Astoria, Halloween, Long Island City
Oct 17, 2016

Happy Halloween 2016

Here’s our 2016 roundup of Halloween celebrations in Astoria and LIC.

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Happy Halloween, friends! Here’s our list of Halloween related activities in the area this year. Lots of parties, trick-or-treating, and activities for the kids!

Ongoing

Halloween Candy Drop Off
Connection Church Office, 36-27 36th Street
8am-5pm, Mondays-Fridays
OR
Connection Church Sanctuary, 31-18 37th Street
3-5pm Sundays

“Want to help with our 5th Annual Trick or Treat? We’re not raising money, we’re raising CANDY! FIVE-HUNDRED-POUNDS to be exact!” Drop off candy at the above addresses before Halloween.

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Saturday, October 22

Halloween Costume Fluxtravaganza
Flux Factory, 39-31 29th Street
Saturday, October 22, 11am-5pm
Pay what you can

Join us for the first ever Halloween Costume Fluxtravaganza!!! You can:
1) Buy a Flux-made-mask
2) Make your own mask with help of a Flux Artist-in-Residence

This event for kids and adults will help support Flux’s free public programming. Come hang out in the Flux gallery while we get messy making costumes. The Flux gallery will be filled with fabric, colored paper, jewels, trim, glue guns, snacks and costume expertise!

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6th Annual Halloween Pub Run with Sunnyside Woodside Runners
Doughboy Statue, Doughboy Plaza, Woodside
Saturday, October 22, 1pm
$20 donation

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for our yearly tradition. Please RSVP and join us as the Woodside-Sunnyside Runners present the Sixth Annual Halloween Pub Run!

Our adventure kicks off on Saturday, October 22, at 1:00pm, as we embark on a journey through four (or more) pubs while very casually running about 3ish miles through Sunnyside and Woodside. Be sure to dress creatively! There is a costume contest at the end. We’ll be offered drink specials by each of our pub hosts, and have a fun afternoon adventure here in Queens.

And, as is our tradition, we will not only enjoy ourselves, but also work to raise money for the Hunters Point Civic/Lions Thanksgiving Food Drive which supports Hour Children Food Pantry, St. Raphael R.C. Church Food Pantry, and Center of Hope International Food Pantry. We suggest a $20 donation, but please feel free to give more or less, whatever is comfortable for you.

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Special Effects Makeup Class
QED, 27-16 23rd Avenue
Saturday, October 22, 2-4pm
$20

Have you ever wanted to learn how to freak out your friends with make-up? Are you an actor that would like to learn basic techniques to be able to do your own make-up and not hire someone? Then please join Stephanie Cox-Williams as she walks you through bruises, cuts, abrasions, wounds, sores, bullet holes and burns. You’ll get the knowledge and the tools to create good looking facial distortions for whatever your next project may be. You’ll learn:

  • Basic anatomy of a wound
  • How to do different kinds of bruising
  • How to do easy and quick scratches/cuts
  • How to do sores (some with household items), skin discoloration
  • How to make a bullet hole
  • How to create that burnt skin look
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Amber Lamps Halloween Costume Party
Shillelagh Tavern, 47-22 30th Avenue
Saturday, October 22, 8pm-1am
Entry is $5 at the door, doors open at 7
21+

Local band, Amber Lamps, is hosting a Halloween costume party/show at the Shillelagh Tavern on 30th Avenue. A bunch of local bands are playing, and they are encouraging everyone in the bands and audience to dress up in costume. Here’s the lineup:

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Sunday, October 23

Kazari Maki-Zushi Workshop vol 2—Funny Halloween Sushi
RESOBOX, 41-26 27th Street
Sunday, October 23, 10am-noon
$50 (includes all materials)

Have your costume all ready for Halloween? Why not cook up some spooky Halloween treats as well? These Kazari Maki-Zushi are not only delicious to eat, but also cute and fun to make! We’ll be creating two kinds of Halloween sushi for this class.

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Tuesday, October 25

Colin Dickey on GHOSTLAND
Astoria Bookshop, 31-29 31st Street
Tuesday, October 25, 7-8pm
FREE

Get ready for Halloween at this reading with author Colin Dickey and his new book, Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places.

