34 Free Halloween Events for Kids in New York City 2013 OCT 6 2013BY RAVEN SNOOK Every October, New York City hosts a terrifying number of Halloween activities. In fact, there are so many great ways to celebrate, you may need a magic eight ball to decide where to go. Luckily, your kids will be so hopped up on candy, theyll probably have the energy to hit several events in one day. In honor of the season, weve decided to give parents a real treat: Halloween fun thats easy on the wallet. Weve rounded up 34 FREE Halloween events for kids in all five boroughs, including big annual family favorites like Central Parks massive Pumpkin Festival, Fort Greenes BAMboo! street fair, the Halloween Parade & Pumpkin Sail at the Harlem Meer, the one-night-only theatrical spectacle at Fort Greens Halloween 313 House and Screamin Green Halloween at the World Financial Center. Read on to find out where and when you can see spooky stilt-walkers, hop on hayrides, visit haunted houses and get the whole family dressed up—even the dog. And check our Halloween Guide for even more ways to celebrate the season. Weekend of October 11-12 Greenbelt Pumpkin Festival – Staten Island 1 Eton Place in Willowbrook Park Saturday, October 12 noon-4pm FREE Head to the wonderful Carousel for All Children for face painting, puppet shows, themed crafts and games, and a pumpkin patch. Rides cost $1.50. Fall Festival – Ozone Park Tudor Park, Addabbo Playground, North Conduit Avenue between 81st and 82nd Streets Saturday, October 12 noon-3pm FREE Expect all of the usual festival fun including crafts, games, inflatables and a pumpkin patch. Weekend of October 18-20 Greenbelt Scream Fest & Kiddy Palooza – Staten Island Greenbelt Recreation Center, 501 Brielle Avenue between Walcott and Rockland Avenues Friday, October 18 4:30-7:30pm FREE Enjoy a haunted corn maze, crafts, games, face painting, cookie decorating, a pie eating contest and pumpkin decorating (though youll need to bring your own gourd). All parents must register their children for membership at the center, which is free. Harvest Festival – Brooklyn Heights Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Atlantic Avenue and the waterfront Saturday, October 19 10:30am-1pm FREE This jam-packed party at one of our favorite playgrounds seems to get bigger and better every year. For 2013, families can enjoy a pumpkin patch, face painting, volleyball, a photo booth, mask making, storytelling, a costume parade, live music by Audra Rox and Bilingual Birdies, and a family Zumba class. Plus, there will be a retro trolley bus making stops along Atlantic Avenue, including the Hoyt Street Garden, where there will be even more seasonal fun. Childrens Harvest Festival – Upper East Side Carl Schurz Park, East End Avenue at 88th Street Saturday, October 19 11am-1pm FREE Head to this stunning Upper East Side park for hayrides, pumpkin decorating and a scarily good show by Mario the Magician. Fall Kids Fest – Flatiron Madison Square Park, 23rd Street at Madison Avenue Saturday, October 19 11am-2pm FREE Children can don their Halloween costumes for a parade led by a Big Apple Circus clown, and then hit the pumpkin patch to pick and decorate a jack-o-lantern. This popular fest also features live entertainment by the Little Rockers Band, magician the Amazing Max and Songs for Seeds, games, arts and crafts, face painting and snacks. Arrive early! It gets mobbed fast. Jefferson Market Garden Childrens Harvest Festival – Greenwich Village Greenwich Avenue between Sixth Avenue and 10th Street Saturday, October 19 11am-2pm FREE Pick and decorate tiny pumpkins, make seasonal crafts and enjoy country fun like raking leaves and jumping in big bales of straw. The nearby Jefferson Market branch of the New York Public Library sponsors the live entertainment. Rain date is Sunday, October 20. Pooch Parade and Howl-Ween – Staten Island Wolfes Pond Park, Hylan Boulevard and Cornelia Avenue Saturday, October 19 11am-2pm FREE Costumed canines compete at this annual holiday shindig. Categories include longest tail, shortest dog and floppiest ears. There will also be a doggie obstacle course. Halloween Harvest Festival – Long Island City Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Boulevard at Broadway Saturday, October 19 11am-3pm FREE The outdoor Queens art spot throws a fabulous, artsy fest every Halloween. This year, you can make your own costumes, catch Halloween-themed dance and theater performances, enter your pet in a canine costume contest, get your face painted by the fabulous artists of Agostino Arts and snack on locally grown food. Super Sabado! Día de los Muertos – East Harlem El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street Saturday, October 19 11am-5pm FREE OK, technical the theme here is the Day of the Dead, not Halloween but a lot of the trappings are the same. Enjoy flower and skull face painting, traditional arts and crafts, storytelling and dancing, and a spooky procession from the nearby Dana Discovery Center to the museum. Fall Festival – Rosedale Brookville Park, Brookville Boulevard and 144th Avenue Saturday, October 19 noon-4pm FREE Head to Queens for a free day of crafts, games, inflatables, pony rides, music, and