November starts with Brooklyn FAM’s free festival at the Prospect Park Boathouse and Day of the Dead at Green-Wood, then brings the Brooklyn Folk Festival to St. Ann’s, a street party outside BAM, tricycles through a warehouse at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Día de los Muertos and Diwali at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the first ice rinks of the season, the Best of BAMkids films and Lightscape at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
1. Brooklyn FAM Festival | Prospect Park
Sunday, November 1 | 11am–4pm | Prospect Park Boathouse | FREE
Brooklyn FAM’s sixth annual flagship festival, “Shine Your Light,” centers Indigenous voices from North, Central and South America, with music and dance performances, workshops, a drumming circle, craft-making and public art for all ages. RSVP on Eventbrite.
2. TCS New York City Marathon runs through Brooklyn | Bay Ridge to Greenpoint
Sunday, November 1 | wave starts 8am–11:30am on Staten Island | Fourth Avenue, Lafayette Avenue and Bedford Avenue | FREE to watch
Most of the marathon’s first half is in Brooklyn: runners come off the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge onto Fourth Avenue in Bay Ridge, continue to Flatbush Avenue, turn onto Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene and then Bedford Avenue through Williamsburg and Greenpoint to the Pulaski Bridge. New York Road Runners’ recommended cheering spots in Brooklyn: Fourth Avenue (miles 2–4, R train), Fourth Avenue and Flatbush Avenue (mile 8, B/D/N/Q/R/2/3/4/5) and Williamsburg and Greenpoint (miles 10–13, G/L/M/J); the Pulaski Bridge itself is closed to spectators, and designated pedestrian crossing zones let families cross the course at Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street and at Bedford Avenue and Broadway. Fourth Avenue from 94th Street to Flatbush Avenue, Lafayette Avenue and Bedford Avenue close to traffic from 6:30am to 6:30pm. Course, start times and spectator tips at New York Road Runners.
3. THWACK at the Brooklyn Army Terminal | Sunset Park
Saturdays and Sundays through November 15 | 10am–5pm | Building A, Dock 1, 140 58th Street | FREE
Visitors ride tricycles through a 36,000-square-foot warehouse hung with towering photographs of the tools, craftspeople and production processes of the Brooklyn Army Terminal, in THWACK, an exhibition from Mmuseumm and the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
4. Day of the Dead Family Celebration at Green-Wood | Greenwood Heights
Monday, November 2 | 4–7pm | Main Entrance Meadow, Fifth Avenue at 25th Street | FREE, registration recommended
Green-Wood marks Día de los Muertos with family-friendly crafts, performances, music and hands-on activities at the Main Entrance Meadow and near the Historic Chapel. Walk-ins are welcome.
5. Brooklyn Folk Festival | Brooklyn Heights
Friday, November 6–Sunday, November 8 | St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, 157 Montague Street | Full festival pass $165, Saturday or Sunday pass $75 | Kids 6–16 half price with code kids50, under 6 free
Jalopy Theatre’s three-day Brooklyn Folk Festival brings 40+ bands to St. Ann’s, plus vocal and instrumental workshops, family-friendly dances, jam sessions, film screenings and the famous Banjo Toss contest. Tickets here.
6. Playback’s Street Party | Fort Greene
Saturday, November 7 | 11am–5pm | Lafayette Avenue between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street | FREE, first come, first served
An all-day street party outside BAM Rose Cinemas, with Double Dutch, local Brooklyn DJs, food and drink, a Bring Your Own Vinyl option and work by artist Katie Merz. An RSVP does not guarantee entry.
7. Riders Ready BMX exhibit, Día de los Muertos and Diwali at Brooklyn Children’s Museum | Crown Heights
Riders Ready: all month, through January 3, 2027 | Wednesday–Sunday, 10am–5pm | Included with general admission ($15; free under age 1) • Saturday, November 7 | 10am–5pm | Tickets via the museum • Thursday, November 12 | 2–5pm | FREE during Community Access Thursday, RSVP requested
The museum’s new Riders Ready: The Science of BMX exhibit lets kids test their reaction time on real BMX bikes at a starting gate, design a bike and build a track, and learn how helmets work and the science of speed, balance and friction. The museum also celebrates Día de los Muertos with Mexican folkloric dance, Guatemalan giant kites, bilingual puppet shows and a community ofrenda, then Diwali, led by The Culture Tree, with puppet storytelling, Indian sweets and diya lamps made in the ColorLab art studio.
8. Ice skating season opens | Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bridge Park
SKATE at Domino Park opens Monday, November 9 | Roebling Rink in Brooklyn Bridge Park opens Saturday, November 14
SKATE at Domino Park returns, open daily through February 21, with the main entrance on South 3rd Street between Kent Avenue and River Street; tickets go on sale soon. Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Roebling Rink opens the same week. Every rink is in our ice skating guide.
9. Best of BAMkids Film Festival: Ages 6–8 | Fort Greene
Saturday, November 14 | BAM Rose Cinemas, Peter Jay Sharp Building | Children $10, general admission $14, members $9, plus a $2 handling fee per ticket | 75 minutes
Festival favorites about friendship and adventure for ages six to eight, including Bobel’s Kitchen, the BAMmie Animated Short winner, and the Honorable Mention winner Snow Bear.
10. Lightscape at Brooklyn Botanic Garden | Prospect Heights
Friday, November 20–Sunday, January 3 | Adults $29–$44, children 3–11 $15–$28, under 3 free
Lightscape returns to Brooklyn Botanic Garden. During the run the Garden closes to daytime visitors at 3:30pm and evening entry times are staggered; prices depend on the night (Value, Off-Peak or Peak).