Dickey’s fascination with haunted places was piqued by a house hunt in Los Angeles that revealed derelict foreclosures and “zombie homes.” Dickey then set off to visit cities across America to investigate the legends, decode and unpack vital histories cloaked in superstition, in our most famous haunted places. In the book that follows, Dickey conjures the dead by focusing on questions of the living, paying attention not only to the true facts behind a ghost story, but also to the ways in which changes to those facts are made—and why those changes are made—Dickey paints a version of American history left out of the textbooks, one of things left undone.

As a writer, scholar, speaker, and co-editor of The Morbid Anatomy Anthology, Colin Dickey has established himself as an exciting new voice among American cultural historians. Dickey’s work, on everything from mourning practices, to failed Arctic expeditions, to conspiracy theories about musical tuning, has been anthologized and published widely, at Lapham’s Quarterly, BOMB, The Paris Review, The New Inquiry, and many others. He is a member of the Order of the Good Death, a collective of artists, writers, and death industry professionals interested in improving the Western world’s relationship with mortality. He holds a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Southern California, and is an associate professor of creative writing at National University.

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Wednesday, October 26

Halloween Party
Bounce N Play, Astoria
Wednesday, October 26, 5:30-8pm
$30 per child, $15 per adult

Food, drinks, dessert, face painting, tattoos, dancing and more!

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Thurday, October 27

Halloween Party
Bounce N Play, Astoria
Thursday, October 27, 5:30-8pm
$30 per child, $15 per adult

Food, drinks, dessert, face painting, tattoos, dancing and more!

Friday, October 28

Halloween Children’s Storytime
The Brass Owl, 36-19 Ditmars Blvd
Friday, October 28, 10-11am
FREE

Creative educator and local mom, Gina Verdi, will be joining us for a children’s story time. Gina will be reading several Halloween inspired children’s books.
All ages welcome!

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The Not So Spooky Ghost
Raising Astoria, 26-11 23rd Avenue
Friday, October 28, 11:15am
$15 for first child; $8 for siblings

Neighborhood tot spot Raising Astoria hosts a preschool-friendly puppet performance of The Not So Spooky Ghost by city-based troupe theWonderSpark Puppets.

6th Annual Oiche Shamhna Celebration
NY Irish Center, 10-40 Jackson Avenue
Friday, October 28, 4-6:30pm
$12 per child, family discounts available

Unleash your child’s Creative Spirit at the New York Irish Center for our 5th Annual Oíche Shamhna Celebration! It is said the origins of Halloween, or Oíche Shamhna, in Gaelic, can be traced back to ancient Ireland during the Celtic festival of Samhain. Come and explore the true origins of Oíche Shamhn with ageold games including family favorite ‘Bobbing for Apples’ and Pumpkin Carving workshop (need to bring pumpkin along). Suitable for 5-8 year olds (10 places) 9-12 year olds (10 places)

Places are limited and must be booked in advance. Tickets available here.

Halloween Party
Broadway Library, 40-20 Broadway
Friday, October 28, 4-5pm
FREE

Join us for games, activities, snacks & prizes – it’s all in ghoul fun! Wear your costume! (ages 5-12).

Trick-Or-Treat & Something Sweet Pajama Party
NY K!ds Club, 45-45 Center Blvd
Friday, October 28, 6-8pm
$36/ticket—advanced registration required

Spend a spooktacular evening at the NY Kids Club! Children will participate in a mummy relay, play Pass- the-Pumpkin, fly like witches and hunt for ghosts in the gym. Painting spider webs, going through a haunted house and dancing under a full moon will make this PJ party absolutely eerie-sistible! Dinner will be served.

Paper Factory Hotel Halloween Party
The Paper Factory Hotel, 37-06 36th Street
Friday, October 28, 9pm-4am
$30

You are invited to take part in an elaborate play where you are at the center of the Cross Roads. Rituals will be held and ancestors celebrated. The sound of mischief will ring through the dark sky and a sense of wonder of the unknown will be hallowed. It is nights like these when we realize that we are truly ALIVE.

You choose your own Adventure—The Paper Factory Hotel and its grounds will be our setting for our story. Multiple rooms and hidden corners await. Djays bring you dancing into the night. Performance and magic set our intention. Join us as we weave between the realms of the living and the dead…

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Linger: An Astoria Social (Wear Your Best Halloween Costumes!)
Mosaic Cafe & Lounge, 25-19 24th Avenue
Friday, October 28, 7-10pm
$8 pre-paid and $10 at the door

If you’re looking for new friends, romantic partners and just want to meet queer women in Queens, then this event is for you. We’re creating a warm space for queer women to meet one another for romance, friendship and business—or all three. Think carefully, curated small groups without the anxiety, because we’ll pair you with women with similar interests. Then we’ll mix it up with friendly games designed to spark conversations. Special prizes will be awarded to those wearing the best Halloween costumes.So come on over, relax and stay awhile. Linger: Where the Gay Girls Go.

