Halloween Events on the Upper West Side
Photos by Denton Taylor from a Lincoln Center Halloween event.
Over the next few days there are tons of events in the neighborhood to celebrate Halloween.
Saturday
Lincoln Center
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
There will be free performances on Saturday on the Lincoln Center campus.
Josie Robertson Plaza and Hearst Plaza:
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
– Trick-or-Treating, performances, and giveaways across the plazas
– LC Kids Scavenger Haunt Presented by Gateway’s Haunted Playhouse (Bellport, NY)
– Create a Stuffed Zombie! Presented by Children’s Museum of Manhattan
– Spooktacular Amboolance Presented by NewYork-PresbyterianDavid Rubenstein Atrium
11:00 am – 11:45 am
– Storytime at the Atrium featuring Crankenstein By Samantha Berger
Presented in collaboration with Little, Brown Books for Young ReadersVarious Lincoln Center performance venues will also be giving out candy. More here.
Symphony Space
11 a.m.
Joanie Leeds holds a Halloween Hootenany. $14 for members, $17 for non-members. More here.
Museum of Natural History
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
More than 30 of the Museum’s popular halls will be open for trick-or-treating, arts and crafts, fun with roaming cartoon characters, and live performances. $12 for members, $15 for non-members. Learn more here.
Sunday
Grand ‘Scary’ Bazaar
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
The flea market gets dressed up and sells Halloween-themed goodies. More here.
Landmark West Tour
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The preservationist group is leading a Gargoyles walk in the neighborhood. $15 for members, $20 for non members. More here.
New-York Historical Society
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Join the historical society for our annual Halloween extravaganza to experience the spookier side of the DiMenna Children’s History Museum! Kids and their families summon the spirits of the past through historical fortune-telling, ghost stories, creepy crafts, and of course…candy! Advance tickets are $10 per person. More here.
Central Park’s Dana Discovery Center and Harlem Meer
4 pm. – 7 p.m.
Enjoy pumpkin carving, Halloween crafts, spooky stories, a costume parade, and the Conservancy’s signature Pumpkin Flotilla, which sets sail across the Harlem Meer at twilight! More here.
Tuesday (Halloween Itself!)
Museum of Natural History
7 p.m.
Spooky Astronomy. “On this Halloween night, join Jackie Faherty and Lydia Maria Petrosino for an evening of spooky stories of the cosmos as we navigate the constellations and explain the most frightful and petrifying objects in the sky. Recommended for ages 12 and up.” $12 for members, $15 for non members. More here.
Trick or Treating
West 69th Street
West 69th between Broadway and Central Park West always has a very big crowd for its block party, though it can get very crowded. The decorations are always awesome!
West 87th Street
The block between West End and Riverside tends to be blocked off.
West 90th Street
The block association has held a block party between Columbus and Central Park West for several years. For the 4th year they will be doing a haunted maze on the northeast corner of 90th and Columbus (in front of 65 west 90th) between 5-9 pm.
Let us know of any other block parties or events in the comments!
87th street is between West End/Riverside, and 90th street is between Columbus/Central Park West!
95th Street between Central Park West and Columbus will also have a block party from 5:45pm on Halloween night!
Halloween is a favorite holiday…but do not get why the Museum of Natural History does a Halloween event? And trick or treating?
Because it’s a destination place for people with children?
Sean
I am a parent. (Assuming you are not)
As a holiday, Halloween has exploded. At this point, many kids on the West Side and elsewhere – particularly affluent areas – have multiple Halloween activities. Parties at school, friends who have parties, stores that sponsor “activities”, corporate “events” , in residential buildings and more. And then of course there is actual Halloween.
The museum is a great place with an educational mission – but do not see the need for the museum to do a Halloween event given above. The entrance fee means the partipants are likely to be kids who already have ample opportunities to celebrate.
I see that Rudin is sponsoring. Personally I’d rather that Rudin spend its money on kids whose families are homeless, in shelters or doubled/tripled up in deteriorated housing.
That’s the scoop
Simple choice, don’t go.
JS,
First, your “assumption” and comment to Sean is condescending and wrong.
I am a parent with children and disagree with you completely. The Museum of Natural History is a wonderful place for parents and kids to celebrate Halloween — despite your feeling that there are already lots of other options. It is not a place for just people with “ample opportunities” — as you insinuate, people with money.
The museum gives free admission to many, many people including people who get the free NYC ID card and 1000’s and 1000’s of kids in disadvantaged schools. Those people all have the opportunity to spend Halloween at that great facility. And, it is also a great chance to have all kids (with or without means) a chance to enjoy Halloween in the way THEY choose…not necessarily in the manner that YOU feel is best.
And, finally, if it is Rudin sponsoring, it is their choice how to donate, not yours.
What time is the 69th st party?
Usually starts by late afternoon, so maybe 3 or 4?
Hippo Halloween Parade
Tue Oct 31, 2017
3:30pm to 5:30pm
Join the annual Hippo Playground Halloween Parade! Gather at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at 89th Street and Riverside Drive and parade to Hippo Playground and enjoy cider and donuts. Festivities end at 5:30.
Dress up as a rat catcher!
Brilliant!
Isn’t the AMNH geared towards kids? I thought these things started years ago for safety reasons. Everything is inside and supervised as opposed to sending your kids out door-to-door to stranger’s apartments. In the midwest they do the same thing in malls.
PS166 is holding their annual Fall Festival on Saturday 10/28 instead of Sunday because of rain.
Its on West 89th street between Columbus and Amsterdam from 11a-4p
The Central Park Pumpkin Flotilla has been cancelled due to predicted bad weather
https://twitter.com/CentralParkNYC/status/924311144814268416
At what time does 69th Street start passing out candy? Is it 5 pm?