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Halloween in NYC offers a treasure trove of activities for families with children, especially during spooky season! From the iconic Village Halloween Parade to the thrilling Boo at the Zoo, we’ve curated a list of 30 of the best kid-friendly Halloween events and activities happening that you should bookmark for your family.
Pumpkin Nights at the Bronx Zoo
Bronx Park, the Bronx
Select dates Thursday, September 26-Sunday, October 27, 2024
Pumpkin Nights at the Bronx Zoo sparkle with more than 5,000 carved, animal-themed pumpkins over a half-mile jack-o’-lantern trail. The evening includes live pumpkin carving demonstrations, games, festive fall treats and food trucks, and fun for all ages.
Visit the website here.
Village Ghost Tours in Historic Richmondtown
Richmond, Staten Island
Fridays and Saturdays from Friday, September 27-Saturday, October 26, 2024
From authentic colonial ghost stories to creepy modern-day encounters, Village Ghost Tours explore historic houses by candlelight and delve into folklore and mysteries from the past. This ghost tour is led by costumed storytellers who share their own unexplained and unnerving tales. Visit the website here.
Halloween Kids Spooky Cruise
South Street Seaport
Weekends from Saturday, October 19-Sunday, October 27, 2024
Also on Thursday, October 31, 2024
Treat the kids to fun trick-or-treating on the water with the Halloween Kids Spooky Cruise. Passengers enjoy unlimited Halloween-themed candies and performances by costumed characters, with the best views of the Manhattan Skyline and unique Halloween decorations. Visit the website here.
An Irish Halloween/Oíche Shamhna: Celtic Magic at the Irish Arts Center
Midtown West
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Did you know, that carving pumpkins (originally turnips!), dressing up, and other age-old Halloween traditions began in Ireland? Celebrate the Irish roots of the holiday at IAC with a spooky puppet show, making "turnip" jack-o’-lanterns, and casting spells through Irish music and dance with artists from Dublin trio Alfi, Darrah Carr Dance, and WonderSpark Puppets. Visit the website here.
Asphalt Screams
Upper East Side – FREE
Friday, October 25, 2024
Get into the Halloween spirit at Asphalt Screams, where the community comes together for a night of ghostly delights, family-friendly frights, and unforgettable memories.
Visit the website here.
Halloween Extravaganza and Procession of the Ghouls at St. John the Divine
Morningside Heights
Friday, October 25-Saturday, October 26, 2024
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine's beloved annual Halloween celebration returns! Following the screening of Lon Chaney's 1926 film, The Phantom of the Opera, with live organ accompaniment, ghouls and goblins from the Mettawee River Theater Company emerge to scare and delight audiences. Visit the website here.
Seaport Kids: Halloween Block Party
South Street Seaport – FREE
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Front and Fulton Streets transform into a Halloween-themed block party for kids 2-8 (and the bigger kids who love all things Halloween) with a little help from Mommy Poppins and Brooklyn Bridge Parents. Visit the website here.
10th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest in Washington Market Park
Tribeca – FREE
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Washington Market Park hosts this annual free community event with trophies awarded in five pumpkin-carving categories: cutest, scariest, funniest, most realistic, and most creative. Bring your own pumpkin to enter, or just stop by with your family to enjoy the festive display! Visit the website here.
Halloween Festival in Fort Totten Park
Fort Totten, Queens – FREE
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Fort Totten beckons with plenty of spooky family fun, including obstacle courses, hay rides, puppet shows, and a haunted house. Visit the website here.
Giant Pumpkin Palooza Weekend at the NYBG
Bronx Park, the Bronx
Saturday, October 26-Sunday, October 27, 2024
Adam Bierton returns for the Fall-O-Ween season finale to carve a giant pumpkin. From last year’s 2,424-pound pumpkin, a dragon’s head emerged after 16 hours of scraping, chiseling, carving, and detailing. Visit the website here.
Children's Halloween Festival at Bleecker Playground
Greenwich Village – FREE
Sunday, October 27, 2024
This annual celebration begins with a toddler-friendly costume parade around the nabe to the Bleecker Street Playground, and includes face painting, craft tables, and trick-or-treating.
