The Halloween spooky season is finally here, so what better way to celebrate than with the whole family? This year, New York City is having a ton of family friendly Halloween events for folks all ages. NYCgo.com shared a list with Metro offering up the best family friendly Halloween events. From parades to gardens and more, here’s everything you need to check out this October:
New York Botanical Garden’s Spooky Pumpkin Garden
The 250-acre botanical garden, home to incredible horticulture exhibitions, and a year-round calendar of family events will get a Halloween makeover with a sea of festive gourds and silly scarecrows, with corresponding special activities. Along with the themed scenery, visitors can enjoy programming like visits from “creepy creatures of the night,” after-dark activities, and a monstrous pumpkin display.
$4-$28, Through October 31, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, For specific events and specific ticket prices, book your tickets at nybg.org
Boo at the Zoo at the Bronx Zoo
The largest collection of earth’s most fierce predators in New York City will also host monsters of a more mythical nature this October with Boo at the Zoo. From costume parades and craft fairs for children to a Halloween-themed beer festival, Bootoberfest, the Bronx Zoo is rolling out the orange carpet every weekend for all that is spooky starting September 28 through the weekend after Halloween. Insider tip: Visitors who stay at an Affinia hotel during these select weekends can receive four tickets for the fun along with their stay with this special package.
$29.95 – $39.95, Through November, Weekends & Holidays: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, For specific events and specific ticket prices book your tickets at bronxzoo.com.
Governors Island’s Night of 1,000 Jack O’ Lanterns
For 10 days in October, the island oasis, a short seven-minute ferry ride from Lower Manhattan will transform into a Halloween paradise. Visitors can take in breathtaking views of the New York Harbor along the Jack O’ Lantern trail, a tree-lined pathway weaving through centuries-old buildings. Not to mention, the island is also home to Castle Williams, a 200-year-old former military fort and prison, five miles of car-free bike paths, and a handful of different leisure areas to explore in the crisp autumn air.
$22-$26, October 17–27, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., Governor’s Island , For specific events and specific ticket prices book your tickets at govisland.com.
Coney Island Children’s Halloween Parade
Although beach season has concluded on Coney Island, there is still plenty of fun to have on the boardwalk this year, including the 10th annual Halloween parade and costume contest. Brooklyn’s most festive residents will parade down Surf Avenue and enjoy face painting, a costume contest, and, of course, trick or treating. Families are also encouraged to explore the nearby Luna Park’s Halloween Harvest, taking place every weekend from September 28 through October 27.
October 26, for event listings go to coneyisland.com
Dead or Alive at the New York Hall of Science
At New York City’s only interactive science museum, children are encouraged to explore the science of creepy this Halloween by using household materials to make prosthetic wounds or their own vial of fake blood. Prizes are handed out to those who arrive in costume or make one at the workshop!
$13-$16, October 26–27, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., 47-01 111th St, to purchase tickets go to nysci.org
Children’s Halloween Festival and Haunted Farm House at the Queens County Farm
While families can enjoy the pumpkin patch for three weeks, the final weekend of October is when the most Halloween fun happens on the longest continually farmed site in New York State. At the fall festival, children can take part in a ghoulish adventure in a centuries-old farmhouse, explore the Amazing Maize Maze, take a hayride, two-step to western country music, and much more.
$20, October 26–27, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park, New York, to purchase tickets go to queensfarm.org.
The Ride in Masquerade
The Ride, the innovative and immersive bus tour of the City, will be in bewitching masquerade this Halloween season. Street performers along the tour route will hide behind their lace and bejeweled masks to celebrate as visitors enjoy enchanting stories, beguiling videos, and aristocratic spirits
$69- $79, Through October 31, hours vary, to purchase tickets go to experiencetheride.com.
