Madison County's Halloween parades run across six days in 2026. Bethalto starts the week on Monday, October 26. Saturday, October 31, has four parades. Only one pair of them actually conflicts, and that's Edwardsville at 6:30 p.m. and Alton at 7 p.m. Every other parade gets its own day or its own block of hours.
The dates come from RiverBender's 2026 Halloween parade guide, published October 12 and checked against the organizers' own pages where they exist. If you're planning around kids, work schedules or out-of-town family, the most useful fact is the order the parades come in.
The Weeknights Go One Town at a Time
There's no parade on Tuesday or Wednesday. The weeknight parades go like this:
- Bethalto, Monday, October 26, 6:30 p.m. The Bethalto Rotary Club sponsors it. Lineup starts at 6 p.m. at Rose Lawn Cemetery on the Erwin Plegge side, and the parade ends around 8 p.m. at City Hall.
- East Alton, Thursday, October 29, 7 p.m. It has a new route this year. More on that below.
- Granite City, Friday, October 30, 6:30 p.m. The Halloween Glow Parade runs through Civic Park, and costumes are encouraged. Great Rivers & Routes lists it as free, running 6:30 to 10 p.m., with a free Michael Jackson tribute concert at The Mill afterward.
A Monday parade fits around a regular week. If your family wants Halloween to last more than one night, Bethalto and Granite City don't compete with anything else on the county calendar, and East Alton only competes with a school night.
Why East Alton Is Taking a Different Street
East Alton's 2026 route avoids construction. RiverBender's guide says it runs down N. Shamrock to W. St. Louis Avenue and ends at the American Legion on East Alton Avenue.
The construction is the Village of East Alton's water main replacement project, which started Monday, August 24, 2026. The work begins on W. St. Louis Avenue and several other streets. Through traffic on W. St. Louis is closed from Shamrock Street to Main Street on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., until the project is done. The Village hasn't posted a completion date.
The parade starts at 7 p.m. on a Thursday, after the weekday closure window ends. Even so, the route gives that stretch a wide berth. If you live in East Alton, the corner you usually watch from may not be on the route this year, so check the Village's posted information before you set up chairs. RiverBender's guide is the only source for the new route so far. The organizer hasn't posted its own map.
Saturday Runs on a Clock
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and four Madison County parades are packed into it. They're spread across the day:
| Time | Town | Start point | Route and finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:30 a.m. | Wood River | Emerick Sports Complex | Sixth St. south to Ferguson Ave., west to Wood River Ave., north to the Recreation Center |
| 1 to 3 p.m. | Hartford | Downtown Hartford | Downtown |
| 6:30 p.m. | Edwardsville / Glen Carbon | Lincoln Middle School lot, Schwarz and West Streets | St. Louis St. to Vandalia St., then North Main St., ending at High St. |
| 7 p.m. | Alton | Broadway and Washington Avenue | Same route as past years along Broadway |
Wood River's parade comes from the City of Wood River Fire Department's registration page. Lineup starts at 9:30 a.m., and entries should be Halloween-themed. Three $200 float prizes are on the line, and lineup assignments will be emailed and posted online by October 28.
A morning parade, an early afternoon parade and two evening parades leave plenty of open time in between. A family in Wood River or Hartford could watch a hometown parade in daylight and still make an evening parade. The real decision comes at dusk.
The 30 Minutes That Force a Choice
Edwardsville steps off at 6:30 p.m. and Alton at 7 p.m. Each has its own draw, so the details below are what should decide which one you pick.
Edwardsville Goes All In on Route 66
The Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce picked "Mother Road Memories" as its 2026 theme to mark Route 66's centennial year. The chamber asked entrants for classic cars, giant statues, roadside diners, neon lights, souvenir stands and other Route 66 icons. The Carlinville Rotary Club's parade in downtown Carlinville chose "Halloween on Route 66" for the same Saturday.
The chamber also posts more spectator details than any other organizer on this list:
- Parking. Use the "super lot" east of Main Street or side streets along the route. The Jerry's Tire Sales lot is reserved for handicap parking.
- Restrooms. Portable toilets will be at Walgreen's, First Mid Bank & Trust and Big Daddy's.
- Warming center. Newsong Fellowship at 201 St. Louis Street will be open to the public as a handicap-accessible warming center, with restrooms from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and hot chocolate.
- Weather. The parade runs rain or shine unless there's a public safety risk.
The chamber also asks parade vehicles to keep driving north on Main Street past High Street before anyone gets off. That keeps the crowd at the official end point from getting crushed, so if you're watching near High Street, expect floats to keep rolling past you. Judges pick winners in five categories, including a grand champion, and the Edwardsville Intelligencer will announce them. Fan Favorite voting opens Sunday, November 1, on the chamber's Facebook page.
Alton Has History on Its Side
Alton's parade is the 109th, and the East End Improvement Association has sponsored it since 1916. RiverBender reported on September 29 that the parade committee picked Sam Stemm as the 2026 parade marshal for his lifetime of leadership and entrepreneurship in Alton.
Stemm has been with Big Z Media for more than 40 years as sports director, program director and general manager, and he became president and majority owner in 2004. He's a past president of the Alton/Godfrey Rotary Club. His community work includes projects at Lincoln/Douglas Square, Alton Rotary Park and the Robert Wadlow Statue. He can still be heard on Friday editions of "Let's Talk."
The committee says the parade will follow the same route as in past years. The traditional route, as RiverBender's guide describes it, runs from Washington Avenue along Broadway to Piasa Street and ends at 9th Street. That guide's Alton entry prints the date as 2025, but the committee's September announcement confirms Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 7 p.m.
Edwardsville has a one-year theme tied to the Route 66 centennial and the most detailed spectator setup on the calendar. Alton has more than a century of history and a marshal whose name is on projects all over the city.
Watching Both From the Couch
You don't have to choose if you're willing to watch one of them on a screen. The City of Edwardsville streams its parade live on its Facebook page and posts the replay to its YouTube channel. RiverBender's guide says to watch Riverbender.com for an Alton livestream. You could stand on Broadway in person and catch the Mother Road floats on replay Sunday morning, then vote for a Fan Favorite once voting opens that day.
The rest of the week is easier to plan. Bethalto's Monday parade and Granite City's Friday Glow Parade don't overlap with anything, and Wood River's 10:30 a.m. start gives Halloween morning a parade before the evening ones.
If your PCS orders land you near Scott Air Force Base this fall, Madison County's parade calendar shows how much happens each week in the river towns north of the base. Veterans PCS Group can connect you with a veteran or military-spouse agent who knows these towns, from the Route 66 stretch through Edwardsville to the Broadway blocks in Alton. Find an Agent and tell them which parade route you'd like to live near.