Halloween on the Farm
Floral Park, Queens
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Halloween at the Queens County Farm Museum brings a monster mash to life. Costumed kids and their grown-ups are invited for fall-themed farm fun with hayrides, kids crafts, a run through the Amazing Maize Maze, a spooky farmhouse to explore, and best of all: trick-or-treating with furry farm friends. Visit the website here.
Halloween at the Queens Botanical Garden
Flushing, Queens
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Tiny trick-or-treaters are invited to show off their Halloween costumes as they walk the trick-or-treat trail at the Queens Botanical Garden. Enjoy live performances, including a magic show. Visit the website here.
Annual Halloween Harvest at Luna Park
Coney Island, Brooklyn
Select dates through Sunday, October 27, 2024
Experience all the thrills, chills, and Halloween frills during the Halloween Harvest at Luna Park, which buzzes with festive and seasonal activities along with special events in the spirit of Halloween. Visit the website here.
Candlelight Ghost Tours of Merchant's House Museum
Lower East Side
Various dates through Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” by flickering candlelight to hear chilling—and true—tales of decades of otherworldly activity in the house, the results of years of paranormal investigations, and the latest stunning scientific findings. Visit the website here.
Halloween on the Harlem Meer: Pumpkin Flotilla
Central Park – FREE
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
The Harlem Meer comes alive as the sun sets in this annual Halloween favorite. Hand-carved jack-o'-lanterns both spooky and sweet set sail at dusk in New York City's largest pumpkin flotilla. Visit the website here.
Best NYC Halloween Events on Thursday, October 31, 2024
Jackson Heights Halloween Parade
Jackson Heights, Queens – FREE
The Jackson Heights Halloween Parade—NYC’s largest children’s Halloween parade—lines up once again at 89th Street and 37th Avenue and marches down 37th Avenue to PS 69.
Visit the website here.
Park Slope Halloween Parade
Park Slope, Brooklyn – FREE
The Park Slope Civic Council hosts the spookiest parade in Park Slope. Marchers line up at 7th Avenue and 14th Street and wind their way to the Old Stone House. Come early to trick-or-treat. Visit the website here.
Dumboween: Halloween March to the Arch
Dumbo, Brooklyn – FREE
Put on your most creative costume, and head to Dumbo for a Halloween March to the Arch. Beginning at Washington Street, between Front and Water Streets, costumed participants parade to the Dumbo Archway, led by live music and puppets. Visit the website here.
BAMboo!
Downtown Brooklyn – FREE
BAM’s annual free community Halloween celebration happily haunts the neighborhood with family-friendly music, carnival games, arts and crafts, candy giveaways, trick-or-treat popcorn, and family-friendly Halloween short films in the BAM Rose Cinemas. Costumes are encouraged. Visit the website here.
Hippo Playground Halloween Parade
Upper West Side – FREE
The annual Hippo Playground Halloween Parade invites costumed kids to gather at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at 89th Street and Riverside Drive and parade to Hippo Playground. Visit the website here.
Wave Hill-O-Ween
Riverdale, the Bronx
For the first time—it’s Halloween at Wave Hill! Venture through the iron gates (if you dare!) for an evening adventure with treats, tricks, and good old spooky fun. Grab a map to guide you on an eerie treasure trail through the gardens with “gourdgeous” photo-ops along the way. Personalize a treat bag and decorate a mini-gourd favor, then dance away the eve with family-friendly tunes in spooktacular Armor Hall. Visit the website here.
Halloween with Boo!KCM
Park Slope, Brooklyn – FREE
The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music hosts an outdoor Halloween Party. Talented musical spirits give a spine-chilling performance in a haunted musical garden, and the candy is frightfully delicious. Visit the website here.
51st Annual Village Halloween Parade
Greenwich Village – FREE
The world's most famous Halloween parade weaves through the streets of Greenwich Village once again. Visit the website here.
