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Best Fall Activities For Kids In NY

By Jessica Allen

Wow, what a great time to be in a kid in this city! There's always so much to do and to see here with kids year-round, of course, but fall brings its own special child-centric events, from harvest festivals to pumpkin walks to concerts. Read on for our picks for the best activities for kids this fall.

Halloween Harvest
Luna Park
1000 Surf Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11224
(718) 373-5862
lunaparknyc.com

If you haven't been to Luna Park, it's well worth your time to hop on the subway and check out Coney Island's amusement park. All the better if you can get into the Halloween spirit by attending its Halloween Harvest. In addition to riding the rides, listening to stories, taking a trot with a pony, and playing midway games, attendees can ogle the dogs at the annual Pet Parade (on October 14) and hang out with master pumpkin carvers (on October 22). Mark your calendar! Weekends through Sunday, October 29, wristbands required.

35th Annual Queens County Fair
Queens County Farm
73-50 Little Neck Parkway
Floral Park, New York 11004
(718) 347-3276
www.queensfarm.org

The city's oldest continuously working farm puts on a crazy-good shindig. At the 35th annual county fair, there will be corn-husking and pie-eating contests, arts and crafts, live music, a beer garden, and pig races. Pig races! In New York City! The county fair also marks the start of the annual Amazing Maize Maze, a three-acre maze complete with twists, turns, and tons of stalks. The fair runs on Saturday, September 23, and Sunday, September 24, 11 am to 6 pm, but the maze stays open on weekends through Sunday, October 29, 11 am to 4:30 pm.

World Maker Faire
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th St.
Corona, NY 11368
(718) 699-0005
makerfaire.com

If the little ones in your life have great big imaginations, check out the World Maker Faire, a gathering of educators, creators, inventors, innovators, and scientists who share what they've constructed and help make learning capital-F fun. This huge festival lets kids explore through hands-on activities and child-approved experiments. To wit: drones that swoop and soar through the air, shooting marshmallows, and exploding mounds of soda and candy. Saturday, September 23, and Sunday, September 24, 10 am to 6 pm, tickets required.

Medieval Festival
Fort Tryon Park
Riverside Drive to Broadway
New York, NY 10040
(212) 795-1600
www.whidc.org

There's no better place for a medieval festival in the city than the beautiful park surrounding the Cloisters, the Met museum specializing in European medieval art and architecture. Take your kids way, way back through magic, minstrels, juggling, puppets, storytelling, and processional flags. All attending lords and ladies will be dressed in their finest garb. Also, and we can barely believe it ourselves, there will be actual jousting, featuring four knights and their horses!!!!!!! Sunday, October 1, 11:30 am to 6 pm, free, but donations to the wishing well are welcome.

Kids Fest
Madison Square Park
Madison Avenue and 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010
(212) 538-1884
www.madisonsquarepark.org

Featuring not one but two stages, Kids Fest is one of the biggest kid-focused festivals going on around town this fall (say that three times fast). At this totally family-friendly event, designed for kids aged 0 to 12, you can catch clowns, puppets, drumming, comedy, magic, and concerts from such performers as Grammy winners Tim and the Space Cadets. Or you can sit back and let your kids learn to hula-hoop, make instruments, get their faces painted, and just revel in the glory that is autumn in New York. Sunday, October 15, 11 am to 3 pm, free.

Night of 1,000 Jack O'Lanterns
Governors Island
Board ferry at 10 South Street
New York, NY 10005
govisland.com

This year, Governors Island stays open through the end of October. If you haven't taken your kids to explore the hammocks, farm, mini golf, or playgrounds yet, now's your chance. Then make plans to attend the Night of 1,000 Jack O'Lanterns. As the name suggests, this event features hundreds and hundreds of carved gourds, transforming the island into a veritable Halloween headquarters. You can even learn how to make your own or purchase some to take home. Thursday, October 26, through Sunday, October 29, 6 to 10 pm, advance tickets required.

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