Halloween is coming up, what are you doing to celebrate? Because Halloween falls on a Monday this year, it can be hard to join in the fun on the actual date because it’s on a work/school day.
Have no fear (or maybe little bit of fear); we’ve found five fun and spooky events leading up to Halloween that will get you into the spirit of the holiday.
The Amazing Maize Maze – Queens County Farm Museum, Floral Park
Dates: Oct. 15-16, 22-23, 29-30, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Fun for all ages, kids and adults alike will have a blast finding their way out of this 3-acre corn maze. Find clues, solve puzzles and find your way out of the maze. Feel up for the challenge? The maze will be open until 9 p.m. on Oct. 12 and 22, so you can navigate the maze under the starry night sky (or by flashlight).
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children aged 4 to 11, and free for children under 3 years old.
Pumpkin Chucking – New York Hall of Science, Corona
Dates: Oct. 16 and 30, 1 p.m., Oct. 22, 2:30 p.m.
Why did the scientist throw a pumpkin out the window? Wait, that’s not how the joke goes. But the sentiment is the same at New York Hall of Science because they’ll be launching pumpkins out of a catapult, all in the name of science and fun.
This event is free with museum admission.
Fort Totten Park Haunted Lantern Tour – Fort Totten Park, Bayside
Date: Friday, Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Leave your fears at home! Led by Urban Park Rangers with lanterns, take a tour through Fort Totten Park’s historic Water Battery as it is transformed into a “haunted house.” The battery was once a former fortress that guarded New York Harbor during the Civil War, so who knows what historical spirits might show up.
This event is free to the public.
Halloween Harvest Festival – Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City
Date: Saturday, Oct. 29, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Come one, come all! It’s time again for the annual Halloween Harvest Festival at Socrates Sculpture Park. This year there is a circus theme, so visitors can enjoy costume-crafting as well as jugglers, stilt-walkers and a special circus performance by Circus Amok. Be sure to stick around and watch local dogs strut their stuff in the Annual Canine Costume Contest.
This event is free to the public. If you want to experience something truly terrifying (or maybe not so much), check out the park’s monuments to Queens native Christopher Walken, on display through next March.
Shocktoberfest – Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Corona
Date: Sunday, Oct. 30, noon to 3 p.m.
A fun event for the whole family, Shocktoberfest has something for everybody. Head into the pumpkin patch and pick out a nice pumpkin, jump in the inflatable playground, play games, make crafts and more!
This event is free to the public.
