Halloween Round-Up: Where Brooklynites Can Celebrate the Spooky Season

It’s that time of year again — to savor the thrills, chills and fun of the Halloween season.

Throughout the month of October, there are tons of events that can entertain kids and adults alike. Here are a few places to get your spook on.

Coney Island’s Luna Park continues to bring on the scares and fun with its annual Halloween Harvest. The series of events will feature the park’s newest addition, Tillie’s Tractor, on which riders race throughout the park to find their treasure. Other entertainment includes face painting, pumpkin picking and decorating, caricatures, storytelling, pirate entertainment, Argghs & Crafts, a pirate puppet show, magic shows and more.  The activities will take place every weekend until Sunday, October 28.

On Sunday, October 14, more than 100 dogs are slated to participate in Luna Park’s annual Dog Parade and Costume Contest. An expert panel of judges will evaluate the winners based on Audience Choice, Cutest, Mister/Miss Congeniality, Most Original and Best of Show. Then on Sunday, October 27, Marc and the Maniac Carvers, Brooklyn-based pumpkin carvers, will be back for their fifth year to transform a giant gourd into a Halloween masterpiece. Finally on Sunday, October 28, the Halloween Parade and Costume Party will take place.

For more information, visit www.lunaparknyc.com.

On Saturday, October 20, state Sen. Marty Golden, with the support of the Marine Park Community Association and the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, will present Marine Park’s 33rd Halloween Fall Festival at Lenape Park, East 36th Street and Avenue U, from 12-3 p.m.

The fun-filled day will include a pumpkin patch, treats, a puppet show presented by NYC Parks Puppetworks, the FDNY Smokehouse and more. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes and prizes will be awarded for the best ones.

For more information, call 718-336-7343.

On Saturday, October 20, D.A.N.N.Y. Inc., a nonprofit anti-bullying organization, will host its Anti Bully Halloween Party. The day will feature an anti-bully poster contest, costume contest, food, open bar, music by DJ Suds, free treat bags and awareness bracelets. There will also be a 50/50 raffle.

Admission is $25 for adults (free for kids 16 and under accompanied by an adult). The address is 40 Minthorne Street, Staten Island.

For more information, visit www.dannyslaw.org.

On Saturday, October 27 from 12– 3 p.m., the Prospect Park Alliance will host its 39th annual Halloween Haunted Walk and Fair. This annual event brings kids and families to Prospect Park for free fun. The haunted walk will go through the woodlands to Lookout Hill, and is ideal for families with children ages seven to 12.

All ages can enjoy the festive Halloween Fair in the Nethermead, featuring family-friendly activities, as well as sweet and savory treats from some of the city’s top food trucks.

For more information, visit www.prospectpark.org/news-events.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 990 Washington Avenue, is bringing back its Ghouls & Gourds: Halloween Festival on Saturday, October 27 from 12-5:30 p.m. The day will include musical performances, and kids of all ages will be able to interact with insects both real and imaginary and meet an entomologist and her bugs at Dr. Rutledge’s Insectorium and Petting Zoo.

Other activities include a Vegetable Midway with Brussels Sprout Bowling, Rutabaga Skee-Ball and more.

Tickets are $20 for adults; seniors and children over 12 are $15. Children under 12 and BBG members get in for free.

To purchase tickets, visit www.bbg.org/ghoulsandgourds.

Gates open at 10 a.m., festival begins at 12 noon. Last admission at 5:30 p.m.

On Sunday, October 28, Brooklyn Music School (BMS) will host its Seventh Annual Musical Haunted House.

The event provides the community with a fun, family-friendly Halloween activity filled with thrills, costumes, candy and especially music. Guests will be led through four stories of BMS’s spooky decorated landmarked building with a “shtick-or-treat” waiting for them courtesy of BMS’s students and world-class faculty. The event will also feature tribute bands.

The event will be held on Sunday, October 28 from 3-5 p.m. at BMS, 126 Saint Felix Street. Tickets are $5 and are available at https://www.brooklynmusicschool.org/calendar/haunted-house-2018.

On Wednesday, October 31, the annual Park Slope Civic Council Halloween Parade will take place starting at 6:30 p.m.

The event has been a part of neighborhood life since 1986. Each year, the merchants on Seventh and Fifth Avenues hand out an abundance of sweets and treats to a seemingly never-ending swarm of imaginatively attired children, eagerly holding up their bags. The sidewalks are an obstacle course of visual delights.

The event kicks off at Seventh Avenue and 14th Street and will conclude in J.J. Byrne Playground at the Old Stone House.

For more information, visit www.parkslopeciviccouncil.org.

Also on Wednesday, October 31, Assemblymember William Colton’s office will host its annual Trick or Treat from 2:45-5:30 p.m. at 155 Kings Highway.

“For the past few years my office has been hosting candy distribution for the children in the neighborhood. I know that it’s a lot of fun for kids, which makes me happy,” said Colton.

For more information, call 718-236-1598.

Also on Wednesday, October 31, Golden will host the 24th Annual Haunted Halloween Walk and Fairy Tale Forest in Owl’s Head Park, Colonial Road and 67th Street, from 3:30-8:30 p.m. The event will feature a Haunted Walk, a Fairytale Forest, a pumpkin patch, costumed characters, kids’ activities, arts and crafts, and a costume contest. The event will also feature kids’ rides, face painting, sand art, a Trackless Train Ride and “Dracula’s Food Court.”

For more information, call 718-238-6044.