Top Kid-Friendly Activities For The Week (October 28-30)

Central Park's Halloween Parade and Pumpkin Flotilla will take place this Sunday! Photo via centralparknyc.org. — Central Park’s Halloween Parade and Pumpkin Flotilla will take place this Sunday! Photo via centralparknyc.org.

The weekend before Halloween is almost here, and you know what that means! Tons of spook-tacular events for your little ghosts and goblins. This year’s festivities include trick-or-treating at Lincoln Center, a haunted celebration at the High Line, an outdoor Halloween fest at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and a costume parade plus pumpkin flotilla in Central Park. For those who prefer some non-Halloween fun, there’ll be a performance of “The Ugly Duckling” at Symphony Space and a Children’s Fall Festival at the Queens County Farm Museum. For more Halloween happenings occurring throughout the city, click here.

Saturday, October 29

Lightwire Theater: “The Ugly Duckling”
Symphony Space
11am & 2pm
This Saturday enjoy the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale of “The Ugly Duckling” performed by the award-winning Lightwire Theater at Symphony Space. The company, featured on “America’s Got Talent,” will bring the story to life with high-tech wiring to create glow-in-the-dark 3D puppets and props. Tickets are $17.

LC Trick-Or-Treat 2016
Lincoln Center
11am-1pm
Bring your little ghouls and goblins to Lincoln Center where a festive Halloween celebration will take over its plazas, including costumes, candy, live performances, and more. Activities abound such as a scavenger “haunt,” a craft workshop with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, a costume parade, story-time with author Peter Brown, and a David Bowie-themed children’s dance party! This event is free.

Haunted High Line Halloween
The High Line
11am-3pm
Learn all about the history of the West Side of Manhattan during this free celebration at the High Line. Listen to historic tales about the meatpacking district with the Meatpacker Ghost, and enjoy face painting, a scavenger hunt, dancing, and live music! This event is free and will take place rain or shine.

Ghouls & Gourds 2016
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
12-5:30pm
Take part in Brooklyn’s wackiest Halloween parade at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden! Kids will jump at the chance to dance with “Victorian creatures” from the Mettawee River Theatre Company and have the opportunity to learn all about creepy crawly bugs at Dr. Rutledge’s Insectorium and Petting Zoo. Plus don’t forget to stop by the Children’s Book Barn for readings and autographs from local authors and illustrators such as Melanie Hope Greenberg and Nancy Carpenter. Entertainers scheduled to perform include the Shinbone Alley Stilt Band, Billy Jonas & the Band, and Phydeaux’s Flying Flea Circus of Fate. Admission is $15 for adults and free for children under 12. This event will take place rain or shine.

Sunday, October 30

Children’s Fall Festival
Queens County Farm Museum
11am-4pm
Spend the day before Halloween at the Queens County Farm Museum’s Children’s Fall Festival. The afternoon will feature games, bounce houses, the ConEdison Ecology booth, pig races, live country music, a Haunted House, pony and hay rides, and much more. All are encouraged to come dressed in costume! Admission is $5; additional fees apply for some activities. Fest-goers are urged to arrive early.

Halloween Parade and Pumpkin Flotilla
Central Park
3:30-7pm
Head to Central Park for a costume parade, pumpkin carving demos, spooky stories with Story Laurie, and a pumpkin flotilla on the Harlem Meer. This year’s event will feature a live bat demon-stration presented by the Organization for Bat Conservation and a craft project hosted by Martha Stewart Living. Click here for pumpkin flotilla rules and guidelines. This event is free.

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Play On! Studios

Play On! Studios offers theater day camps and after-school classes on the UWS that are guaranteed to give kids a summer full of acting, music, and fun they won't soon forget! Young actors will rehearse and perform in a full production, work with professional NYC actors/teaching artists, build up their skills in a nurturing, non-competitive environment and play lots of drama games! Creative Drama Camps are perfect for kids entering grades K-4. Campers will work each week to put on a brand-new show! Each session, they will receive a script, rehearse a production, make a set and costumes, and perform their play. Kids will also play drama games, play outside (weather permitting), and have tons of fun! Musical Theater Camps are aimed at kids entering grades 4-9. In Musical Theater Performance Camp, campers put on a complete musical production in a professional NYC theater! Campers will stretch their skills with drama exercises and games, vocal coaching, field trips, and building a professional set. Our incredible teaching artists and campers come together to put on a truly remarkable show! During the school year, classes are great for beginners or more experienced actors - sing, dance, and put on a play! Whether your child is just starting out, or ready for Broadway, we&rsquo;ve got the class for them. Classes are available for grades PreK-8, after school or on Saturdays! Come play with us. &nbsp;

Yuletide Factory

Fill your hearts with circus cheer&mdash;the merry daredevils of Cirque Mechanics (Zephyr, 2023) are back with an industrial-strength spectacular for you and your kin. Sparkling with holiday spirit, the ever energetic ensemble of acrobats transforms a drab assembly plant into a holly jolly Yuletide Factory! From the wonder of the German wheel to festive flips from the trampoline wall, they dash and dance through a pageant of powerhouse stunts with grins and goodwill. It&rsquo;s high-flying fun, comfort and joy for the whole family!

Instituto Cervantes

Children and teenagers learn to understand and express themselves in Spanish, while improving their communication skills through a dynamic immersion program taught by NATIVE TEACHERS that combines CLASSES, ARTISTIC WORKSHOPS and FUN ACTIVITIES! All of our high-qualified teachers are native Spanish speakers who adapt the structure of the class to the needs and levels of each group while conducting the classes entirely in Spanish. We offer both Spanish Summer Camps and Regular Courses for children along the year to foster language learning and multicultural understanding.