Not everything is coming up Halloween in the neighborhood…but a lot of things are! If you prefer to confine your celebrations strictly to the 31st, there are still a number of things to do this weekend that leave the 12-foot skeletons at the door. But if you’re a spooky season enthusiast, there are plenty of activities for you, too (and if you’re truly all in, check out our Halloween event guides for kids and adults). Balance.
ALL WEEKEND
ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
There’s truly nothing like the live Rocky Horror Picture Show experience, especially around Halloween. So, Brooklyn Art Haus is hosting a whole weekend of it (week, actually, but this article is just about the weekend) for those ages 16 and up. Kitchen Sink Theatre Company performers will embody the quirky cast of characters while the Brooklyn Art Haus space is turned into an immersive Transylvanian oasis with 360-degree projection and a live shadow cast. (There will be fog, strobe lights, and potential physical touch from performers, if that’s something you’d like to avoid.) Certain days have double showings at 7 and 9:30 p.m., with the latter featuring a “virgin ceremony,” and costumes are highly encouraged.
Tickets are $39.19 (including fees) and available here.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25
SPEED PORTRAITS
If you’re looking for a portrait muse or are simply trying to get better at drawing hands, you can do it in a low-stress, judgement-free environment at Crystal Lake at 6 p.m. Every Friday, the bar hosts Speed Portraits socials for artists of all art levels, no experience necessary. Mingle with and draw your fellow artists while hourglass timers count down each session. Supplies will be provided, but you can also bring your own.
The event is free, but participants are asked to purchase one item to support the bar, which also has food and non-alcoholic beverages available (plus, the social is during happy hour). RSVP here.
MTA ROAST
As a neighborhood burdened with the G train, I’m sure there’s no shortage of choice words for the MTA to go around. At 7:30, comedian Sabeen Sadiq is hosting a roast of the aforementioned transit authority with a number of comics, including Myles Toe, Lizabanks Campagna, Marty Cunnie, and more at Cafe Balearica. It may just be the most haunting event of the pre-Halloween weekend yet.
Tickets are $23.18 (including fees) and available here.
AFRO RAVE
NAIRA, the traveling party inspired by a night out in Lagos and designed to mirror West African nightlife, is stopping by Greenpoint this weekend to throw a rave at 9 p.m. The party promises authentic AfroVibes with DJ Sydney Love and friends spinning Afrobeats, Afro EDM, Amapiano (jazzy house music originating in South Africa), Coupé-décalé (percussion-based dance music popular in Côte d’Ivoire), UK AfroSwing, and more all night long. The location will be shared upon RSVP.
Early bird tickets are $17.85 (including fees) and available here.
MONOLOGUES FROM SHAKESPEARE
Eavesdropping at McCarren Park is fun, but for some real drama, look no further than one of the architects of it: William Shakespeare. At 10 p.m., the Brooklyn Center for Theater Research is hosting Monologues from Shakespeare Vol. III, featuring a number of their regular actors performing some of his finest, most drama-filled words. This is a donation-based fundraiser for the center, which serves as a workshop for emerging playwrights and offers classes, film screenings, concerts, salons and readings.
Tickets are $7.18 (including fees) and available here.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26
CITIZEN PRUNER DAY
Calling all citizen pruners! If you have a Citizen Pruner license and are itching to use it, it’s your time. Saturday is City of Forest Day in NYC (organized by Forest for All NYC) and the Greenpoint Library is organizing a pruning and tree care outing to celebrate. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers will be caring for our street trees using supplies lent by the Tool Library. Curious about becoming a card-carrying pruner? Learn more about the program with Trees New York here.
Registration is required here.
YOGA FOR CLEAN WATER ACCESS
NYC actually does have good-to-drink tap water. However, that’s not the case for everyone globally — we’re lucky! At 11:30 a.m., Kalā Yoga is holding a fundraiser and class in support of charity: water, a global organization on a mission to bring clean drinking water to the over 700 million people lacking access around the world. The class will be a calming flow open to all levels (mats and towels will be provided for no cost), and will include additional background on charity: water followed by refreshments from partners equally aligned with the mission.
The suggested minimum donation is $20, and donations $40 and above will receive another complimentary class. Register here.
COSTUME SWAP
Looking for an alternative to buying cat years you’ll only wear one night? Have a Barbie costume from last year burning a hole in your closet? Second Thought Creations has a solution. From 2 to 4 p.m. you can swap, update, and upgrade your costumes and accessories at 40 Greenpoint Ave #211. During the event hosted by Alla K Art and Emergence Arts, you can swap (bring one, take one), make and take your own accessories with provided craft supplies, and mend or elevate a piece you already own (there will be a sewing machine available for use).
Tickets are $33.85 (including fees) and available here.
PAINT N SIP
It’s a crafty, artsy weekend in the neighborhood. Passion Cafe, a newer cafe on southside Williamsburg, is hosting a weekly paint-and-sip session every Saturday at 8 p.m. For two hours, you can enjoy painting and unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, cocktails, pastries, and small bites in a cozy environment.
Tickets are $46.28 (including fees) and available here.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27
BERRY SPOOKY HALLOWEEN
As Halloweek officially begins, kick it off with some well-rounded (pumpkin pun — pun-kin?? — kind of intended) family fun. The 5th annual Berry Spooky Halloween party thrown by North Brooklyn Open Streets will feature yoga at 11 a.m., a costume contest at 1 p.m., music and dancing, pumpkin giveaways, candy, games, and more at S 5th and Berry streets from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The whole event is free, but you can RSVP here.
P.S. 34 FALL GARDEN FEST
If you can’t make it over to S 5th, there’s more family-friendly festivity to go around. P.S. 34 is holding their Fall Garden Fest, complete with face painting, build-a-scarecrow craft, games, a bake sale, tarot cards, a cardboard box fort, costume portraits, and more in the schoolyard from 1 to 4 p.m.
The event is free and open to the community.
SUNDAY SCARIES MOVIE SCREENING
For those who’ve been slacking on their Halloween movie watching, catch up with a mini-marathon at Mary’s Bar. The last of their Sunday Scaries series — a four-week celebration of some of the most influential horror and sci-fi movies of the last century — hosted by BushwhackerNYC is dedicated to ‘genre-defining’ picks, including Bride of Frankenstein, Get Out, and Psycho. The first movie starts at 6:30 p.m. and there will be free popcorn. Plus, $2 from each ticket sold will be donated to Queer Voices NYC, a film festival honoring the diverse and inclusive experiences of the queer and BIPOC community.
Tickets are $10.38 (including fees) and available here.
This sat. Oct 26 at 2pm at the Java Garden between West and Franklin they are having a fall festival party for the area for adults and children with food and drink and dessert for free.
Feel free to also bring something and there will be raffles for restaurant meals, store items etc.