Brooklyn’s Halloween Week: Parades, Pups and a Haunted Carousel

Pumpkins are crowding stoops across Brooklyn, and the seasonal decor is out in force. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which means the week leading up to it is stacked with free and low-cost programs for every age, according to a roundup from Brownstoner. Organizers advise checking each event’s page for updates and registration details before heading out.

The run of events starts this Saturday, October 24, with the 28th annual Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest at Fort Greene Park’s Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, from noon to 1 p.m. Registration for canine contestants sells out quickly, but anyone can show up for free to watch the costumed dogs.

Thursday, October 29, brings a free outdoor screening of the animated film “Corpse Bride” in Sunset Park, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Viewers are asked to bring a blanket for the central lawn. The next day, Friday, October 30, offers two family-friendly options. The Haunted House and Hallow Gala at the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in East Flatbush runs from 3 to 7 p.m. and includes a haunted house, a pumpkin patch and a carnival. From 4 to 6 p.m., BK Boo! takes over Abolitionist Place in Downtown Brooklyn with music, fortune telling, face painting and a “paw-rade.” Costumes are encouraged for people and pets alike.

Halloween itself is the busiest day. In Williamsburg, the George Washington Carver Community Garden hosts a costume party and volunteer day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration is required, and volunteers will build raised beds and do other garden work, so costumes should be chosen with workwear in mind. In East New York, the 400 Montauk Community Garden offers trick-or-treating for local children from noon to 1:30 p.m., with music and treats. It is one of several borough gardens hosting festivities, and the NYC Parks calendar lists others.

In Prospect Park, the Children’s Corner’s Haunted Carousel gives riders a chance to wear a costume and spin on the historic carousel to spooky Halloween music. Rides cost $3, or $13 for a book of five tickets, and the carousel runs from noon to 5 p.m. The source lists the dates as Saturday, October 31, and “Sunday, October 29,” but October 29 is a Thursday this year, so confirm the schedule before you go. The Audubon Center is also hosting free nature activities on Saturday, including picking apart owl pellets and feeding a snake.

Later that afternoon, Bed-Stuy’s Macon Library presents Masquerade on Macon from 4:30 to 8 p.m. In its ninth year, the volunteer-performed theatrical production, “Season of the Witch,” will go on rain or shine and repeat roughly every 30 minutes, starting at 4:30 p.m.

The evening’s capstone is the Park Slope Civic Council Halloween Parade on 7th Avenue, a tradition dating to the 1980s. Participants can line up at 7th Avenue and 14th Street at 6 p.m. for the 6:30 start. The parade, with music and costumed revelers, runs until 8 p.m. and ends at the Old Stone House.