Hi everyone! Halloween is finally here and get ready for a very busy weekend here in NYC!
This weekend you can check out virtual events like The 30th Annual Children’s Halloween Parade, Virtual BAMboo!, A Laurie Berkner Halloween Party Concert!, The Scientist Is In: Day of the Dead with AMNH, Rubin Museum: Family Sundays Online, At Home With Irish Arts Center: Oíche Shamnha/Irish Halloween: Feast of the Fairies, Music Time Class with the Children’s Museum of the Arts, Virtual Jiggy Tots with HPPC and Virtual Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music Broadcast. There are in person events to enjoy like the Fifth Avenue Scavenger Hunt & OSH Fairy House Hunt, BK BOO! Thriller Afternoon, Boo!KCM’s Haunted Mansion at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Día de los Muertos at Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Opening Day of the Winter Village in Bryant Park, Monster by Tin&Ed at Brookfield Place and Jack & the Beanstalk at Puppetworks.
Don’t forget to check out these long running events that are ending this weekend like Boo at the Zoo at Prospect Park Zoo, Pumpkin Point on Governors Island, Great Pumpkin Path at New York Botanical Garden, Boo at the Zoo at the Bronx Zoo, The Amazing Maize Maze® at Queens County Farm Museum and Biking & Boating at Lakeside in Prospect Park.
The calendar is packed with Halloween events so please check it out to see everything going on this weekend. Also like us on Facebook for last minute events and updates.
Happy Halloween & be safe!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday October 30th
Fifth Avenue Scavenger Hunt & OSH Fairy House Hunt!
Daily until Saturday October 31st 7p. We have teamed up with the Old Stone House to bring you an alternative to Trick of Treating. A Scavenger Hunt on 5th Ave and a Fairy House Hunt in the ground of the Old Stone House and JJ Bryne. Print out the Scavenger Hunt sheet or/and the Fairy House sheet here and get going. Don’t forget to take a pen with you! Once finished drop it off in the Scare Mailbox at the entrance gate to the Old Stone House, and you could be drawn to win a prize! Note on rainy days the mailbox has a raincoat on! Do this in your own time, you have until 7pm on Halloween when we’ll do the draw for the prizes and we’ll contact you the following week. Prizes are: a $25 gift certificate for a party at the Old Stone House, an art kit from Private Picassos, a $50 gift certificate for Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store and $25 gift certificate for Lulu’s Cuts and Toys. Remember to wear a mask and please keep your distance! We thank you. Copies of the sheets can also be picked up at the Old Stone House, Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store, & Lulu’s Cuts and Toys.
Music Time Class with the Children’s Museum of the Arts
Friday October 30th 10-1030a. Free. RSVP here. This program is intended for families with children aged 5 and under. Join Tom, moms, dads, toddlers, and tikes for an online music time experience with familiar songs, interactive gestures, drumming, and even drawing. It’s easy to join in the fun! This class is led by Tom Burnett.
Opening Day of the Winter Village in Bryant Park
Friday October 30th 12n. Skating hours daily 8a-10p until March 7th. Admission is free. Skating rental vary by day. Reservations must be made in advance. See website for all the information on skating & the shops. Bryant Park is Manhattan’s winter wonderland. Enjoy New York City’s only free admission ice skating rink, the Holiday Shops, and rinkside eats and drinks at The Lodge Deck.
Virtual Jiggy Tots with HPPC
Friday October 30th 3-4p. Free. Join HPPC and McManus Irish Dance for virtual Jiggy Tots! The recommended age group for this program is 2+ years. This program is FREE, but pre-registration is required. Register here. The classes will be hosted through Zoom and the link will be sent out to all registered participants one hour in advance of the program. Please reach out to info@hunterspointparks.org with any questions or concerns.
See all the Friday events here.
Saturday October 31st
A Laurie Berkner Halloween Party Concert!