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Out Astoria Hot Halloween Party
Sissy McGinty’s, 25-67 Steinway Street
Friday, October 28, 7-10pm
FREE to attend; drink specials

Honestly who can tell what the actual weather will be doing a week or two from now, but if it stays in the 70s or dips to 20 below, best be sure that Out Astoria will be having a hot party.

Keeping with our usual Friday night theme, this will be a “costume testing” party to get you in the spirit for the frightful weekend to follow — come and try out your scary and/or sexy Halloween duds, or come as you are (or maybe you’re naturally scary and/or sexy every day?)

Sissy McGinty’s has created some fun drink specials:

Poison Apple Martini
Jack O’Lantern (Vodka + OJ)
Black Widow (Jack + Coke)
… all at $7 each

Angry Orchard and Yuengling Drafts $5.50
All mixed well drinks $6
All well shots $5

See you for the big night!!!

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We Heart Astoria Halloween Party
Sekend Sun, 32-11 Broadway
Friday, October 28, 8-11pm
$30

Are you Halloween ready, Astoria? We got you. Hostess Anita Buffem hosts an epic costume contest while spinning your fave dance jams. COME DRESSED TO IMPRESS! $100 bar tab for best costume, prizes for runners up.

  • Unlimited beer selections plus 2 house cocktails and light food from 8-10pm
  • Happy Hour pricing all night long on beer, wine, and well choices.
  • WAFFLE PIZZAS!

We all know you’ve got an amazing Stranger Things costume ready to go, so why not break it at the event? Tickets available here.

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Halloween at Historic Studio A
The Astor Room, 35-11 35th Avenue
Friday, October 28, 8pm-1am
$18.02 (Tickets)

Come to our Haunted Historical Studio/Restaurant! A whole new meaning to Halloween shenanigans.

Entertainment !!!! Magic!!!! Music!!! Surprises!!!!
Adult Magic Show by Rogue Magic
Andy Mac Band
DD WHITE Band
Mistress of Ceremonies Nicolina Dante, plus more to come!

Dress to Impress, bring a Mask, bring your corset, bring your heels, your hoop, bring your hats or your sparkling self! Just BE!  (We will have masks for Sale ). Best Mask & Best Costume will WIN $ 100 Gift Certificates.

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Saturday, October 29

Halloween Themed Open Run
Astoria Park Track
Saturday, October 29, 9am
FREE

It’s Halloween time! Dress up in costumes if you like. There will be candy and prizes!

Come and join us for our weekly FREE run! All ages welcome, push your stroller, walk your dog, or race three laps of Astoria Park! Let’s show the neighborhood all the fun they are missing out on.

Meet at in front of the rest area by the entrance to track, 15 minutes before the run starts for check in! Run Begins at 9:00AM. Sign our one-time waiver at openrun.nyrr.org before you go to speed up check in.

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Haunted Book Swap
Astoria Heights Playground, 30th Road between 45/46th Street
Saturday, October 29, 10am-2pm
FREE

Come, all lovers of books! Our annual book swap with a Halloween Twist! Trade old books for new (to you) books. Kid and adult titles welcome. All genres welcome! Crafts, games and Halloween stories throughout the day.

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Halloween Harvest Festival
Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd
Saturday, October 29, 11am-3pm
FREE

Come one, come all to this year’s circus-themed Halloween Harvest Festival!

Head to Socrates Sculpture Park for art and costume-making, face-painting, an adventure storytelling activity with The Queens Bookshop, magic with Gary the Great, and traditional circus arts and experimental theater by Circus Amok! Urban Shaman Mama Donna will be offering harvest animal blessings for pets, and if your pooch is in costume you can participate in a Socrates tradition – the annual Canine Costume Contest. Kickshaw will be there to feed y’all.

