Costumes and candy make Halloween the perfect kid-friendly holiday. We’ve got 20 of the best events for families this Halloween weekend and on the big night.
Haunted High Line
Part time-traveling history lesson, part old-fashioned Halloween fun, Haunted High Line will be a full day of fun for kids up to 12 years old. Hear a ghost recount how she made cookies in factories along the elevated tracks at the Cookie Corner, stop by the old timey photobooth, do science experiments at the Ice Box, sing and dance along with the Bilingual Birdies, marvel at a Halloween-themed magic show, walk a ghost tunnel and more. Free with RSVP, Oct. 28, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., on the High Line, 14th-16th sts., enter at 14th St. and 10th Ave., eventbrite.com
Kids Halloween Parade
The city’s largest free kid-friendly event of the spooky season takes place in Washington Square Park on Halloween afternoon. Come to the fountain to take part in the families-only processional that is the Kids Halloween Parade. Participants will receive free trick-or-treat bags and can take part in games and rides on West Third Street at LaGuardia Place after strutting their stuff. Free, Oct. 31, 3 p.m., nycgovparks.org
Brookfield Place Halloween Bash
A kid-friendly haunted garden is the centerpiece of this year’s Halloween Bash at Brookfield Place, with cauldrons that emit spooky echoes — if you know the gesture to unlock their secrets. Plus a costume catwalk, performers, storytelling, trick-or-treating, a giant Lego sculpture and more, all ending in a quiet clubbing costume dance party on the Waterfront Plaza. Free, Oct. 28, noon-3 p.m., 230 Vesey St., Lower Manhattan, artsbrookfield.com
Pumpkin Flotilla
The enchanting parade that is the Pumpkin Flotilla is almost too magical to believe. Join the Central Park Conservancy for a day of spooky stories, a costume parade, crafts and the best way to recycle your jack o’ lantern: by putting it on a boat to set sail across the Harlem Meer at sunset. (Though you’ll have to be one of the first 50 submissions to score a spot on the flotilla.) Free, Oct. 29, 4-7 p.m., enter at Central Park North and Malcolm X Blvd., centralpark.com
Ghouls & Gourds
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden mixes the harvest season and Halloween to host Ghouls & Gourds. Groove to two stages of live music and entertainment like the Louisiana zydeco sounds of Jeffrey Broussard and Creole Cowboys and a woodland waltz led by the Mettawee River Theatre Company. Expect tons of nature- and Halloween-themed fun like rutabaga skeeball, helping to build a giant spiderweb, a menagerie of larger-than-life mythical creatures roaming the grounds, and what’s promised to be “Brooklyn’s wackiest costume parade.” $20 (free for kids under 12), Oct. 28, noon-5:30 p.m., 990 Washington Ave., Prospect Park, bbg.org
Dead or Alive: Special Effects Workshop for Children
Got a science-loving girl or ghoul in your fam? Bring them to the New York Hall of Science’s Dead or Alive: Special Effects Workshop for Children workshop to learn how the magic is really made from artists and technologists in the special effects field, including making their own spectral goo at the Slime Bar, make prosthetic wounds (out of chocolate!) or a glowing eye (with LEDs and a ping-pong ball). Get there right at noon for the pumpkin chucking! Free with admission, Oct. 28, noon-7 p.m., 47-01 111th St., Corona, nysci.org
Boo at the Zoo
If you think the Bronx Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo is only for kids, prepare to be pleasantly spooked. By turns eerie, kid-friendly and educational, the zoo’s annual not-so-scary Halloween celebration has a new Haunted Forest, hayrides through a behind-the-scenes part of the zoo, a corn maze and all-ages Candy Trail, close encounters with the flying stars of Halloween legends, a costume parade with professional performers donning awe-inspiring getups and tons of special programs throughout the zoo. $36.95 for adults, $26.95 for kids up to 12, Oct. 28-29, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 2300 Southern Blvd., bronxzoo.com
Halloween Night Market
It’s a little past their bedtime, but it’s never too early to open kids’ minds to the wide world of food. Swing by the Queens International Night Market for its last night of the season and trick-or-treat across the vendors, take part in a costume contest for prizes from shops and attractions all over the city, exchange gently used costumes and groove to live music all night. Oh, and the usual assortment of the city’s best Asian foods, plus a wine garden next to a kiddie dance floor. Free entry, Oct. 28, 6 p.m.-midnight, behind the New York Hall of Science, queensnightmarket.com
Halloween Kidz Karnival
Head to Hudson River Park for a mini Halloween Kidz Karnival on Pier 26. Best for kids ages 2-8, they’ll be spoiled for fun with fair rides, Story Pirates telling tall tales of high-seas hijinx, magic shows, pumpkin painting, treats and more. Free-$2, Oct. 29, noon-5 p.m., hudsonriverpark.org
