One of the region's biggest and most boisterous Halloween Parades returned Saturday after a two-year COVID hiatus and around 20,000 turned out along South Broadway

Main Street and Waverly Place were awash with kids, color and candy Saturday afternoon, Oct. 29, as the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce Halloween Parade and Magic Show returned to the downtown.

The village gets into the Halloween spirit, with local school students painting shop windows in the weeks before and costume and float contests held prior to the parade. This year, a pet costume contest was added.

A tradition for more than 40 years, the Nyack Chamber of Commerce and village event is known for hits homegrown vibe.

Throngs of children and parents in cute and clever costumes began gathering in front of the Hartley Dodge Memorial building at about noon Saturday before parading down Kings Road, Green Village Road and Main Street before reaching their terminus on Waverly Place.

Waiting for them there was magician Joe Fischer, whose antics and interactive show returned to its usual location this year after a rainstorm forced forced the performance inside the Madison Community Arts Center in 2021.

After the show, kids trick-or-treated at a number of downtown businesses, many of which offered unique sales or deals of 15- and 25-percent-off merchandise for parents.

Many families who participated in the parade stayed downtown into the late afternoon. Even at 4 p.m., four hours after the event began, it was hard to miss the occasional unicorn dining curbside or a witch drinking bubble tea.