a pumpkin patch. Meet R.L. Stine – Soho 557 Broadway between Prince and Spring Streets Saturday, October 19 at 3pm FREE Come face to face with the maniacal man behind the Goosebumps series... if you dare! After hearing the author read from some of his spooky tales, kids can make their own vials of monster blood. Best for ages 6 and up. Weekend of October 25-27 Haunted Lantern Tours – Bayside Fort Totten Park, Weaver Road and Totten Avenue Friday, October 25-Saturday, October 26 6:30-8:30pm FREE Are you brave enough to tour the historic Water Battery in Fort Totten Park after sundown? If so, join the Urban Park Rangers on a scary and historic adventure. Wonderween at Sony Wonder Technology Lab – Midtown East 550 Madison Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets Saturday, October 26 10am-4pm FREE A day of spooky screenings for the preschool set at the activity-packed museum. Catch Elmo Says Boo, Halloween-themed Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go episodes, and other holiday screenings. Kids can also enjoy crafts and goodies. Note: Screenings require a separate ticket so be sure to call ahead to reserve your seats: 212-833-8100. Harvest Festival – Meatpacking District Saturday, October 26 10am-4pm Gansevoort Plaza, Gansevoort Street and Ninth Avenue FREE Enjoy a day of seasonal fun courtesy of the Meatpacking District Improvement Association including face painting, crafts, storytelling, live music and tasty eats from local restaurants. Central Park Pumpkin Fest – Upper East Side Central Park Bandshell, enter at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue Saturday, October 26 11am-3pm FREE Head to the band shell for this massive (and always very crowded) fest. Hit the pumpkin patch, enjoy live entertainment by CityParks PuppetMobile, Kidrockers and performers from the Big Apple Circus, decorate pumpkins, make a creepy creature or get crafty with Scribble Town, play Quidditch and other games, wander through a zombie-themed haunted house and a whole lot more. Go early! The lines for everything get incredibly long. Haunted High Line Halloween – Chelsea High Line on Tenth Avenue between 14th to 17th Streets Saturday, October 26 11am-3pm FREE At this fourth annual celebration, kids can trick-or-treat their way through the elevated parks creepy past. Brave the haunted tunnel, pose for a pic with a giant “ghost train” made by local students, craft train cars out of recycled materials and fill up on tasty treats. Puppetry Arts Haunted Halloween Carnival – Park Slope First Street Recreation Center of P.S. 372, 1st Street between Third and Fourth Avenues Saturday, October 26 11am-4pm Free admission but there are fees for certain activities Enjoy games and crafts, a haunted house, a bouncy house, a costume contest and appearances by Star Wars characters. The first 200 kids to arrive snag trick-or-treat bags filled with goodies. Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade – East Village Saturday, October 26 noon-3pm Tompkins Square Park Dog Run, 9th Street between Avenues A and B FREE Halloween truly goes to the dogs at this annual procession of pimped out pooches. Bring your canine in costume and register at the door to compete for cool prizes, or just come and gawk at the adorable dogs. There will be free dog treats and dog adoptions, too. While admission is free, participants are encouraged to buy a $5 raffle ticket. Fort Greene Park Halloween Festival – Fort Greene Fort Greene Park, Myrtle Avenue, Cumberland Street and DeKalb Avenue Saturday, October 26 noon-3pm FREE One of the best bashes in Brooklyn, Fort Greene Park comes alive with horse-drawn hayrides, old-fashioned games, face painting, stilt walkers and roaming entertainers, a costume parade, a pumpkin patch with more than 1,000 no-cost gourds to give away and even a costume contest for dogs... and their owners. Rain date: Sunday, October 27. Prospect Park Haunted Walk and Carnival – Prospect Park Lookout Hill, enter park at Prospect Park Southwest and 16th Street Saturday, October 26 noon-3pm FREE Hike to Lookout Hill, which will be filled with zombies, wolf men, headless horsemen, witches and other creepy characters. Afterward, head to the Nethermead for a Halloween-themed carnival with games, treats and other fun. Halloween Festival – Bayside Crocheron Park, 33rd Road and 215th Place Saturday, October 26 noon-3pm FREE All the usual fun including rides, craft projects, a costume contest and giveaways. Rain date: Sunday, October 27. Creepy Crawly Halloween – Prospect Park Audubon Center at the Boathouse, near the Lincoln Road/Ocean Avenue entrance Saturday, October 26-Sunday, October 27 1-4pm FREE Get face time with spiders, worms and other icky creatures that are sure to make your skin crawl. Afterward, kids can make creepy crafts and participate in hands-on experiments. Halloween Costume Parade – Soho Scholastic Store, 557 Broadway Between Prince and Spring Streets Saturday, October 26 at 3pm FREE Put on your holiday best for this neighborhood parade, and then head back to one of our favorite childrens bookstores to hang out with Clifford the Big Red Dog, craft creepy treat bags and participate in a costume contest. Screamin Green Halloween – Battery Park City Winter Garden and Waterfront Plaza, 220 Vesey Street near West Street Sunday, October 27 noon-3pm FREE Head downtown for this eco-friendly fete. Families can make masks and costumes out of recycled and repurposed household materials, bob for apples, pin the face on the pumpkin, compete in a gourd roll, hear spooky tales and follow wandering puppets and marching bands. There will also be green art projects, photo ops in front of a ghoulish green screen, organic and fair-trade sweets, and a massive costume swap. At 3pm, there will be a Ghosts & Goblins Parade around Battery Park City led by a marching band. Halloween Parade and Party – Tribeca Washington Market Park, Chambers and Greenwich Streets Sunday, October 27 1-3pm FREE This popular annual Halloween party kicks off with a costume parade from CitiGroup Plaza to the park, where families can play games, do arts and crafts, and groove to a live concert by one of our favorite kindie bands, Princess Katie & Racer Steve. Halloween: Parade & Pumpkin Sail – Harlem Central Park, enter at 110th Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenues Sunday, October 27 4-6:30pm FREE Bring your jack-o-lantern to the Dana Discover Center and then watch it sail away at dusk on the Harlem Meer. Other activities include arts and crafts, spooky stories, live music and a costume parade around the northeastern edge of the park. This event seems to get more crowded every year so arrive early! Bonus: Your kids can romp at the recently overhauled East 110th Street Playground. Wednesday, October 30-Thursday, October 31 Spooky Yoga Storytime – Chelsea Karma Kids Yoga, 104 West 14th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues Wednesday, October 30 at 11:30am FREE In honor of Halloween, the studio will lead children in creepy poses like the wolf, bat, spider, goblin, witch, wizard, ghost... you get the idea. Costumes are encouraged and there will be a glow-in-the-dark surprise! Children up to age 6. Hometown Halloween – Financial District Thursday, October 31 3-7:30pm 74 Trinity Place between Rector and Thames Streets FREE Kids of all ages can trick-or-treat in the historic churchs graveyard. At 6pm, families with older children can see a screening of the silent 1920 classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde inside the church accompanied by organ. A Haunting We Will Go – Queens Cedar Grove Playground, Main Street and Gravett Road Thursday, October 31 3:30-5:30pm FREE Before you go out trick-or-treating, hit the playground for Halloween crafts, haunted games and a costume contest. Halloween Re-mixed – Flushing Thursday, October 31 at 4pm 137-35 Northern Boulevard at Linden Place FREE Celebrate Dia de los Muertos, Halloween and All Saints Day at one jam-packed multicultural fest where kids can make masks, All Saints Day Medallions and Mexican sugar skulls, and listen to ghost stories. Asphalt Screams – Upper East Side & Battery Park City Thursday, October 31 4-6pm FREE but online RSVP required 555 East 90th Street between York and East End Avenues 212 North End Avenue between Warren and Murray Streets Both Asphalt Green locations are throwing zombie-themed shindigs. Grab a few ghoulish goodies and enjoy games of Zombie Freeze Tag, a Spooktacular Soccer Shootout more. The first 300 children to arrive snag goody bags. Although free, a $20 per family donation is encouraged. BAMboo! – Fort Greene Outside the BAM Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Avenue between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street Thursday, October 31 4-7pm FREE The 12th annual fest has an ancient Egypt theme this year. Expect sphinxes, snakes and Cleopatras at this bash featuring candy giveaways, a costume contest, an obstacle course, button-making, hieroglyphics workshops, carnival games and performances by the Brooklyn Music School’s Rock Ensemble, deejays from Scratch DJ Academy and roaming stilt walkers. Halloween 313 – Fort Greene Thursday, October 31 5:30-9:30pm 313 Clinton Avenue between Lafayette and Dekalb Avenues FREE Every Halloween, the creative volunteers at this house (including lots of theater design pros) put on a one-night-only, one-of-a-kind, over-the-top creep show for all ages. This years edition is called 20,000 Screams Under the Sea: A Steampunk Adventure so expect creepy animatronics mixed with Victorian glamor. Performances run approximately every 30 minutes and take place outside. Its always mobbed so arrive early to get a good spot. For more seasonal fun check out our Halloween Guide. SHARE ON EMAIL 13 TAGS: FREE ACTIVITIES HALLOWEEN KIDS NYC PRESCHOOLERS TWEENS & TEENS UPTOWN DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN UPPER EAST SIDE UPPER WEST SIDE GREENWICH VILLAGE FT GREENE PARK SLOPE Similar Haunted Houses for NYC Kids: 8 Not-too-scary Halloween Installations for FamiliesDay of the Dead for NYC Kids: Mexican Culture Comes Alive with Día de los Muertos Family CelebrationsHalloween 2011 for NYC Kids: Things to Do on Monday, October 31 Halloween Pumpkin Carving In and Around Fairfield County, CT
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 08:34:58 +0000
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