Chicago’s 11th Annual Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade Scheduled for Saturday, October 18, 2025
Though Chicagoans are now sweltering in humid August weather, it never seems too early to plan for the iconic fall holiday of Halloween. With that, Chicago’s LUMA8 (Light Up My Arts) has announced its 11th Annual Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade, a family-friendly event featuring unique floats, spectacle puppets, and all forms of creative performance on Saturday, October 18, from 6-8 p.m. along historic State Street.
This magical evening procession celebrates Halloween as the “artist’s holiday” and draws together participants from major cultural organizations, inspiring youth programs, and aspiring artists in every field and from every ward of Chicago. 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 100,000 gathered along State Street. In addition to the evening parade of vibrancy and fun, a full day of additional cultural experiences will soon be announced.
While it is a ‘Halloween’ parade, the participants are not bound by a ‘Halloween’ theme; each group is invited to showcase who they are as an organization with music, dance, costumes, and other dramatic visual elements.
The parade has featured an array of cultural and ethnic representation, including a powerful representation of Black and Mexican cultures throughout a plethora of groups. Additionally, the parade will feature a diverse mix of Irish, Columbian, Polynesian, Brazilian, South Asia, Korean, Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Chinese, Indonesian, Peruvian, and LGTBQ+ organizations and groups.
These and many more groups capture the expanse of Chicago’s cultural landscape in areas including film, photography, museums, visual arts, theatre, architecture, drag performance, fashion, dance, circus arts, creative youth, hip-hop, jazz, rock, opera, street arts, fire arts, drumlines, puppeteers and so much more! Illustrating the vast range of artistry, participants this year span from Ballet Folklorico de Chicago to the South Side Jazz Coalition, from CircEsteem to the Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles. A complete parade lineup will be released in September.
“I am thrilled to see scores of Chicago arts organizations bring their inspiration and creativity to State Street as we celebrate Chicago as a world-class cultural capital,” said Mark Kelly, Arts in the Dark Parade co-founder and artistic director. “Our artists, arts organizations, the humanities, libraries, colleges and universities, and all the cultural forces that are vital to our city and nation are under attack. We need to come together to honor and support our cultural community now more than ever.”
Arts in the Dark is presented by LUMA8 and the City of Chicago with major support from the Chicago Loop Alliance and Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago. It is produced in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).
For more information visit artsinthedark.org or LUMA8.org.
