in our Big Chicago class need to tie in Chicago in some kind of historical way. We're having them research the history of the city's stockyards and also celebrating as they dress as the ghosts of stockyard animals which is the theme of our troupe in the parade," said Taylor Hokanson, teacher, Columbia College.
"Students used Paper Mache to come up with costumes for the parade. I'm really excited for our students to come out of the classroom and engage directly with culture that's happening in real life and be authors of that culture and push forward that conversation." he said.
The parade features an array of cultural and ethnic groups, including a powerful representation of Black and Mexican cultures. Additionally, the parade will feature Irish, Colombian, Brazilian, South Asia, Korean, Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Peruvian, and LGTBQ+ organizations and groups.
Another new element of the parade this year is a spectacular DIY costume contest for parade-goers, presented by Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago – a major supporter of this year’s Arts in the Dark parade. Goodwill invites Chicagoland residents to participate in The Haunted Runway Costume Contest by creating a parade-ready look. After community voting, five finalists will showcase their artistry in the parade, where thousands of parade-goers will cast their vote for the ultimate winner. Visit your neighborhood Goodwill in Greater Chicago for thrifting from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
To enter the contest, folks can create their own DIY or homemade costumes, snap a photo of the look and submit it online at here. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $250 Goodwill gift card and VIP seating for four at next year’s Arts in the Dark Parade. Four runners-up will each receive a $100 Goodwill gift card, and 10 people who participate in live voting on the night of the parade will be randomly selected to receive $25 Goodwill gift cards. All entries must be submitted by the deadline on October 8. Finalists will be announced on October 9, and the grand prize winner will be announced on October 20, 2025.
Arts in the Dak is presented by LUMA8 and the City of Chicago with Major Support from Chicago Loop Alliance and Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago. LUMA8 is a recipient of a 2025 Chicago Presents Grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). Support for Arts in the Dark also is provided by Amazon, CHOOSE Chicago, Harris Theater – Millennium Park, Ferrara, Illinois Arts Council, Industry Ales, Italian Village Restaurants, Millennium Garages, William Blair, theWit Hotel, Arts in the Dark is a part of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Fall Fest 2025. This year's parade emcees are WBBM's Lisa Fielding and Brandon Ison.
