Video by Karina Granda and Elizabeth Kreutz

The challenge: finding this year’s most predictable costumes—Michael Jackson, Bernie Madoff, swine flu, Max from Where the Wild Things Are, Lady Gaga and Balloon Boy—at the 36th Annual Village Halloween Parade. The result: epic fail for TONY, a win for New Yorkers’ creative impulse.

Think your costume ruled? Prove it—enter our Halloween costume contest.

Photographs by Sion Fullana

Shots from the West Village and Chelsea. Pam Anderson with Gumby? Check. Unambiguously gay Robins (without Batman)? Check.

[See more: 100+ sexy costumes, Costume roundup, part 2]

Photographs by Jim Kiernan

Costumes spotted in Union Square and environs; not all sexy, but many head-turning. (Well played, dudes dressed up as life-size light-up crosswalk signals.)

[See more: 100+ sexy costumes, Costume roundup Part 3]

Photographs by the Drunken Photographer

This year’s annual Halloween Madonnathon at Pyramid offered up many flavors of the Madge, from sexy boys in kilts paying homage to her 2001 Drowned World tour to naughty girls emulating her Erotica phase. Chip Duckett, host of the club’s weekly 1984 party, spun Madonna all night long—never repeating!—showcasing her more than 25 years (!) of hits. According to some in the crowd, this year’s edition was not as packed with actual Material Girls as past Madonnathons have been (perhaps everyone was saving their costumes for the next night). But that didn’t dampen the fun: The dance floor remained packed with enthusiasts late into the night.

Run this town
1. ING New York City Marathon
The 40th annual New York City marathon kicks off bright and early on Sunday, but as long as you’re not running, you’ve got time to stake out a spot and enjoy the event without shvitzing too much. If you live along the course you can stay close to home. However, the real excitement (and amusingly pained expressions) will be closer to the finish in Central Park. We recommend posting up on Park Drive between 86th and 90th Streets, a bit north of where the bigger crowds tend to congregate. Once you’ve worked up a healthy spectator’s appetite, skedaddle over to UWS brunchery Good Enough to Eat (483 Amsterdam Ave between 83rd and 84th Sts, 212-496-0163) for fluffy eggs, fruit-packed apple pancakes and plump buttermilk biscuits with strawberry butter.

Read more: Chefs and restaurateurs running the marathon

Corporate-approved awesomeness
2. The MetroPCS Masquerade with Weezer
It’s been a while since Weezer played a venue like Hammerstein Ballroom (311 W 34th St between Eighth and Ninth Aves, 212-279-7740), and given the timing, it’s safe to assume the band will have a few tricks up its sleeves. Since it’s an all-ages event, you can chat up the young’uns (in a noncreepy way, of course) to find out where the coolest fake IDsters will be trick-or-treating for booze after the show. Or alternatively, you could act like an adult and wander over to beer paradise The Ginger Man (11 E 36th St between Fifth and Madison Aves, 212-532-3740) to sample several festive drafts from Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales.

Go, New York; Go, New York; Go!
3. Knicks home opener
Don’t be surprised if it looks like everyone’s dressing up as A-Rod and Spike Lee this Halloween—as it turns out, Saturday is a huge sports day in the city. The Knicks kick off their season at Madison Square Garden against the 76ers (tip-off 7:30pm), providing the perfect out for Halloween haters who want to avoid the costumed legions. When the hoops finishes, you’ll still have time to catch the end of the all-important Game 3 (World Series, dummy!), where the Yankees take on the Phillies. (If you’re from Philadelphia, you’d better bunker yourself in Wogies for the night!) You can pop right across the street from MSG to the blue-collar Blarney Stone (710 Third Ave between 44th and 45th Sts, 212 490-0457) for some authentic atmosphere. Or if you’re feeling industrious, you can shoot uptown to Southern Hospitality (1460 Second Ave between 76th and 77th Sts, 212-249-1001), where Halloween and baseball share a double billing and you can get a drink featuring a scoop of ice cream in a pint of Guinness!

It’s Britney, bitches
4. The Material World
There’s no place like the Jewish Community Center (334 Amsterdam Ave between 75th and 76th Sts, 646-505-5708) to escape Halloween. Be prepared for some freakiness, though: Dan Fishback’s latest play delves into the Kabbalah studies of Madonna and Britney Spears, as well as some provocative stuff involving Eastern European lasses and gay boys with webcams. The show will leave you with plenty of fodder for discussion, so grab a late dinner at new UWS standout Recipe (452 Amsterdam Ave between 81st and 82nd Sts, 212-501-7755). Try the cast-iron seared scallops in brown-butter chestnut sauce, and be sure to leave room for the aromatic buttermilk panna cotta.

