Brooklyn, our city’s hippest borough, is loaded with fun festivals happening this fall. The events are easily accessible by subway or bus, so grab your MetroCard. Many of these festivals are excellent for families, so bring the kids. Don’t forget a bit of cash to spend on food and drinks, or to buy a pumpkin, bag of freshly picked apples, or something else fallesque, and head to one of the following fall festivals in Brooklyn.
Cypress Hills Cemetery’s Halloween Party
Cypress Hills Cemetery’s Halloween Party offers hayrides, pumpkin picking and decorating, face painting, popcorn and ice cream, as well as two giant bounce houses. The cemetery hosts free events throughout the year to strengthen and give back to the community. Their 5K event raises money for notable charities in honor of fallen NYPD Detective Peter Figoski.
Where & when: Cypress Hills Cemetery, 833 Jamaica Avenue | Sunday, October 21st, 2018, 10:00am – 1:00pm.
How to get there: Subways: Take the J train to Cypress HillsStation. Buses: B13 and Q56 to Jamaica Avenue.
Reel Sisters Family Day Weekend
Reel Sisters invites you to bring your kids for an afternoon of child friendly films and entertainment at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in downtown Brooklyn. Enjoy comfy chairs, great food and films for Reel Sisters Family Day Weekend. You’ll have the opportunity to meet filmmakers and special guests. Reel Sisters Family Day Pass start at $20 per person.
Where & when: Alamo Drafthouse NYC, 445 Albee Square West, Brooklyn | October 20th + 21st, 2018
How to get there: Subways: B, D, Q, N, R to Dekalb Avenue station; 2, 3 to Hoyt Street station; 4, 5 to Nevins Street station; A, C, G to Hoyt – Schermerhorn station. Buses: B54 to Myrtle Avenue, B38 to Dekalb Avenue, B26, B26, B52 to Fulton Street/Bond Street.
Ghouls & Gourds 2018
The annual Ghouls & Ghourds is Brooklyn’s wackiest costume parade. Kids and adults will love dressing up and carousing with colossal puppets. There is also live music.
Where & when: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 990 Washington Avenue | Saturday, October 27th, 2018, 12-5:30pm.
How to get there: If you’re coming by subway, the easiest way is to take the 2 or 3 train to the Eastern Parkway—Brooklyn Museum station and you will see the Eastern Parkway entrance to the BBG just to the right of the museum. Buses: B41 to Empire Boulevard, B45 to Washington Avenue, B48 to Eastern Parkway, B16 to Lincoln Road, B41 or B69 to Brooklyn Public Library, B43 to Washington Avenue, B49 to Eastern Parkway, B6 to Classon Avenue; LIRR to Flatbush Avenue/Atlantic Avenue Station.
Harvest Festival – Brooklyn Bridge Park
A haunted marsh, pumpkin patch, arts and crafts, face painting, music, and games await at this year’s Harvest Festival.
Where & when: Brooklyn Bridget Park | Saturday, October 20th, 11am-2pm.
How to get there: BBP Pier 6 is accessible by bus, subway and ferry.
Fort Greene Park Conservancy’s Halloween Festival
Sponsored by Fort Greene PUPS, the Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest is one of the key fall activities in Brooklyn. It’s also the borough’s largest and most outrageous dog costume contest. You’ll love seeing dogs dressed in their best attire.
Where & when: Fort Greene Park | Dates have not yet been announced.
How to get there: Subways: C to Lafayette, G to Fulton, R, Q, B to DeKalb Avenue, 2, 3, 4, 5, D, N to Atlantic Avenue. Buses: B38, B52, B25, B26.
Haunted Houses Across Brooklyn
If you’re into horror, Brooklyn’s haunted houses are some of the spookiest fall activities in Brooklyn. Gravesend Inn at 186 Jay Street is a high-tech, theme-park quality haunted hotel. Produced by Theatreworks, the attraction has been scaring children and adults since 1999. In addition, the 78th Precinct in Brooklyn transforms their Park Slope office’s basement into a Haunted House for Halloween.
Where & when and how to get there: Directions and times vary.
Boo at the Zoo, Prospect Park
This year’s Boo at the Zoo in Prospect Park is packed with fun activities. There are Halloween-themed games and crafts like Costumed Character Scavenger Hunt and face painting. There are plenty of animals to visit. There will also be a Spooky Barn for the older kids, with sea lion training sessions and a kid-friendly dance party. This event is free with zoo admission.
Where & when: 450 Flatbush Avenue | October 28th – 29th, 2017, 11am-4pm.
How to get there: Subways: B, Q to Prospect Park Station. Buses: B41 to Flatbush Avenue.
Halloween Harvest at Luna Park
Coney Island has it going on during Halloween. Luna Park’s month-long annual event offers plenty of events for families, from face painting to pony rides to arts and crafts to magic tricks to karaoke, games, story time and dance. The park also has a pumpkin patch onsite. Special events throughout the festival include the annual dog parade and costume contest, Marc and the Maniac Carvers who will transform a giant gourd into a masterpiece and a Halloween parade and costume contest for all ages to top off the celebration.
Where & when: Coney Island | Weekends through October 31st .
How to get there: Subways: Q & F to West 8th Street Station D, F, N & Q to the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station. Buses: B36 to Surf Avenue and West 8th St, or B68 to Neptune Avenue and West 8th St.
The annual Brooklyn Holiday Bazaar showcases the best of Brooklyn made goods. The Bazaar is filled with local gems including handmade goods, delicious food, drinks, music, craft activities and more.
Where & when: The bazaar will take place at two locations: 501 Union and The Green Building in Gowanus. | November 24th & 25th
How to get there: Subways: A and C train – Hoyt – Schermerhorn Station, F train – Carroll Street Station, R train – Union Street Station.
Photo credit: A Rosario, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Holly Rosen Fink is a marketing consultant and culture and travel writer living in Larchmont, New York
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram