Free Activities

By now you probably have all your Halloween events and activities down. Trick or treating, maybe a Halloween costume parade, maybe even a haunted house, if you dare.

How about mixing something a little multicultural into your celebrations? El Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is the Mexican version of Halloween, and a time to celebrate the lives of friends and family members who have passed away with festivities, food and fun.

If everybody loves a parade, everybody must be absolutely smitten with a Halloween parade. You should probably take your kids to the big VIllage Halloween Parade once just for the sheer theater of it, but most years we stick to the little neighborhood parades. The littler Halloween parades are great for kids, not just because of the lack of mobs, but most of them anyone can just jump in and you'll see the most fun, creative homemade costumes all in one place.

I've gathered up a bunch of alternative Halloween parades for kids that sound like a a lot of fun to participate in or just watch. And if you don't live in a great trick or treating neighborhood, this is a great excuse to join in the fun in another neighborhood. Go for the parade. Stay for the trick or treating!

This city is literally packed with FREE Halloween activities. In fact there are so many great things to do on October 31st you may need a magic eight ball to decide where to go. Luckily your kids will be so hopped up on candy they will have the energy to take in several events in one day.

We've rounded up just the cream of the candy corn: 25 free Halloween events for kids in New York City that we're thrilled about. Keep reading to find out where and when you can see stilt-walkers, hop on hay rides, visit haunted houses, dance your way through the post trick-or-treat sugar comma and get the whole family dressed up, even the dog.

[UPDATED 9/09] We've added some new classes to this post about free after-school programs and wanted to share it again. There are some great, high quality after school programs that are absolutely free. Here's a round-up of the best of the free after-school programs for kids and teenagers.

Summer is in its twilight and we all now have one eye on the end and the beginning of a new school year. Our thoughts are going to lunch boxes and schedules and after school classes. I thought we had better update our classes guide for you. It's got dozens of listings of different classes all around New York City, plus all the articles we've ever written about different classes and programs around the city. You can check out our Classes Guide here, but in the meantime you may want to try and sample some classes and see what you like. We've rounded up trial and demo classes from lots of programs all over the city. If nothing else, it might help you fill these last days of summer.  Plus, remember that many places will let you try any class for free once. Just call and ask.

I love summer streets. I wish every day was a summer street day. In fact I think they should permanently ban cars from one central avenue and the Financial District every day of the year. Seriously, even if you're making a gazillion dollars, you can walk three blocks to get into your limo to be driven home. I'm doing you a favor.

Off the soap box, back to the fun. Even though Summer Streets are only for a couple of days a year (today being the last one for this year), they are a great way to get kids out biking, scootering, or skating with no traffic to worry about. Finding a safe place for kids to bike can be a challenge in New York City where even the bike paths can be so crowded it gets a little hairy.

Although I've written about my favorite place to bike ride with kids in NYC before, summer streets is definitely a convenient and easy way to go if you catch one of the few dates. But luckily in addition to Summer Streets, there's also "weekend Walks" a program in all five boros closing streets off from cars to allow recreational activities. Hopefully this movement will continue to grow.

In the meantime here are a couple of tips to making Summer Streets safer and more fun with kids:

If you’re looking for ways to beat this (albeit, late) summer heat, you could head to one of the top 5 beaches near NYC, but hurricane Bill is predicted to make the water a bit rough, and in some cases, un-swimable. So maybe head over to one of these free and cheap city pools or water playgrounds instead, or cool off at a free dance show or music festival, or any of these true “New York Summer” events, like meeting Robinson Crusoe, or seeing generations of writers come together at the Fort Greene Park Literary Festival. 

Or maybe you want to head out of the city to some of our New Jersey Weekend Events...or Long Island. Plus don't forget to check our event calendar for even more fun stuff to do. Whatever you do, we’ve been asking for this heat, so get out and enjoy it!

On any given night, it can be hard to find a visible star, let alone a constellation, here in the City. With all of the ambient light, you might think it's near impossible to do any star gazing at all. But even with the neon signs and lights, there are amateur astronomy clubs that gather weekly and find wonders in the nighttime skies, not to mention the university observatories that are open to the public.

Is it August already? We may say this every year, but this year it really feels like the summer is just passing us by. If you haven't already, start (or continue!) taking advantage of all the free, fun and only-in-NYC unique activities that are going on in all of the five boroughs, every day. And with a free performance of Willy Wonka, African and Caribbean dance, an evolutionary adventure and animal discoveries, this weekend is as good as any to get out there and start exploring.

If you're in town this weekend you could score free admission to a hip museum and get your and the kids' hands dirty in some art, make instruments, build a kick-butt sand castle in the beaches of NYC, enjoy free boat rides, learn about life in the City pre-Mr. Hudson, hang with some batty creatures, or watch an old-fashioned (and super cheap) circus. And if you are looking to flee, here are our top 30 day-trips  to get you started. 

We also have weekly listings for Long Island events and New Jersey events on their respective pages (whether you live there or are looking for a day trip). And of course, our event calendar is jammed with even more things to do, and don't forget to enter to win a dinner for 10 in our Summer Activity Guide.