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Halloween Weekend 2025 in NYC: Trick-or-Treat, Halloween Parades, and More Things To Do

Dumboween is scarily entertaining, beginning with the annual March to the Arch followed by crafts, costume contests, live music, and trick-or-treating, of course! Photo by Hassan Mokaddam
Dumboween is scarily entertaining, beginning with the annual March to the Arch followed by crafts, costume contests, live music, and trick-or-treating, of course! Photo by Hassan Mokaddam
10/31/25 - By Drew Kristofik

Looking for the best things to do in New York City this Halloween weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list for Halloween weekend.

We're in full fright mode at last, up to our eyeballs in Halloween activities. Our top picks for Halloween proper include the Jackson Heights Halloween Parade and Brooklyn's free fete, BAMBoo! When you're done parading and partying, you'll need this list of NYC's best trick-or-treat neighborhoods, so you know where to source the goodies!

The fun doesn't end on Friday, though. Day of the Dead delights abound. You can squash your squash on Saturday at Pier 84 or the Astoria Park Pumpkin Smash. Pint-sized theater-goers can see a silly musical version of Snow White at the New Victory Theater, which opens its season this weekend.

More Things To Do in New York City this Week with Kids

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All the superheroes and stars come out for BAMboo!, the over-the-top Halloween party at BAM. Photo by Elena Olivia
All the superheroes and stars come out for BAMboo!, the over-the-top Halloween party at BAM. Photo by Elena Olivia

Best Things To Do on Halloween in NYC with Kids

Trick-or-Streets

Citywide – FREE
NYC DOT partners with Open Streets, plazas, and other corridors in October and on Halloween to add pedestrian space during one of the busiest nights of the year. READ MORE

Spooky Snug Harbor Tour

Snug Harbor, Staten Island
Snug Harbor is one of Staten Island’s most beautiful historic destinations. And, if the legends are true, one of its most haunted...Journey back in time to learn about murder, mayhem, and hauntings at Snug Harbor, including a visit to the final resting place of Captain Robert Randall, whose wealth willed Snug Harbor into existence.  READ MORE

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. READ MORE

Haunted Halloween Labyrinth in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Brooklyn Heights – FREE
Brooklyn Bridge Park hosts a slightly spooky—but not too scary—Halloween experience for youngsters featuring a maze with ghosts and ghouls and witches on brooms...plus plenty of candy treats! Costumes encouraged.  READ MORE

BAMboo!

Fort Greene, 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 more. Costumes are encouraged. READ MORE

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. READ MORE

Children's Halloween Parade in Washington Square Park

Greenwich Village – FREE
Manhattan Community Board 2 and NYU host one of the city's largest free children's events on Halloween. Festivities include live performances, games, treats, and more.  READ MORE

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. READ MORE

Best Neighborhoods to Trick-or-Treat on Halloween in NYC

Citywide
These are NYC's top trick-or-treating spots in all five boroughs. READ MORE

52nd Annual Village Halloween Parade

Greenwich Village – FREE
The world's most famous Halloween parade weaves through the streets of Greenwich Village once again. Hundreds of puppets, musicians, dancers, artists, and thousands of other New Yorkers in creative costumes march in the nation’s most wildly creative public participatory event in the greatest city in the world. READ MORE
Visit this grand, corner-lot mansion in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, for Halloween decorations taken to the next level! Photo by Sara Marentette
Visit this grand, corner-lot mansion in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, for Halloween decorations taken to the next level! Photo by Sara Marentette

More Top Things To Do this Weekend in NYC with Kids

Inwood Pumpkin Pageant in Isham Park

Inwood – FREE
Saturday, November 1
The Inwood Pumpkin Pageant returns to Isham Park for another spooky display of Halloween artistry. Local residents bring their carved jack-o'-lanterns to the park the evening after Halloween for a grand community event. READ MORE

Astoria Park Pumpkin Smash

Astoria, Queens – FREE
Saturday, November 1
Don’t trash it, smash it! Sling your pumpkin across Astoria Park using a giant slingshot designed and built by Astoria Woodworkers Collective. Or you can grab a mallet and head to the “smash zone” tarp and smash by hand. All smashed pumpkins will be gathered into DSNY bins and taken off-site for compost use to enrich our soil throughout the city. READ MORE

Hudson River Park's Pumpkin Smash

Midtown West – FREE
Saturday, November 1
Bring your jack-o'-lantern or uncarved pumpkin to Hudson River Park's Pier 84 to squash, smash, and smush it into compost to help keep the park beautiful, green, and growing. The fun-packed afternoon includes free face painting from Silly Cheeks and circus entertainment by Bindlestiff performers. READ MORE

Super Sabado: Día de los Muertos at El Museo del Barrio

East Harlem – FREE
Saturday, November 1
El Museo’s annual Día de los Muertos celebration returns with a full day of family-friendly programming. Honoring the lives of loved ones who have passed, this beloved tradition invites visitors of all ages to come together and experience the vibrant cultural traditions surrounding the holiday.  READ MORE

Día de los Muertos Family Celebration in Green-Wood Cemetery

Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Saturday, November 1
Throughout Mexico, from October 31 to November 2, departed loved ones are commemorated through prayer, offerings, altars, music, dance, and food. Spend the afternoon celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at Green-Wood Cemetery with crafts, storytelling, and snacks. READ MORE

Snow White at the New Victory Theater

Midtown West
Opens Saturday, November 1
Mirror, mirror on the wall, this Snow White has laughs for all. The well-trod tale of vanity and virtue is ripe for reinvention, now bristling with original songs from a band of six storytellers. READ MORE

Opening Weekend of LeFrak Center Ice Skating Rink

Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Opens Saturday, November 1
Lace up your skates — ice skating is back in Prospect Park! The season kicks off with free public skating sessions, free mini skating lessons, and tons of fall fun all weekend long.  READ MORE

Day of the Dead 2025 at the Museum of the Moving Image

Astoria, Queens – FREE
Sunday, November 2
Celebrate a vibrant and authentic Day of the Dead at the Museum of the Moving Image with a performance of Aztec Mexica dance, ofrendas, fun digital media activities for kids and families, music from the Indigenous dance troupe Yayauhki Tezcatlipoka, and the Mexican Folkloric Ballet of New York. READ MORE

33rd Annual Canstruction Competition at Brookfield Place

Financial District – FREE
Daily, through Monday, November 10
This extraordinary annual design competition is the most unique food charity in the world, Canstruction challenges teams of architects, engineers, and contractors to build sculptures made entirely out of unopened cans of food.  READ MORE

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About the Author

Drew Kristofik
Drew Kristofik’s career took a twist from editing teen magazines to a seven-year stint at MacNeil/Lehrer, followed by a long run at Nickelodeon/Viacom as Director of Content for Nick Online and Editor-in-Chief of ParentsConnect.com. A founding member of the Webby Award-winning GoCityKids, she’s written for Family Fun, Vanity Fair, and New York. Her middle school novel, The Time Boat, is available on Amazon Kindle. Drew keeps the MommyPoppins New York Events calendar spot-on and can be reached at events@mommypoppins.com.
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