Where Nyack's October Calendar Meets the New Memorial Park Path

The gravel is gone. The stretch of Memorial Park along the Hudson, from the pedestrian bridge south to the fishing pier, now has a smooth, flat, ADA-accessible path. New seating, picnic tables, lighting and rain gardens line the walk, and a pad has been set aside for future public art. According to the Village of Nyack's capital projects page, construction ran from March 30 to June 30, 2026. The state and the village held the ribbon-cutting on August 27.

That makes this October the path's first full autumn, and it lines up with the busiest month on Nyack's calendar. Over the next three weeks, Main Street and Broadway will host a theater festival, a 300-booth street fair and a Halloween parade. For the first time, the riverfront a few blocks east offers a finished, accessible alternative on the same days. Last year's Halloween parade stepped off from that same park.

What Changed Along the Water

The New York Department of State announcement describes four pieces of work paid for through the state's Local Waterfront Revitalization Program:

• An accessible pathway from the pedestrian bridge south to the fishing pier, replacing a gravel path that was hard to walk
• Shoreline stabilization using landscaping and other materials, meant to help the bank hold up against storm surge
• An art installation pad for future public art
• New gathering spaces, picnic tables, landscaping, lighting and rain gardens

The state release puts its grant at $417,000. The village's own project page lists $412,276 from the Department of State plus a $139,092 village match. Weston & Sampson designed the work with a project advisory committee, and A-Tech Concrete built it.

News 12 Hudson Valley's coverage of the opening noted that the park stays open to the public with no admission fee and no residency requirement. The path builds on earlier waterfront projects. These include the walkway linking Memorial Park to the Village marina, the inlet pedestrian bridge, and the fishing pier with its accessible boat ramp.

The October Dates, in Order

The path matters more this month because the downtown schedule is so full. Here is how October lays out.

The Phoenix Theatre Festival is back for its fifth season and runs through most of the month. Its performances are spread across the calendar, so the downtown pull continues on weeknights too.

Street Fair Sunday, and the Blocks Just East of It

According to its Visit Nyack listing, the October 11 street fair brings more than 300 exhibitors to Main, Broadway and Cedar, with food, vendors and music at the Gazebo. The village's street fair page warns of road closures and detours on fair days and gives fair hours as 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., an hour later than the event listing. Visit Nyack notes that Sunday parking is free on village streets and in five municipal lots.

The fair takes over the downtown grid, and the river path sits just outside it. The pedestrian bridge connects the village to Memorial Park, so on a closed-street Sunday the waterfront is a short walk from the booths without any need to drive. The path's picnic tables and seating weren't there for last year's October fair.

Main Street Between the Big Weekends

The quieter October days have new reasons to walk downtown, and a few of them are recent changes to familiar storefronts.

Big Red Books, 120 Main Street. After founder Richie Fulco closed the store, three sisters, Kara Trinler, Nicole Trinler and Emma Crouchen, bought it and reopened it in early September, according to Nyack News & Views. All three live locally. They run the store together around their other jobs and have applied for permits for a small coffee bar inside and a more finished outdoor space behind the store for author readings and book clubs. "First and foremost, this is a bookstore. We don't want it to be a cafe with books," Emma told the paper. Kara is building a section of children's and adult books about neurodivergence and wants the store to feel welcoming for neurodivergent kids and their families.

Early Bird Coffee, 7 South Broadway. This café opened in early June and is open seven days a week. It's on Broadway near the street fair's footprint, which makes it an easy first stop on a fair morning before the booths fill up.

Hopper's Nyack Flash Sketch Mob, October 10. The group meets at Edward Hopper House, 82 N Broadway, and then spreads out to sketch around downtown. It falls on the Saturday before the fair, while the streets are still open.

The Thursday farmers market. The Nyack Chamber lists the market outdoors in the Main Street parking lot every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. through November. Because it runs midweek, it never overlaps with the fair or the parade.

One storefront has closed since spring. Kantina Kita, the sushi restaurant at 145 Main Street, closed on May 30, 2026.

October 24 and the Park

The Nyack Chamber of Commerce has the 2026 parade on Saturday, October 24, at 5:30 p.m., with October 25 as the rain date. The Chamber hasn't published a route, theme or closure schedule for this year.

Last year's details are the best guide available. The village's 2025 calendar entry said the parade stepped off from Memorial Park at Depew Avenue and that road closures were expected to begin around 3 p.m. In 2025, Nyack News & Views listed pet judging at noon, costume judging at 3 p.m. and the 5:30 p.m. step-off from Memorial Park at 51 Piermont Avenue. None of that is confirmed for 2026. Still, if the parade stages at Memorial Park again, this is the first year the gathering crowd will have a paved, lit path along the water instead of the old gravel.

After the parade, Nyack Center holds its 15th annual Monster Mash. Entry is free, and games and food cost extra. The rain date is also October 25. Nyack Center is at 58 Depew Avenue, on the same street as the park entrance where the parade has started in past years.

More work is underway on that corridor. The village says Safe Routes to School construction began in August 2026 and will add 10,940 feet of new sidewalk with better connections to Depew Avenue and Main Street. The village page doesn't give a finish date, so expect some active work zones on parade night.

After the Costumes, Into November

The calendar quiets after the parade but doesn't stop. The Angel Nyack, at 18 S Broadway, lists a grand opening for Capoeira Luanda Nyack on November 7. That same evening, Nyack Center hosts its Legacy Gala at 7 p.m. The Thursday farmers market runs through the month.

The shoreline path doesn't follow a season. With the street-fair booths and parade floats gone, the stretch from the pedestrian bridge to the fishing pier stays open to the public, with no admission fee.

The waterfront has always shaped how Nyack feels to live in, and that holds true when a home on these streets changes hands. If you're thinking about a home close to the river or the downtown blocks the fair and parade fill each fall, Catherine Hotaling can help you understand how that part of the village works day to day. You can also see more about living near Nyack's waterfront. Let's Connect.