Through October 26
Summer’s long gone, but that doesn’t mean that Luna Park is shuttered for the season–quite the opposite, actually! Luna Park Halloween Harvest is getting Brooklyn in the fall spirit with weekend pumpkin picking, painting, and carving, festive costumes, trick or treating, and an array of Halloween-themed goodies! Weekends 12-8pm, lunaparknyc.com
Through October 31
New York Botanical Gardens’ annual Haunted Pumpkin Garden exhibition features over 500 intricately carved pumpkins that mesmerize and terrify alongside gargantuan pumpkin sculptures that impress with their size alone. Be prepared to brave scarecrows that live up to their name, plenty of ghastly ghouls, and more. Tues-Sun, 10am-6pm, nybg.org
Through November 3
Boo at the Zoo, a true NYC Halloween tradition at the Bronx Zoo, gets a fiery Dinos & Dragons twist with an extended dinosaur safari and all-new komodo dragain exhibit. Delight in a family hayride, a mysterious maze, pumpkin carving, and a costume parade—then let a haunted mansion, spooky live music, and magic shows send even more shivers down your spine. 11am-5pm weekends, bronxzoo.com
October 13
Enjoy spooky readings, arts and crafts, cupcake decorating, and a live contest at Citibabes’ Halloween Spooktacular. Best of all, the tot-friendly affair will be captured on camera by Bellamy Blue Photography, so you can remember what a scarily fun blast you had for years to come. 10am-1pm, citibabesspooktacular.eventbrite.com
October 20
Get in the Halloween spirit with a ghoulish evening at Symphony Space! PhilharMONSTER features performances from InterSchool Orchestras of New York’s Carnegie Hall Orchestra and ISO Symphonic Band, with the young musicians (aged 8-19) all dressed in spooky costumes–children and parents are encouraged to do the same! 4pm, symphonyspace.org
Have your kids put on their costumes and their boogie shoes for the 9th Annual Halloween Disco at Baby Loves Disco. Children from 6-months to 7-years of age can get their Halloween groove on with contests, prizes, tricks, and treats! 12-3pm, babylovesdisco.com
October 20
Take advantage of the beautiful fall weather with an activity-filled day outdoors at the Harvest Fest & Pumpkin Patch. Bring the whole family over to Queens Botanical Garden for a bird and nature walk, petting zoo and pony rides, kid-geared crafts, face-painting, string band performances, and a full spectrum of seasonal October treats. 11am-6pm, queensbotanical.org
October 26
Join storyteller LuAnn Adams and the Farley Dancers at Teardrop Park for a truly haunting night with Spooky Stories to Frightfully Delight. Guests will follow a meandering path up to a grassy hilltop where they will be entertained and bewildered by masterfully told tales while creepy characters sneak around in the background. 11am, bpcparks.org
October 26th
Set sail with Circle Line Sightseeing Kids Cruise for a special Halloween excursion! Kids of all ages can dress up in their Halloween best and experience an exciting cruise to the Statue of Liberty and back. There will be prizes and giveaways, fun snacks and beverages, face painting, a performance from award-winning kids’ group Baze and His Silly Friends, plus a special appearance from the Berenstain Bears! Boarding begins at 9:30am, cruise from 10-11:15am, circleline42.com
October 26
Coney Island Children’s Halloween Parade will feature magicians, face painting, live music by the Jambalaya Brass Band, a treats station sponsored by IT’SUGAR, and some beloved Brooklyn characters, including the Cyclone’s Sandy the Seagull and Pee-Wee plus Nathan’s Frankster. The parade will begin at MCU Stadium and proceed along the boardwalk to Luna Park. Kids 15 years and younger can take part in the Halloween Costume Contest, and parents can get in on the competition too, with a baby stroller decoration contest! (Preregistration required for the parade) 11am-2pm, coneyislandfunguide.com
October 26
At NYC Parks’ Pumpkin Fest, the annual celebration of the fall harvest season in leafy Central Park, enjoy autumn traditions like pumpkin picking, carving, and decorating alongside a super-scary haunted house, and live entertainment! If that’s not enough, there are also Big Apple Circus performances, real-life Quidditch matches, and more. 11am-3pm, nycgovparks.org
October 26
The 8th Annual Halloween Family Disco & Costume Parade is a celebration the whole family can enjoy, with face painting by You-Nique Face Art, glitter tattoos, games, dancing, raffles, prizes, plus two giant inflatable slides! Hosted by Harlem4Kids & Moca Moms of Manhattan at the Harlem Center PAL Gymnasium, the festive costume parade will be directly followed by a groovy Halloween Disco. (Tickets must be purchased in advance) Parade lineup at 11:45am, parade begins at 12pm, harlem4kids.com
October 26
Suit up in costume and join Clifford the Big Red Dog at the Scholastic Store in Soho as he leads families around the neighborhood in the Halloween Costume Parade. The parade will be followed by a chance to put together special Halloween goodie bags at the bookstore and compete in a costume contest. 3pm, scholastic.com
October 26
Park Slope gets a mischievous makeover thanks to the Haunted Halloween Carnival. Little ones can enjoy scare-tastic arts and crafts, a ghostly haunted house, and even a bounce castle! More to love: The party features a visit with the Staten Island Yankees and costumed Star Wars characters, not to mention a creepy costume contest. 11am-3pm, puppetryarts.org
October 26
All-aboard for the fourth annual Haunted High Line Halloween celebration, in which the beautiful urban park transports brave souls to an eerie past where haunted trains rule and the ghosts of hungry workers roam. Trick-or-treat your way through the park, sneak into a haunted train tunnel, snap pics of a “ghost train,” and construct your own train cars out of recycled materials. 11am-3pm, thehighline.org
