Free Fun Friday - Fall Halloween Harvest Festivals

Starting this weekend, most events taking place for kids in NYC invite you to come in costume. So, get your Princesses and Spidermen ready and check out these fall festivals:

NYC Apple Day 2008 - the LES turns the "Big Apple" green with NYC Apple Day and  Go Green Lower East Side. Be transported back in time with the old-fashioned apple cider press, a live honey beehive plus some modern faves like face painting, arts-and-crafts, historical neighborhood walking tours and, apple samples of everything from apples to vegan apple bread to chicken apple sausage to chocolate apple truffles; even apple dog biscuits! Rabbai Stone from the Chabad of the Lower East Side will be present to celebrate the harvest holiday of Sukkot with an apple and honey tent. Orchard Street between Broom and Grand. Sunday, 11AM - 4:30PM FREE

Madison Square Park Fall Kids Fest - In addition to live music, food from Whole Foods, a pumpkin patch and clowns from Big Apple Circus this year's festival is celebrating the park's new Exploration Station. Designed for family visitors, it will be open weekday's from 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM daily and you can sample some of their activities on Sunday which will include scavenger hunts and science and nature projects. Saturday, 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM. FREE

The Brownstone School's Halloween Fun Fair - Train rides, life-size Candyland course, sand art, pumpkins, games, food and more! Outdoors at the P.S. 87 School Yard, 160 West 78th Street between Columbus Ave. and Amsterdam Avenue. Saturday, 11AM - 5PM. FREE

Halloween Harvest Festival at Socrates Sculpture Park - Make a costume with Socrates Sculpture Park artists; listen to live music; enjoy a special art-making workshop with Materials for the Arts; transform your face with face painting by Agostino Arts; enter your dog in the fourth annual Canine Costume Contest or just watch the parade of creatively clad canines; paint a pumpkin and try harvest foods from a local restaurant; and see a special performance by the Red Door Theatre Company. Saturday, October 18, 12-3pm. FREE

Harvest Festival in Carl Schurz Park - Enjoy a hayride, a pumpkin patch and a concert by Danna Banana at 1pm. Saturday, October 18, 11am-2pm. Come back on Sunday for the Halloween Howl, where dogs will be getting into the Halloween spirit getting their wolf on. FREE

Old Stone House Harvest Festival - Princess Katie and Racer Steve will be performing at this fun event in Park Slope's JJ Byrne Memorial Park. There'll be pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting and more. SUnday, October 19, 12-5pm. FREE