Halloween Haunted Walk and Fair
Come to Prospect Park for an afternoon of free, ghastly fun wandering through the woodland on Lookout Hill, where you’ll encounter zombies, werewolves, witches and other Halloween spirits (ages 7-12). All ages are welcome at the Halloween Fair on the Nethermead with family-friendly activities and food trucks. For the first time, there’s an afterparty called BKLYN BOO! at City Point (2-5 p.m., 445 Albee Square West) with a costume contest, trick-or-treating, a pumpkin patch, nail art and more. Free, Oct. 28, 12-3 p.m., eventbrite.com
Halloween Harvest Festival
Don’t have a costume? Make your own at Socrates Sculpture Park’s Día de los Muertos festival, plus a canine costume contest, face painting and a processional led by Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Nueva York. Free, Oct. 28, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Vernon Blvd. between Broadway and 30th Drive, nycgovparks.org
Trick-or-Treat with East Midtown
The East Midtown Partnership welcomes families with kids ages 12 and under to trick-or-treat through 80 neighborhood shops and restaurants this Halloween. From 3-7 p.m., costumed revelers are invited to stop by the Tramway Plaza to get a free map of participating businesses, snap a pic in a Halloween photobooth, get some finishing touches from face painters and more. Free, Oct. 31, 3-7 p.m., eastmidtown.org
Harvest Fest
For the first time, pups will have their own vendors, a Nepalese honoring ceremony, games and costume contest at the Meatpacking Improvement District’s annual Harvest Fest of fall-themed fun. For humans, there will be Halloween-themed crafts, live bluegrass music, a virtual reality experience, all-ages yoga, local shops selling handmade accessories, and food by restaurants like High Street on Hudson, Brunetti Pizza and Ample Hills Creamery. Oct. 28, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 14th Street Park, meatpacking-district.com
Park Slope Civic Council Halloween Parade
Brooklyn’s own Halloween parade doubles as a trick-or-treat route. Everyone from all boroughs is invited to march in costume from Seventh Avenue and 14th Street to the Old Stone House, with businesses along the route giving out treats to kids and homes along the route decking out their stoops in Halloween finery. Free, Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m., parkslopeciviccouncil.org
LC Trick-or-Treat
Lincoln Center Plaza will be overrun with friendly goblins giving out treats to costumed kids and posing for photos. Little ones of all ages can also craft stuffed zombies, enjoy Crankenstein storytime and take part in a scavenger hunt. Kids 9 and older are welcome to join a screening of Monster House at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center after the festivities. Free, Oct. 28, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., lincolncenter.org
Scarecrows & Pumpkins
Last year’s artistic scarecrows were a bit scary even for adults, so expect some tamer fun at this year’s Scarecrows & Pumpkins. The Everett Children’s Adventure Garden is decked out in more than 100 friendly scarecrows, plus lots of pumpkin photo ops, nature-themed activities and more. Through Oct. 31, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, nybg.org
Seaport Halloween Block Party
FiDi Families invites budding sculptors to the Seaport District’s Halloween Block Party to decorate mini pumpkins (first come, first served and only for kids), a dance party with Ramblin’ Dan & the Freewheelin’ Band, a mad science show, face painters and more. Free with RSVP, Oct. 29, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Fulton between Water and South sts., seaportdistrict.nyc
AMNH Kids Halloween Party
Trick-or-treaters get run of the American Museum of Natural History this Saturday, with candy, activities, crafts and more to be found in more than 30 halls during the Kids Halloween Party. Also find some of your favorite cartoon characters roaming the displays (past appearances have included Peter Rabbit and Curious George) and live performances. $15, Oct. 28, 2-6 p.m., Central Park West at 79th Street, amnh.org
Harvest Festival
Fall-themed fun arrives in DUMBO with Harvest Festival. Get the creeps walking through Brooklyn Bridge Park’s haunted marsh, then shake it off with some arts & crafts, face painting with help from Broadway’s Cats, live music, a Thriller performance, games and a pumpkin patch (with decoration station). Free, Oct. 28, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., brooklynbridgepark.org
Trick or Treat the Terminal
For the fist time ever, Grand Central is inviting kids in costume to trick-or-treat for candy and prizes around the station. Check in at the taxi stand (25 Vanderbilt Ave. and 43rd Street) to pick up a free tote bag, then settle in with your haul to watch professional pumpkin carving. Free, Oct. 31, 3-7 p.m.