Freaks and creeps
5. Halloween…duh!
Ahh, how can we forget? Okay, you asked for it: Find spooky events, chase booze with candy at these UES bars, celebrate Dia de los Muertos, brave haunted houses, see House of the Devil, do something artsy.…  You get the idea. There’s no shortage of Halloween events, so take your pick and make sure your costume is up to snuff. When you’re done, go straight to bed and sleep off the zombifying effects of your revelry!

Revelers at Southern Hospitality last Halloween.

You tweeted, we listened. Or read, rather. SacksHo on Twitter asks: “Any suggestions for 10/31 that combines watching the world series & Halloween festivities in NYC?” Why, yes, you little virtual songbird, we do have a suggestion, and it’s Southern Hospitality.

It’s showing all the Yankees games, including Game 3, on its giant screen (and 14 HD screens), and offering punny drink specials like the MELKshake ($9; named after the Yankees’ Melky Cabrera, it consists of a scoop of ice cream in a Guinness).

On All Hallow’s Eve, costumed revelers (we’re thinking members of the Baseball Furies gang from The Warriors) can partake in a four-hour open bar ($45).

Have a question? Tweet us @timeoutnewyork, and we’ll hook you up.

We already told you where to go on Halloween, where the best costume shops are and what to eat. If you still don’t know what you want to be—check out these costume creators for some inspiration. Don’t worry if the extent of your makeup skills consists of cat whiskers or a beauty mark, just head to one of these shops for a complete transformation.

Makeup Mania
When: Oct 30, Oct 31 6am–10pm
How long: 15 minutes to one hour
Price: $19–$75
Includes: Special-effects makeup for monsters, gory looks including cuts and bruises, character makeup.
182 Allen St between E Houston and Stanton Sts (212-533-5900, makeupmania.com)

Read more »

Some people count down to Christmas; for me, it’s always been Halloween. (Only ten days!) The weather isn’t exactly cooperating—be fall already—but there’s an embarrassment of riches, spookswise, in theaters over the next couple of weeks. Tonight we recommend a relatively new horror anthology: Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat, a 2008 collection of interwoven shorts playing at 8:30pm at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The buzz is strong and serious—as if that photo above weren’t evidence enough.

Video by Karina Granda and Elizabeth Kreutz

We’ve all seen horror movies and know video crews have less chance of survival than cheerleaders. Regardless, we sent a crack team to check out the Nightmare: Vampires haunted house. Only one made it back with the footage so you can see what’s in store. The house is open from 3 to 11pm today if you’re feeling brave, or check out how Nightmare stacks up against two other haunted houses in our Halloween scare-off.

And if you see one of the undead at Nightmare: Vampires with a TONY microphone, tell them we want it back or we’ll dock their pay.

Looking for the perfect place to propose? Why not Lincoln Center’s famed Revson Fountain (Josie Robertson Plaza, Columbus Ave between 62nd and 65th Sts; lincolncenter.org), the very same place we watched Dr. Peter Venkman woo Dana Barrett in 1984’s Ghostbusters? You can be a part of history as the revamped waterworks—a year in the making—open to the public today. The new water “choreography” was engineered by WET, the same team that made the Bellagio fountains a fixture on the Las Vegas Strip, and which is currently designing the biggest fountain in the world for the Burj Dubai Skyscraper. What’s more, the architects (Diller Scofidio + Renfro)—who spiced up the Revson with a granite ring, automated wind-spray sensors and special lighting systems—are the masterminds behind our beloved High Line. Which might also be a great place to propose. We’re full of ideas.

Alternatively, if you’re getting psyched for Halloween (and already worrying about your costume), then go back to first-grade art class at Spaceworks (355 Bedford Ave at South 4th St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-599-2718, spacecraftbrooklyn.com). The eclectic supplies store hosts an evening of costume-making and “local creepy crafter” communing, tonight from 7 to 10pm. For $10, they provide refreshments (punch and beer), a raffle ticket and, of course, clothes.

Photos by Scott Dunay

Why delay another five months for Halloween to dress up in goblin outfits, ironic come-hither attire or a delightful combination of both? Last night at HiChristina, nobody wanted to wait. So they decided to celebrate the ‘ween in the  middle of May, with a 1970s-style singles soiree. We’re beginning to think that glitter zombies and candy go better with summer than fall.