Saturday October 31st 12n & 5p. Tickets: $20 regular or $10 need based (your ticket gives you access to BOTH performances!). Join Laurie Berkner for an 80+min LIVE interactive, solo, virtual performance for the whole family! Sing, dance, & play games through your device with Laurie as she performs favorite songs, interacts with you through the screen, & brings in a few surprises – from her house to yours! Your ticket gives you access to BOTH shows (12p & 5pET – so pick which works best or come to both!) and helps the Berkner team continue operations while we can’t tour! You can also purchase a meet & greet add-on on the website. See the website for all the details.
The 30th Annual Children’s Halloween Parade [sponsored]
Saturday October 31st 1p. Free. Virtual. Join Manhattan Community Board 2 and NYU for our 30th year of free, family-friendly Halloween fun! For the first time ever, we are hosting a festive virtual Children’s Halloween Parade with musical performances, a costume contest, a downloadable activity book and more. The video will premiere on this page at 1:00 pm on Saturday, October 31! RSVP here.
Virtual BAMboo!
Saturday October 31st 2-4p. Free. For ages 4-12y. RSVP here. Bring your Halloween best to this virtual family-friendly party! BAM’s beloved block party transforms for the digital space into an action-packed afternoon of revelry for families everywhere. Join us for a lineup of Halloween tricks and treats, including a magic show, professional pumpkin carving, story time, and dance party. Best of all, delight in wild, wacky, and adorable costumes from near and far—and have the opportunity to win prizes with your own entry at the annual costume contest.
BK BOO! Thriller Afternoon (Downtown Brooklyn at various locations)
Saturday October 31st 230-4p. Free. Find us in various locations in Downtown Brooklyn for your Halloween dose of “Thriller!” performances by local dance company Jamel Gaines’ Creative Outlet. Compete in our mask contest! Catch us at the final “Thriller!” performance at Albee Square wearing your most creative mask (both Halloween and COVID masks are fair game!) and get a chance to win the world’s largest (3lbs!!!) gummy worm from Downtown Brooklyn candy store IT’SUGAR. DJ Mike Doelo provides beats throughout the afternoon in Albee Square. See the website for the “Thriller!” dance schedule and locations.
Boo!KCM’s Haunted Mansion at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (Park Slope)
Saturday October 31st 3-5p. Celebrate Halloween with Boo!KCM (Brooklyn Conservatory of Music) in this family-friendly outdoor event! Come by our building on 7th Avenue and listen outside to our mellifluous melodies and discordant descants as we hold a socially distant and safe Halloween Brass Band Concert from the windows of our Haunted Mansion.
See all the Saturday events here.
Sunday November 1st
Día de los Muertos at Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Crown Heights)
Sunday November 1st 10am 1230p, 3p & 5p. Tickets: $13 (babies under 1 free). Purchase tickets in advance here. Celebrate Día de los Muertos at BCM! Brooklyn-based artist Mincho Vega is BCM’s guest curator as we celebrate Central American cultures and experiences through art, dance and music. Programming will take place throughout the Museum and on the rooftop terrace.
The Scientist Is In: Day of the Dead with American Museum of Natural History
Sunday November 1st 12n. Free. Watch the event here. Join Mexican archaeologist Veronica Perez and Director of the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Ana Porzecanski for this special online family-friendly Day of the Dead celebration. Find out about this Mexican holiday when we honor those who have left the Earth and the extinct animal species, such as the monk seal, golden toad, and the O’ahu Akiaola, that the Museum commemorates on this special occasion. The program will also be presented in Spanish at 1p. See the website for the details.
Rubin Museum: Family Sundays Online
Sunday November 1st 1-2p (and every First Sunday of the month). Free. At Home Art-Making. Ages 3 and older with accompanying adults. Sundays are for families! This fall join the Rubin Museum live on Zoom every first Sunday of the month from the comfort of your own home for an afternoon of activities both kids and grownups will enjoy. November Family Sundays: Flying Diyas ~ During Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, families decorate their homes, streets, and temples with glimmering lamps called diyas. These diyas celebrate the spiritual victory of good over evil and bring light to the darkest nights of the year. Bring the brightness of diyas into your own home! See the website for materials needed and to register.
