Halloween in Brooklyn 2018

Trick or Treat for the Kids!

October 25, 2018 Compiled by Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Brooklyn gets ready for Halloween. Photo by Mary Frost

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Ghosts and superheroes (and scary political figures, no doubt) will soon be haunting the parades, streets and alleys of Brooklyn. Looking for something to do with the kids on Halloween? Check out Brooklyn’s most complete compilation of parades, family festivals, haunted houses and the best places for children to trick-or-treat.

(To see a list of 21-and-over Halloween events, see here.)

Saturday, October 27

NOTE! Some of today’s events may be cancelled or moved to Sunday due to the predicted Nor’easter. Check their websites to be sure.

Halloween in Prospect Park: Prospect Park Alliance invites all local ghosts and ghouls to the 39th Annual Halloween Haunted Walk and Fair. This annual event brings thousands of families for free, ghastly fun to Prospect Park. Encounter zombies, werewolves, witches and other Halloween spirits on a haunted walk through the woodland Lookout Hill, ideal for families with children ages 7-12. Saturday, October 27, from 12 – 3 p.m.

Bklyn Boo! at City Point: Following the Prospect Park Halloween, the hoots and howls continue inside City Point. Show off your costume, celebrate Día de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) with multi-colored paper marigolds, sugar skulls and more, including a performance by NYC’s oldest Mariachi outfit, Mariachi Real de Mexico. 2 – 5 p.m. at Albee Square (corner of Fulton and Bond). Rain date is Wednesday, October 31, 3 – 5 p.m.

Ghouls & Gourds: Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s wacky and wonderful festival for families and visitors of all ages is a don’t-miss event. Wear your craziest costume and enjoy this cornucopia of spectacular shows, weird workshops, and a fun-filled costume parade. Live musical performances by Falu, Michael Hearst’s Songs for Unusual Creatures, The Persuasions, Banda de los Muertos and more, plus stilt dancing, a flea circus and more bizarre events. Noon to 5:30 p.m. Kids under 12 free. www.bbg.org/

Spirited Stroll through Green-Wood: Historian Jeff Richman will lead a tour of Green-Wood Cemetery filled with tales of murder, mayhem, spirits and the utterly bizarre. Visit the graves of The Wizard of Oz (actor, Frank Morgan), George Washington’s favorite dentist, the somewhat shady originator of Spiritualism and more. You’ll also get to tour Green-Wood’s Catacombs. $20 for members of Green-Wood and BHS / $25 for non-members. Saturday, October 27, 1 – 3:30 p.m. Tickets at: www.green-wood.com/event/spirited-stroll-4/2018-10-27/

Boo At the Zoo: Learn all about bats, and enjoy a haunted barn, a costumed character scavenger hunt, and other Halloween games and crafts. Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Prospect Park Zoo, 450 Flatbush Ave. at Ocean Avenue. 718-399–7339, www.prospectparkzoo.com. $10 ($7 kids).

Halloween Party and Parade: At Mother Cabrini Park in the Columbia Street Waterfront District. Wear your costume and bring an instrument to this local parade. President and Van Brunt Streets. Starts at 11 a.m. https://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2018/10/28/13th-annual-halloween-party-and-parade

Borough of the Dead Walking Tour: Haunted Brooklyn Heights, suitable for kids (meet at Court Street and Pacific Street in Brooklyn Heights, www.boroughsofthedead.com/brooklyn. Oct. 27 at 4:30 pm. $30 ($25 in advance, $15 kids 8–12).

Ghouls & Gourds: Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s wacky and wonderful festival for families and visitors of all ages is a don’t-miss event. Photo by Mary Frost

Fulton Hall Fun: Fulton Hall, part of Gotham Market at the Ashland, is hosting an all-day event featuring a dance party, pumpkin pie eating contest, games and seasonal beer, cider, and cocktails. Winners of the midnight costume contest will win free beer for a year. Kids costume contest at 2 p.m. Adults dance party 10 p.m. to close. 250 Ashland Place, Fort Greene.

