2009 Irvington Halloween Festival

Halloween in Irvington is celebrated with a flourish. The old town's namesake, Washington Irving, is honored in several ways along with other traditional authors of the American Romantic period that Irvington embodies. Poems by Poe, stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and ghost stories from the neighborhood's past all play a big role in the Halloween Festival.

My favorite part is the Saturday Festival, during which time they close E Wash St and let the crowds overtake it. It's a wonderful reminder that streets can be a great communal place.


This year was one of the best because of the great weather and the calendar - the Saturday of the festival was the 31st this year! I enjoyed the event and definitely found some interesting things. We bought some art, had some of the fish fry, and ended up with a giant paella cookset.


In general, it was great fun and the costumes we saw were amazing. We didn't stay for the whole event, but I would have loved to have seen the kids and the pets parading down main street.

Several live bands were playing

Death ponders a new form of transit

St. George and the Dragon

Witch, of the canine variety

My favorite costumes (pregnant cheerleader, Bender, and mad scientist)