Virtual Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music Broadcast
Sunday November 1st 2-4p. Free. Sign up here to receive the Zoom link 24 hours prior. South Street Seaport Museum’s monthly Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music continues – virtually. From our living rooms and kitchens, and even from the deck of Wavertree, join us for our round-robin of shared sea songs, featuring members of The New York Packet and friends. Listen in, lead or request a song, and belt out the choruses for your neighbors to hear. Hosted by singers from the New York Packet.
See all the Sunday events here.
All Weekend
At Home With Irish Arts Center | Oíche Shamnha/Irish Halloween: Feast of the Fairies
Saturday-Sunday October 31st-November 1st at 12n. Free. Register here. Celebrate the Irish origins of Halloween from home in a communal feast of fancy! On Saturday, October 31, learn some Halloween traditions like how to make barmbrack bread with Lilly Higgins, carve your own lantern from a turnip (the original jack-o-lantern) with artist Marie Connole, and do a Halloween-themed magic trick with Joe Daly. Then, join us on Sunday, November 1, as we gather around a virtual bonfire to feast on stories and performances inspired by otherworldly creatures both naughty and nice: hear writer and Traveller activist Oein DeBhairduin read from Why the moon travels, his new collection of folk tales from the Traveller community; take part in an interactive performance workshop based on Irish myths with Emily Kilkenny Roddy of CoisCéim Dance Theatre; write a spell to make the world a better place with poet/performer Felispeaks; and watch the premiere of our Collective Pop-Up Book Project created with spooky stories from the archive of the National Folklore Collection of Ireland!
Boo at the Zoo at Prospect Park Zoo
Daily until October 31st. Zoo hours are: Monday-Friday 10a-5p, weekends & holidays 10a-530p. Included in Zoo admission. Timed entry tickets can be purchased here. Prospect Park Zoo is going batty every day in October with Halloween-themed educational (and fun) decorations. Download a spooky scavenger hunt and see if you can answer the clues as you wander through the zoo. Visit the tombstones of extinct animals in sea lion court and learn why extinction isn’t inevitable with your help! Our Spooky Trail will show you some of our “spooky” neighbors who come out at night. Get creative with your masks and take a photo at one of our beautiful harvest decoration areas.
Boo at the Zoo at the Bronx Zoo
Thursdays-Sundays until November 1st. Zoo hours are 10a-5p. Tickets are required and must be reserved in advance. Reserve tickets here. Included with zoo admission. Our annual Halloween tradition is back at the Bronx Zoo. We have family-friendly activities and have taken all safety precautions for you to have a great experience. Come dressed in your Halloween best and enjoy! See the website for all the event details.
Pumpkin Point 2020 on Governors Island
Saturdays-Sundays 10a-6p until November 1st. There is no admission fee to the patch/Governors Island but fees for the ferry to the island. See website for the details. Governors Island’s annual pumpkin patch, Pumpkin Point, returns this October! This year’s patch will feature thousands of pumpkins and fall-themed decorations arranged across the Island’s historic Nolan Park. Each visitor will be encouraged to take one pumpkin home with them, free of charge. Pumpkin Point 2020 will be a socially distanced event with plenty of room for visitors to spread out and enjoy the patch. Masks required. See the website for all the details.
Monster by Tin&Ed at Brookfield Place (Battery Park City)
Daily until Saturday October 31st. Free. To celebrate Halloween at Brookfield Place, New York based artists Tin&Ed have created a new inflatable sculpture titled, Monster. Monster is a newly imagined hybrid flower whose gigantic bloom is over 20 feet high and 25 feet wide. For one week only, you are invited to come face to face with this strange new life form which is inspired by carnivorous and parasitic plants and fungi. Monster will be safely suspended amongst the palms in the Winter Garden, keeping all who pass by safely out of its grasp. A specially designed AR filter will allow visitors to become part of the sculpture by bringing out the monster in all of us. Bring Out Your Inner Monster & Redeem a Treat! Snap a selfie with or photo of Monster the Winter Garden and post it to social media tagging @BFPLNY to redeem a goodie bag full of exciting treats from the concierge desk, while supplies last. The BFPL gift bag includes a Halloween coloring book, sweets, offers from BFPL’s shops, a $10 Hudson Eats gift card, and more!