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Halloween Children Party
Church of the Redeemer, 30-14 Crescent Street
Saturday, October 29, 12-2pm
FREE

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Haunted Waters
Starts under the Hell Gate Bridge, Shore Blvd and Ditmars Blvd.
Saturday, October 29, Noon (Length of tour: approx. 2.5 hours.)
$15 ($10 GAHS members – $5.00 people in costume)

Join us for a Halloween tour of mayhem and mystery along the Long Island City/Astoria waterfront. Our walk will take place along the treacherous East River as tale are told of those lost long ago among the churning whirlpools and electric eels. Learn history and howl!

A HELLGATE BRIDGE CENTENNIAL PROGRAM. Ends at Socrates Sculpture Park, Broadway and Vernon Blvd.

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Halloween Costume Party
Bohemian Hall
29-19 24th Avenue
Saturday, October 29, 5pm-3am

DJ Izzy E spinning from 5-10pm. Witching Hour Drink Specials from 10pm-12am. 21+ Event. Win Prizes for Best Homemade/Crowd Favorite/ Scariest.

bohemian-hall-halloween-astoria-queens

Trick-Or-Treat & Something Sweet Pajama Party
NY K!ds Club, 45-45 Center Blvd
Saturday, October 29, 6:30-8:30pm
$36/ticket—advanced registration required

Spend a spooktacular evening at the NY Kids Club! Children will participate in a mummy relay, play Pass- the-Pumpkin, fly like witches and hunt for ghosts in the gym. Painting spider webs, going through a haunted house and dancing under a full moon will make this PJ party absolutely eerie-sistible! Dinner will be served.

Dead Roses Halloween Party
The Shillelagh Tavern, 47-22 30th Avenue
Saturday, October 29, 7pm-11pm
$10 at the door, 21+

Join us for a rockin Halloween party at The Shillelagh Tavern!

Get your first drink for $3 with a costume—$50 for best costume, second prize $30 bar tab for your next visit.

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Halloween at Astoria Tavern
Astoria Tavern, 33-16 23rd Avenue
Saturday, October 29, 8pm-4am
FREE

Join us Saturday October 29th for a kick-ass Halloween costume party. There will be prizes so get your most impressive costumes ready and we’ll see you there!

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Irish Rover Halloween Party
Irish Rover, 37-18 28th Avenue
Saturday, October 29, 8pm-4am
FREE

It’s our favorite holiday and you know we are celebrating it in true Irish Rover fashion. Lancaster County Prison will be bringing the house down in their first live performance in 2 years!! Avoid some serious FOMO by putting this one in your calendars now. PLUS we have our annual costume contest—the 3 best costumes of the night win a $50 bar tab! See you all there!

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Moe’s Tavern Halloween Party
William Hallet, 36-10 30th Avenue
Saturday, October 29, 8pm-3am
FREE to enter

William Hallet will be dressing up as Moe’s Tavern for Halloween! We will be serving DUFF BEER, Flaming Moe’s, Drunken Donuts, and Million Dollar Fries. DJ’s spinning tunes all night starting at 8pm!

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5th Annual MoMA PS1 Halloween Ball
MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Avenue
Saturday, October 29, 8pm-midnight
$18-33

On the Saturday before Halloween, MoMA PS1 and legendary night life host Susanne Bartsch present the annual Halloween Ball. This year’s timely theme, The White House of Horror, will feature live performances, DJs, dancing, and the most artistic costumes in town.

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Halloween Scare at Cavo
CAVO Cafe Lounge, 42-18 31st Avenue
Saturday, October 29, 10pm-4am
$0-20

Cavoween 3—Ladies Free Til Midnight on the Guest list, Gents $20 til 12am (Tickets available here). $2000 Prize | Best Costume | Best Couple | Sexiest. 2 Premium Liters $400 Before Midnight. Hookah Available. Free Valet Parking.

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10th Annual All Hallows’ Eve Masquerade Ball
Ovelia Psistaria, 34-01 30th Avenue
Saturday, October 29, 11pm
FREE to enter

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Ravel Penthouse 808 Halloween Rooftop Horror Party
The Ravel Hotel, 8-08 Queens Plaza South LIC
Saturday, October 29, 11pm-4am
$20 (ticketing page)

Halloween Horror Night! Get ready to enjoy 2 floors and 3 Rooms of terror! 10,000 square feet of Halloween decorations, music by NYC’s hottest DJs! ID a must, 21 & over only. The Dead open the gates at 11pm, enter at your own risk!