Pitkin Avenue BID Halloween Parade and Harvest: Costume contest, puppet show and pumpkin giveaway. Pitkin Avenue between Strauss and Osborn streets, Ocean Hill-Brownsville. Noon. https://www.facebook.com/events/777179239157067/

Halloween Parade in Gowanus: Costume contest and pumpkin painting at Thomas Greene Playground. Third Avenue and Douglass Street, Gowanus. 2 – 4 p.m.

Gravesend Inn: Prepare to be scared at New York City College of Technology’s (City Tech) annual high-tech haunted hotel. This theme-park-quality Halloween attraction has been thrilling children (ages 10 and up recommended) and adults alike since 2000. Through Halloween, schedule varies. Downtown Brooklyn. www.citytechtheatreworks.org/gravesendinn/

Photo by Via Wohl

Sunday, October 28

Brooklyn Heights Halloween Parade: (Rescheduled for Sunday due to prediction of rain on Saturday.) The Brooklyn Heights Association sponsors the annual Halloween Parade at 10:30 a.m. in Pierrepont Playground. The parade will wind its way onto the Promenade and circle back to the playground, where there will be games, coffee and baked goods. Proceeds from the bake sale will fund this and other family-oriented events in the playground. Volunteers interested in bringing baked goods or helping out should contact the BHA office at 718-858-9193.

Fort Greene Park Halloween Festival: (Rescheduled for Sunday because of threat of rain Saturday.) Take a ride down the giant slide, play field games to win prizes, and make crafts with your friends.

The Great PUPkin: (Event scheduled for Saturday but will likely be rescheduled for Sunday at 11:30 a.m. due to rain.) Fort Greene Park Users and Pets Society (PUPS) will host the 20th Annual Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest in Fort Greene Park. Advance preregistration for the first 80 entrants. An additional 20 slots on first-come, first-served, at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 27, on the Fort Greene Park monument plaza. A $5.00 donation encouraged. All proceeds to be used for park education and maintenance. www.fortgreenepups.org/the-great-pupkin

¡CalabazaFest! In Bushwick: RiseBoro Community Partnership presents a music-filled, outdoor mini-festival, costume party, and community celebration at Bushwick’s Maria Hernandez Park. Combining Harvest Fair, Day of the Dead, and Halloween traditions with delicious food, live cooking demonstrations, mask-making, contest. Live stage show will feature world-famous mariachis and Mexican folk dances. Noon – 4 p.m. RB Youth Center – 1474 Gates Avenue. RSVP at https://www.riseboro.org/rb/community/events/join-riseboro-at-calabazafest-on/

Halloween party at Old Stone House: Pizza cooked in an outdoor oven, pumpkin-painting and a mini costume contest. Parade around Washington Park at 3 p.m., with awards for best family costume, most creative outfit, and most ferocious monster! 336 Third St. between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope, 718-768–3195, www.theoldstonehouse.org. Noon – 3 p.m. Free.

Photo by Mary Frost

Halloween Party at Industry City: Bring the kids to Industry City for a Halloween edition of the Sunset Park Cinema Club, featuring a 12:15 p.m. screening of “Hocus Pocus,” starring Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker as wild witches out on Halloween. Spooky storytelling, pumpkin carving, and a Halloween puppet show. Scavenger hunt at 10 a.m. Halloween Parade 11:30 a.m. 233 37th St. between Second and Third avenues in Sunset Park, free with RSVP at www.rooftopfilms.com. Oct. 28; 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Greenpoint Children’s Halloween Parade: Kicks off at noon on Manhattan Avenue from Java Street to Norman Avenue and back. Followed by a Spooktacular Party for younger kids (under 10) at 1 p.m. and a Zombie Nerf War at 4 p.m. for tweens (blasters provided). Greenpoint YMCA, 176 Java St. between Manhattan Avenue and McGuinness Boulevard. www.townsquareinc.com. Parade free, party or Nerf war $20 ($15 in advance, $25 for both). Parents $10 ($5 in advance).