Great Pumpkin Path at New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
On display 10a-6p until November 1st (Tuesday to Sunday). Free with Garden admission. All visitors, including Members, must purchase or reserve timed-entry tickets in advance. Purchase tickets here. Discover plentiful pumpkins and hordes of gourds along the twists and turns of our Great Pumpkin Path on the Conservatory Lawn, culminating with some of the largest pumpkins in the world with the arrival of giant pumpkins on October 24. Keep an eye out for a display of whimsical scarecrows throughout the Garden as well. Note: Everyone is required to wear face coverings throughout the Garden grounds.
The Amazing Maize Maze® at Queens County Farm Museum
Fridays-Sundays 11a-430p (last ticket sold at 430p) in October. Advance Tickets: $12; $8 (ages 4-11) (plus fees). Free for ages 3 & under. Purchase tickets here. Get lost in NYC’s only corn maze! The Amazing Maize Maze adventure begins with a Stalk Talk to prepare you for the 3-acre challenge of finding clues on your way to Victory Bridge where the full vista of Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ masterpiece is revealed. Maze entry will be staggered in order to maintain event capacity.
Jack & the Beanstalk at Puppetworks (Park Slope)
Ongoing Wednesdays-Fridays at 4p and Saturdays-Sundays at 1230p & 230p until December 23rd. Tickets: Children $10 each, Adults $11 each (suggested for ages 3 and up). Jack & the Beanstalk with an original song score adapted for Marionettes by Nicolas Coppola. Call for Reservations: 718-965-3391 or e-mail to: puppetworksinfo@gmail.com NO Same Day e-mail reservations please. Performances are @ 25% Capacity, Masks Required.
Brooklyn Public Library Vitural Storytimes
Daily usually at 11a & 2p. Free. Sometimes the storytimes are on the Brooklyn Public Library Family facebook page and other times they are on a specific branch facebook page. See the website for all the details.
Biking & Boating in Prospect Park
Saturdays-Sundays 10a-630p until November 1st. See website for biking & boating rates. LeFrak Center at Lakeside will be open daily for biking, boating, with food and drink available for takeaway from the Bluestone Cafe.
Rollerskating at Lakeside in Prospect Park
Daily 12n-7p until November 1st. Pricing: $6 admission & $7 skate rentals on weekdays and $10 admission, $7 skate rentals on weekends (weekend pricing begins 4p Fridays). Roller Skating is BACK! COVID-19 safety guidelines will be followed, including mask-wearing and social distancing protocols. Skating will operate at reduced capacity. Come get moving with us at Lakeside! Lakeside’s outdoor roller skating rink provides fun for kids, tweens, and adults alike. Skate to a mix of pop hits while taking in views of Prospect Park Lake. Skate rentals are available in children and adult sizes. See website for all the details.
Spineless Exhibit at The New York Aquarium (Coney Island)
Daily 10a-4p (park closes 5p) until October 31st. Admission included with ticket. All visitors must reserve a date-specific ticket in advance. Please check Know Before You Go for details. We have great news: The New York Aquarium is reopening on August 27! Buy tickets to see all of your favorite marine animals today and enjoy summer on Coney Island! Explore Spineless, our latest exhibit, and marvel and the jellies, octopus, and more. Come wave hello to Erie the sea lion and Murphy the Harbor Seal. Relax in Ocean Wonders: Sharks! and watch the rays, sharks, and turtles.
The Nature of Color Exhibit at American Museum of Natural History (UWS)
Museum is open Wednesdays-Sundays with timed entry tickets are available 10a-4p (museum closes 530p). Exhibit is open until March 8, 2021. Select a General Admission + One or General Admission + All ticket, choose date and time of entry to the Museum, then select The Nature of Color. Reserve tickets here. Our world is awash in color. Color makes the world feel vibrant and alive. But that’s not all. Color helps us make sense of the world. It contains vast amounts of information—about the natural world, and the human world. Come and explore the world of color in this immersive exhibition.