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Sunday, October 30

Pre-Parade Halloween Party
Raising Astoria, 26-11 23rd Avenue
Sunday, October 30, 10-11:30am
$15/family, registration required

Join us for some family fun for Babies and Tots before the Astoria Family Halloween Parade. Crafts, stories and more for ages 0-3 years. We’ll have bagels and coffee. Prize for Best Dressed Family Theme!

Astoria Family Halloween Parade
Corner of Ditmars Blvd and 31st Street
Sunday, October 30, Assemble at Noon
FREE

The Annual Astoria Family Halloween Parade will take place this year on Sunday, October 30th at 12pm on Ditmars Blvd and 31st street. This annual parade has been enjoyed by hundreds of families for the last 10 years. What was started by a small group of moms has now become a staple in our community.

Arrive early, gift bags will be given out starting at 11:30. Parade will start promptly at 12pm from Ditmars and 31st, heading to the Great Lawn at Astoria Park! There Central Astoria is throwing an afterparty for families to enjoy! Stay tuned for details.

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First Annual Batty Over Halloween Celebration
The Great Lawn at Astoria Park
Sunday, October 30, 12:30-2:30pm
FREE

Come to Astoria Park for all sorts of fun family-friendly activity! There will be Mainstages Spooktacular Theater, Halloween characters, face painting, balloon twisting, and more. Brought to you by the Central Astoria Local Development Coalition.

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Trick or Treat March in LIC
March begins on 50th Ave between 5th Street and Vernon Blvd
Sunday, October 30, 2:30pm, Lineup start
FREE

LIC’s annual Trick or Treat March includes a photo booth, pumpkin patch, dunk tank and Halloween games. Parade will start at the 108 Precinct and proceed north up Vernon Blvd, ending at Vernon Blvd & 46th Street.

Sugar Skulls Workshop for Dia De Los Muertos
QED, 27-16 23rd Avenue
Sunday, October 30, 3-5pm
$25—Advance purchase mandatory. Materials are included in price of class.

A class for non-professional novice face painters who would like to learn the art of sugar skull makeup for Dia De Los Muertos. We will cover the history of the holiday, the symbolism behind the sugar skull, basic elements of the sugar skull, and how to paint them on your face or somebody else’s.

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Monday, October 31

Halloween Party at Tacuba
Tacuba Cantina Mexicana, 35-01 36th Street
Monday, October 31, all day

Put your Halloween party hat on! Join us Monday, October 31st for our costume party, happy hour all day, DJ all night. For reservations call 718-786-2727.

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Famous Monsters of Astoria
Queens Comfort, 40-09 30th Avenue
Monday, October 31, 4-9:30pm
FREE

We are having a free event at the Comfort on Halloween! Serving free food & beer and collecting food items for our Thanksgiving Food Drive. All ages are invited.

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26th Annual Jackson Heights Halloween Parade
37th Avenue and 89th Street
Monday, October 31, 5-6:30pm
FREE

The second biggest Halloween parade in New York City starts at 89th Street and proceeds along 37th Avenue to 77th Street in Jackson Heights. Thanks to The Jackson Heights Beautification Group for organizing this Parade!

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Trick or Treat
Astoria Heights Park, 30th Rd between 45/46th Street
Monday, October 31, 6-8pm
FREE

Join Connection Church NYC for trick or treating at the Astoria Heights Playground.

Childrens Halloween Costume Party
Central Restaurant and Lounge, 20-30 Steinway Street
Monday, October 31, 6:30-9:30pm
FREE

Join the fun in costume—ghouls, goblins… and grown-ups too! There will be popcorn, hot dogs. Soda, and prizes. Party is for kids 12 and under accompanied by an adult. Organized by the UCCA.

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QED Official Halloween Party!
QED, 27-16 23rd Avenue
Monday, October 31, 8:10-11:30pm
$10

Join the cast of the Astoria based horror comedy series “You Only Die Once” as they host a night of Halloween and Horror themed comedy! Sit back as series creator and horror aficionado (and Astoria native) Amanda B. Goodman invites members of her cast (as well as some other talented guests) to perform improvised re-imaginings of some classic and obscure horror movie scenes as they play in the background. From there, the audience will band together to re-name the film off of its newly re-written scene. Included in the night will be interludes of real life ghost stories, and a costume contest you won’t want to miss!

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About Meg Cotner

Meg Cotner was trained as a harpsichordist and now works as a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Queens," and is a skilled and avid home cook, baker, and preserver.

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