Dog Parades and More Animal-Themed Halloween Events in NYC
Bronx Zoo: Boo at the Zoo
Bronx Park, the Bronx
Weekends from Saturday, September 28-Sunday, October 27, 2024
Also on Monday, October 9, 2024
Trek the candy trail, explore an extinct animal graveyard, and take in pumpkin carving demos as the Bronx Zoo's annual Halloween tradition returns, bringing with it tons of family-friendly activities. New this year: a Trick or Truth Maze, Face Painting, a Creepy Mystery Wall, and a Halloween Mashup. Costumes are welcome. Visit the website here.
Staten Island Zoo Spooktacular
West Brighton, Staten Island
Saturday, October 19-Sunday, October 20, 2024
The Staten Island Zoo Spooktacular is a walk-through experience, complete with live music, scare zones, costumed characters, giveaways, and plenty of enchantment, spread over the zoo’s eight-acre campus. Visit the website here.
New York Ascarium!
Coney Island, Brooklyn
Weekends from Saturday, October 19-Sunday, October 27, 2024
The New York Aquarium dives into Halloween with marine-themed magic shows, Halloween crafts, a larger-than-life pumpkin display, Wildlife Theater shows, games, and more. Visit the website here.
Halloween Howl & Healthy Hound Fair
Upper East Side – FREE
Sunday, October 20, 2024
The Howl is Carl Schurz Park's annual dog costume event. More than 200 creatively costumed pups strut their stuff before a blue-chip fashion industry coven of judges.
Visit the website here.
34th Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Festival
East Village – FREE
Sunday, October 19, 2024
Pooches let their alter-egos shine, parading in cute and creative costumes and vying for prizes. Visit the website here.
26th Annual Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest in Fort Greene Park
Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Saturday, October 26, 2024
It's time to get your costume—and more importantly, your pup's—ready for Fort Greene Park's annual Halloween Festival and dog costume contest. Visit the website here.
Trick-or-Treat Weekends at Storybook Land
Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey
Weekends from Saturday, October 19-Sunday, October 27, 2024
Families visiting Storybook Land can climb aboard the Happy Hayride to pick a pumpkin and decorate it just in time for Halloween. Then, find your way through Elmer’s Haymazin’ Maze and pick up treat bags. Visit the website here.
Six Flags Great Adventure's Fright Fest Extreme
Jackson, New Jersey
Select dates through Sunday, November 3, 2024
Six Flags Great Adventure’s Fright Fest goes extreme this year, presenting a world of nightmarish creatures inspired by legendary horror brands–including SAW and Stranger Things–brought to life. The themed experiences, scare zones, and harrowing creatures deliver extreme frights and surprises. Visit the website here.
Where To Go Pumpkin Picking near NYC
Greg's Great Pumpkin Patch
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Weekends from Saturday, September 28-Sunday, October 27, 2024
Pumpkins take over South Slope, along with a haystack maze for little ones, pumpkin painting and carving for everyone, Instagram-able photo-ops, and activities galore.
Visit the website here.
Día de los Muertos Celebration at Queens County Farm Museum
Glen Oaks, Queens
Tuesday, October 1-Thursday, October 31, 2024
Make custom ofrendas, or offerings, out of shoe boxes, and decorate them colorfully. Learn about the four main elements of nature found in the altars – Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire – in the midst of colorful fall-blooming marigolds, known as cempasuchitl, the "flower of the dead" that aids spirits in wandering back to the world of the living. Visit the website here.
Decker Farm Pumpkin Picking Weekends
Richmond Town, Staten Island
Weekends from Saturday, October 5-Sunday, October 27, 2024
Head to Historic Richmond Town to enjoy a day filled with family fun on the historic early-1800s Decker Farm. Visit the pumpkin patch, chuck a pumpkin, enjoy photo-ops, a kid-sized hay maze, and more. Visit the website here.
Queens Botanical Garden Pumpkin Patch
Flushing, Queens
Saturdays, October 12-26, 2024
QBG’s pumpkin patch is back! All children get to choose their own pumpkin and plant some seeds, and parents can snap the perfect fall photos. The ticket fee includes admission to both the garden and the patch. Visit the website here.
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