It doesn’t get any more local than this. The Jumbo Circus Peanuts originally formed to be the marching band for the inaugural Portsmouth Halloween Parade in 1995. That parade started at South Mill Pond and ended at Vaughan Mall, known these days as Jimmy’s back parking lot. For the first few years of the PHP’s existence the JCP played fundraising parties at various venues in downtown Portsmouth before settling in at the Portsmouth VFW Hall on Deer Street, just a bone’s throw from Jimmy’s. There they ran off a string of legendary Halloween parties, all benefiting the Halloween Parade, before the VFW closed in 2016.

Now, some 30 years down the road and for the first time since 2018, the two entities are getting back together for a very special Monday night at Jimmy’s with all proceeds going to the PHP. The Portsmouth Halloween Parade is a grassroots, all-inclusive celebration of community, creativity, and free expression that walks, stalks, dances, trumpets, and drums its way through downtown Portsmouth each year on October 31st at 7 pm. Lauded for its creativity, it was included in USA Today’s Top 10 Halloween Parades in 2023. Hundreds march in costume and thousands cheer from the sidelines, it’s always a spectacle from either side of the curb.

The JCP will be opening their trick or treat bag of funk, soul, and horn-driven rock & roll for a night of dancing and revelry. Costumes are strongly encouraged.

The Portsmouth Halloween Parade is independently organized – it is not a City-sponsored event. It is entirely funded and put on by the community, which rallies many benefits to raise funds to cover expenses of insurance, permits, and police detail. The parade is a 501(c)3 so all donations are tax deductible.

TICKETS – $15 in advance (plus fees) / $20 (day of) – Don’t wait long though as they usually sell out!!!

We will be selling merchandise at this event.