Haunted House Crawl in Bed-Stuy: For the 15th year, residents and others will come together for this popular event, with houses doling out candy and community gardens hosting activities. Stuyvesant Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant. 5 – 7 p.m. www.patchensquare.com/journal/2018-halloween-tour

Photo by Mary Frost

Halloween, October 31

Park Slope Halloween Parade: Brooklyn’s biggest Halloween Parade kicks off at 14th Street and Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, travels north on Seventh Avenue to Third Street, where it makes a left, and ends with a party at JJ Byrne Playground at the Old Stone House. www.parkslopeciviccouncil.org. 6:30 p.m. Free.

Cobble Hill Halloween Parade: This neighborhood favorite has been a tradition for more than 20 years. Organized by the Cobble Hill Association, this hour-long parade kicks off at 4 p.m. in Cobble Hill Park and follows musicians that lead a procession of costumed families down Congress to Henry, around to Warren Street and back to the park. Kids can stop at stoops for treats along the way in one of the most active Halloween communities in Brooklyn. http://cobblehill.nyc/event/cobble-hill-halloween-parade/

BAMBoo at BAM: Bring the kids to an outdoor block party in front of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Stilt-walkers, candy giveaways, live music from “RadioDead,” carnival games and a costume contest with the first-place winner getting four tickets to BAMKids. Outside the BAM Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street in Fort Greene, www.bam.org. 4–7 pm. Free.

Dumboween: Bring the kids to a spooky story at the Brooklyn Roasting Company, then costumed characters will march to the Archway Under the Manhattan Bridge for a Halloween party.Candy, arts and crafts, a costume contest, and music from Funkrust Brass Band from 5 – 7 p.m. 25 Jay St. at John Street in DUMBO and the Archway at Water Street between Anchorage Place and Adams Street. www.dumbo.is. 4:30 – 7 p.m. Free.

Brooklyn Historical Society Bash: BHS opens its doors for an evening of Halloween hijinks. Includes tales of Brooklyn’s ghosts featuring Boroughs of the Dead founder Andrea Janes, an exploration of funerary traditions with funeral director Amy Cunningham, and more celebrations of all things macabre. Come in costume and participate in a contest for the title of Best Dressed Ghoul in Brooklyn. 6 – 9 p.m. www.brooklynhistory.org. 718-222-4111 x202

Thriller Dance Party at Myrtle Avenue Plaza: Dance jam from 4 – 5 p.m., and then the AbunDance company will teach some moves inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video prior to group dance at 5:45 p.m. Thriller Dance Party at Myrtle Avenue Plaza, Myrtle Avenue at Emerson Place in Clinton Hill. 718-230-1689 ext. 3, www.myrtleavenue.org. Oct. 31; 4 – 6 p.m. Free.

Photo by Mary Frost

Halloween Community Night at Greenpoint Theater: Stuart Cinema and Cafe will be passing out treats for kids and screening two family-friendly films: “Lego Scooby Doo Haunted Hollywood” at 4 p.m., and for older kids “The Corpse Bride” at 6 p.m. (The 8 p.m. showing of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” is adults-only). 79 West St. between Milton and Noble streets in Greenpoint, www.stuartcinema.com. Oct. 31. Free with RSVP.

Best Trick-or-Treat Neighborhoods: Here are a few suggestions — On the big day, take the kids to Garden Place and Grace Court Alley in Brooklyn Heights, and to Boerum Hill between Court and Hoyt Streets. According to mommypoppins.com, East Third Street in Windsor Terrace between Vanderbilt and Greenwood turns into a Halloween block party each year with the street closed to traffic. In Ditmas Park, an “awesome parade” starts with cider and treats at a house on Albemarle between Rugby and Argyle, with many of the beautiful Victorian-style mansions spooked out to the max. A smaller, similar parade in West Midwood starts on Glenwood and Rugby.