New York Ag Connection - Spook-tacular Destinations to Celebrate Halloween

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Spook-tacular Destinations to Celebrate Halloween
New York Ag Connection - 10/25/2016

The nights are getting shorter, the leaves are changing color and pumpkin patches are ready for harvest-that means the wait for Halloween is almost over! While Halloween festivities originally began hundreds of years ago as part of a Celtic harvest festival known as All Hallow's Eve, today it's a backbone of American culture. Cities from coast to coast celebrate the ghost and ghoul season with festivals, costumes, haunted tours and spine-tingling rituals that provide entertainment to revelers of all ages. For those who want to make the spooky season last a bit longer, Día de los Muertos (literally Day of the Dead) is celebrated on November 2nd and has grown in popularity outside of Latin America in recent years thanks to its colorful parades, iconic sugar skulls, ubiquitous marigolds, fanciful costumes and fiendish face paint.

But how to choose from such an abundance of frightening activities? Don't panic! Whether you want to frolic in an extravagant costume or summon the haunted spirits of the night, Booking.com has harvested the 13 best locations to celebrate the spookiest time of the year, including Sleepy Hollow and New York City.

For a long time, Sleepy Hollow was actually known as North Tarrytown. However, since 1997, the original name of the village, which was immortalized in Washington Irving's short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, was reinstated. Festivities last until Nov. 13 and include taking a lantern-lit guided tour over Sleepy Hollow's cemetery and visiting the graves of Irving, William Rockefeller and Elizabeth Arden. You can also visit the 300-year-old Philipsburg Manor for a terrifying evening with the Headless Horseman, vampires, witches and ghosts. In Croton-on-Hudson you'll find another manor you shouldn't miss-the Van Cortlandt Manor, where you can admire an amazing display of 7,000 illuminated, hand-carved jack o' lanterns. This event is hugely popular, so make sure to reserve in advance!

The biggest Halloween event in the Big Apple is the Village Halloween Parade that takes place on Halloween itself. For a truly authentic experience, you can dress up and march along with thousands of New Yorkers in the 43rd edition of the parade, which runs straight up 6th Avenue from Spring Street to 16th Street. Of course you can also just watch this huge event from the sidelines, which includes hundreds of giant puppets, dozens of bands, artists and dancers. The parade starts at 7 p.m. but try to get there early if you want to watch. There are also several Day of the Dead celebrations in New York City, like the festival at Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta School on Staten Island on October 23rd, and the festival organized by Mano a Mano in St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, which takes place from Oct. 28-31. There's also a celebration on Nov. 1 at SacredWaters in Queens. Every festival has an ofrenda, a traditional altar where you can leave photos of deceased loved ones, flowers and offerings.

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