October 26
Brooklyn Botanic Gardens’ much-loved Ghouls and Gourds fest returns with Brooklyn’s wackiest costume parade. Shake a tail feather, carouse with colossal puppets, groove to an orchestra of gourds, and explore a Victorian toy parlor, then flop down on the grass and enjoy the Garden’s gorgeous fall colors. 12-5:30pm, bbg.org
October 27
Screamin’ Green Halloween in Battery Park City will have the family celebrating in style while keeping things eco-friendly. Go bobbing for apples, try your luck at “Pin a Face on the Pumpkin,” kick back with some crafts, indulge in organic and fair-trade goodies, and bring your old costumes to swap for something new. The day will end with a Ghosts and Goblins Parade led by a lively marching band. 12pm, brookfieldplaceny.com
October 27
Spend the afternoon in Tribeca at the Washington Market Park Halloween Costume Parade & Party, where you’ll find family attractions like Penny in a Haystack, a sandbox bone dig, a hay maze, and a crafts table run by teachers from Church Street School of Music and Art. Head over to the gazebo to enjoy some rockin’ live music by Princess Katie and Racer Steve or just hold out for the parade, which starts at CitiGroup Plaza and journeys down Greenwich Street to the park. 1-3pm (parade lineup at 12:45), washingtonmarketpark.org
October 27
Dress up in your costume and get to Central Park with your decorated jack o’ lantern by 5:30pm for the Parade & Pumpkin Sail, an evening of music, crafts, live performances, a parade, and of course, New York City’s largest pumpkin sail, which will commence at twilight. Space in the Pumpkin Sail is limited, so get there early! (Check website for jack o’ lantern restrictions) 4-6:30pm, support.centralparknyc.org
October 27
Everyone’s invited to wear their wackiest costumes to the Queens County Farm Museum’s Fall Festival, where free games, bounce houses, magic shows, and a petting zoo await. All ages can also enjoy pony and hay rides, crafts shopping, local snacks, country western music, and dancing. 11am-4pm, queensfarm.org
October 28 through November 1
Ripley’s Time Square is hosting a week’s worth of scares with the After Ghoul Special. Take part in a creepy Halloween-themed scavenger hunt, view haunting exhibits, and collect candy from spooky characters dressed to scare and stationed at unexpected locations throughout the museum. Kids get in free when they come in costume (with the purchase of one full-priced adult ticket). 4-7pm, ripleysnewyork.com
October 30
Don your spookiest best to TLB Music’s Halloween Costume Party for Kids, which will be hoppin’ with spine-tingling songs, soundmaker fun, dancing, sweet treats, and art projects with Let’s Gogh Art for ages 4 months to 6 years. There’s even a $100 voucher reward for the best costume, so be sure you truly dress to impress. More to love: Sibling tickets are 50%, and all attendees will automatically be entered to win a full-session class for the winter/spring semester! 2:30- 5pm, tlbmusic.com
October 31
One of the biggest Halloween celebrations in the city, the American Museum of Natural History’s Annual Halloween Party means the chance to trick-or-treat in the museum’s iconic halls, try your creative hand at themed crafts and origami, and meet and take pictures with your favorite characters like Clifford the Big Red Dog and Curious George, who will be roaming the grounds all night. Don’t forget your Halloween costume! 3-7pm, amnh.org
October 31
The Greenwich Village Halloween Parade is an NYC Halloween classic. Join hundreds of puppets, dozens of live music performers, dancers and artists, and thousands of other costumed New Yorkers in the nation’s most wildly creative public participatory event. Creative costumes are a must! 6:30-9pm, halloween-nyc.com
October 31
Have your tots put on their spookiest ensembles, and join appleseeds Chelsea for a Free Halloween Party for members and fall class participants. Kids and parents can enjoy a glow-in-the-dark science lab, a fun and festive art project, ghoulish Halloween tattoos, and a special “songs for seeds” performance. 4:30-6pm, appleseedsplay.com
October 31
A yearly Brooklyn tradition, the Williamsburg Witches Walk will be held in Greenpoint this year at the recently relocated second-hand children’s shop, The Flying Squirrel. Throw on your costume, and head down to celebrate both Halloween and the store’s new neighborhood! The parade will run from Franklin Street to Greenpoint Avenue, where it will commence with a Halloween party for witches, warlocks, and every other ghoulish character. 4pm, flyingsquirrelbaby.com
October 31
Kids and parents can suit up as their favorite historical characters and celebrate with Spirits of Halloween Past at the New-York Historical Society. Try to fight off goosebumps while listening to spooky ghost stories from the Gilded Age and musical performances of Haunted History Tales. There will also be a chance to meet the headless horseman himself, face 19th century fortunetellers, plus sample and make some historical candy! 5-7pm, nyhistory.org
October 31
Join premier sports venue Asphalt Green as it transforms into a fun-filled afternoon and evening known as Asphalt Screams—a safe and healthy take on Halloween. Instead of gobbling sweets, visitors get active with games like Zombie Freeze Tag, Spook-tacular Soccer Shoot Outs, and Mummy Basketball. 3-7pm, asphaltgreen.org
November 2
If your kids still haven’t had their fill of Halloween fun, prolong the festivities with HiArt’s 8th Annual Candy Monster Sculpture Fest. Children ages 4 to 14 can turn sweet treats into a form of artistic expression, making 3-dimensional creations with all sorts of goodies. Parents with leftover candy from trick-or-treating can bring it along to repurpose! Advance registration required. 3:30-5pm, hiartkids.com
