Halloween Things To Do In NYC With The Whole Family

It’s no secret that Halloween in New York is a big deal. Since it does fall on a Wednesday this year, you’ll have to settle for celebrating this beloved candy-filled holiday for the entire week leading up to it! Here are some family-friendly events from festivals to parties to contests that will keep you in the spooky spirit.

The Great Jack-O’-Lantern Blaze
[All Ages]
Wander through this historic riverside scenery that is made entirely out of jack-o’-lanterns, all hand-carved on site by a team of professionals! From walking the Pumpkin Zee Bridge to taking a picture with the jack-o’-lantern Statue of Liberty to taking a ride on the fully operating Pumpkin Carousel, you and the family will be fully immersed in pumpkin madness! $22-27 adults, $16-20 children, September 28-November 24, hours vary. Van Cortlandt Manor, 525 South Riverside, Croton-on-Hudson, hudsonvalley.org

LUNA PARK’S Halloween
[All Ages]
Don’t miss out on Luna Park’s fifth-annual pirate-themed Halloween Harvest happening at Coney Island! In addition to nonstop fun and candy, there will be spooktacular rides on Tillie’s Tractor, where kids will search for hidden treasure! Other entertainment includes face-painting, pumpkin picking, “Arggghs and Crafts,” puppet shows, and so much more! Free, Every weekend from September 29-October 28. Coney Island, lunaparknyc.com

Halloween Harvest Festival
[All Ages]
Socrates Sculpture Park’s last event of their 2018 season is the wonderful Halloween Harvest Festival. This year’s event is inspired by Fet Gede, the Haitian Festival of the Ancestors. There will be costume-making and face-painting, as well as card readings, cultural performances, and so much more! Free, October 27, 12-4pm. 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens, socratessculpturepark.org

Pumpkin Carving Contest
[All Ages]
Who doesn’t love carving pumpkins and winning prizes? At this annual carving contest, families can bring their own jack-o’-lantern and enter into this fierce competition. Prizes are awarded in different categories such as scariest, funniest, and most creative. And if you don’t feel like getting your hands messy, feel free to stop by and watch the jack-o’-lanterns come to life! Free, Saturday, October 27, 4:45-6pm. 199 Chambers Street, washingtonmarketpark.org

LC Trick-or-Treat
[All Ages]
Celebrate Halloween at the Lincoln Center this year! It’s an afternoon full of costumes, stories, and of course all the candy your little ones can dream of. Your kids can go trick-or-treating across the various plazas, participate in a spooky scavenger hunt, and even create a stuffed zombie! And after all of this craziness, the whole fam is invited to watch a screening of “Monster House!” Free, October 28, 11am-1pm. 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, lincolncenter.org

Halloween Party and Parade
[All Ages]
Join in on this long-standing Tribeca tradition! With a parade, live music, and huge park party, there’s nowhere else you’ll want to celebrate Halloween! This community favorite brings together the NYC community and is perfect for filling your day with family fun before heading out for trick-or-treating. Free, October 28, 1-3pm. 199 Chambers Street, washingtonmarketpark.org

Village Halloween Parade
[All Ages]
What better way to commemorate this spooky holiday than to watch or participate in the Village Halloween Parade? The theme for the 45th annual parade is “I AM a Robot!” so if you’re in need of some costume inspiration, go along with the theme and put together a robot costume like nobody has ever seen before. Don’t forget, creativity is pretty much mandatory! Free, October 31, 7pm. 6th Avenue from Spring Street to 16th Street, halloween-nyc.com

Dance Workshop - NY

Nestled in the heart of the UES, Dance Workshop is a community-focused studio committed to dance education in a loving and safe environment. Dance Workshop offers Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre and Acro for ages 2+. They also offer a Pre-Professional Company track for dancers interested in taking their technique to the next level. Trial classes may be scheduled with the studio at the start of the season. Dance with Dance Workshop! MaryAnn Grasso founded Dance Workshop in 1979. Her daughter Nanci later joined her at the helm and in 2016 established Dance Workshop on the Upper East Side of NYC. MaryAnn and Nanci have devoted their lives to dance education, community and the development of children; raising dancers and sound human beings alike. Dance Workshop has seen thousands of dancers pass through the doors. They believe dance has the power to elevate and change lives!

Music Together

Music Together&reg; is for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their parents/caregiver. The classes include songs, rhythmic rhymes and movement, and instrument play activities that are developmentally appropriate for the children and easy for parents and caregivers, regardless of their own musical ability.

Speakitaly NYC

SPEAKITALY NYC offers stimulating and entertaining lessons for children 0 to 16 years through a wide combination of activities based on the communicative approach anchored in the Common European Framework of Reference: active learning (group work, role plays, etc.) and practice exercises aimed to improve listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Kids will start speaking and using Italian in a very natural way.&nbsp; Small classes capped at 6 students to make sure each one gets the needed attention and facilitate learners' progress.&nbsp; Our method is driven by a didactic method that is the result of constant updates, professional certifications and more than 10 years of experience in working with non-native speakers from different native languages and levels of knowledge. Our aim is to develop a range of Italian language skills while improving accuracy that will enable the students and participants to interact without stress or feeling rushed. We want to help those in the community really embrace not only the true culture in Italy but the Italian culture within New York City&hellip; Who doesn&rsquo;t love what Italy represents in the kitchen, in history &amp; in the arts? Speakitaly wants to support multilingual families who want to learn a new language or pass along their ancestor&rsquo;s heritage and culture. Raffaella, the founder said: "We see language awareness and intercultural sensitivity as the milestones for an inclusive society. Italian, like all other languages, is an enrichment and a growth in every way. Vi aspettiamo!"