This week, families can catch Brooklyn Book Festival Children’s Day at Brooklyn Borough Hall, the switch-on of the new lights at the McCarren Park tennis courts in Williamsburg, the Aqua Cosmos artwork projected onto the Brooklyn Bridge on Friday and Saturday night, Noche de Tambores: Brooklyn Brujeria Festival kickoff in DUMBO and more! Two of the weekend’s biggest street fairs — the Atlantic Antic and the Third Avenue Festival — have been postponed to Sunday, October 4 because of the forecast, and if the weather turns on anything else, our guide to the best drop-in indoor activities for kids and teens in Brooklyn is the backup plan.
ALL WEEK
Free stroller walks | All week, borough-wide
Every week | Mornings, days vary | Prospect Park, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Bridge Park and more | Free | Babies and toddlers in strollers
Brooklyn’s free stroller groups walk every week of the year: Mommy & Me walks Sundays at 10am in Prospect Park, Stroller Mami Walk Mondays at 10am in a rotating neighborhood, the Cobble Hill Walking Club on weekday mornings at Cobble Hill Park, Prospect Park Stroller Walks Thursdays at 10am from the Audubon Center and parkrun Saturdays at 8am in Brooklyn Bridge Park. There are dads’ stroll and run clubs too — the full roundup is in our guide.
Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend events | Borough-wide
Sunday through Monday, September 20–28 | Times vary | Venues across all five boroughs and online | Almost all free | All ages, event by event
The week of readings, workshops and panels that runs either side of the festival weekend. Check each listing — the organizers say Bookends are overwhelmingly free, but a handful are ticketed.
Fall Plant Giveaway at the Native Nursery | Greenpoint
Through October 30 | 10am–2pm daily, until 5pm on Fridays | Native Nursery at Under the K Bridge Park, 465 Scott Avenue | Free | All ages
Take home free native plants for the stoop, the yard or the windowsill from the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance nursery.
The Shirley Chisholm Way exhibit at Lefferts Historic House | Prospect Park
Wednesday through Sunday | 12–5pm | Lefferts Historic House, 452 Flatbush Avenue | Free | School-age kids
An indoor history exhibit on the Brooklyn congresswoman, good for a rainy afternoon.
Molière in the Park: Don Juan | Prospect Park
Final performances Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, September 22, 23 and 25 at 7pm, and Sunday, September 27 at 2pm and 3pm | LeFrak Center at Lakeside | Free, RSVP required | Teens and up — mature themes
The closing week of free outdoor Molière at Lakeside.
MONDAY — NO SCHOOL FOR YOM KIPPUR
Yom Kippur school holiday programming at the Prospect Park Audubon Center | Prospect Park
Monday, September 21 | Nature Around Us 10am–3pm; Fall Leaf Discovery 2–3pm | Prospect Park Audubon Center, 101 East Drive | Free | All ages
Seasonal discovery stations, pond samples and water-quality testing all day, then a citizen-science walk that leaves the Audubon Center promptly at 2pm. Lefferts Historic House keeps its ReImagine Lefferts open hours the same day, 12–5pm, also free. The Carousel runs 12–5pm but is $3 a ride. Looking for somewhere to park the day? Our day camps for when public schools are closed guide lists the options.
Babies and Books and Toddler Time at Adams Street Library | Dumbo
Monday, September 21 | 10:30am lapsit for babies who are not yet crawling; 11:15am Toddler Time for crawling and walking toddlers | Adams Street Library, 9 Adams Street | Free, registration required | Babies and toddlers
Two back-to-back sessions for the littlest readers at the Dumbo branch. The two groups are kept separate — register for the right one.
It’s My Park Day | Prospect Park
Monday, September 21 | 10am–12pm | Prospect Park | Free, registration required | Big kids, teens and grown-ups
A morning clean-up with Prospect Park Alliance, and an easy way to fill a school holiday.
Dungeons & Dragons for teens at Greenpoint Library | Greenpoint
Monday, September 21 | 4–5:30pm | Greenpoint Library, 107 Norman Avenue, Eco Lab | Free | Teens 13 and up
A weekly table run by a teen volunteer.
TUESDAY
Game On! at Park Slope Library | Park Slope
Tuesday, September 22 | 3–3:45pm | Park Slope Library, 431 6th Avenue | Free | School-age kids
Drop-in board, card and tabletop games after school.
LEGO Robotics at Park Slope Library | Park Slope
Tuesday, September 22 | 4–5pm | Park Slope Library, 431 6th Avenue, Auditorium | Free | School-age kids
Building and robotics, this season on an animal theme.
Toddler Takeover at the Green-House | Sunset Park
Tuesday, September 22 | 10–11:30am | The Green-House, 750 Fifth Avenue, near the Fifth Avenue and 25th Street entrance | Free, registration required | Ages 1–4 with a caregiver
Open play and sensory stations in Green-Wood’s pop-up play space — toy vehicles, foam building blocks, bug specimens and bird puppets, with the stations changing week to week. Run in partnership with Park Slope Parents. Space is limited, so book ahead. The Green-House is ADA-accessible.
WEDNESDAY
Light Up McCarren switch-on celebration | Williamsburg and Greenpoint
Wednesday, September 23 | 6–9:30pm, opening ceremony 6–7pm | McCarren Park tennis courts | Free, RSVP requested | All ages early on
Two years of fundraising by local players and neighbors put lights on seven McCarren courts, and this is the night they go on. An open-play session follows at 7pm on a separate RSVP, and that part is for people who already play.
Dumbo Tech + Textiles Cleanse | Dumbo
Wednesday, September 23 | 10am–2pm | Dumbo Archway Plaza | Free | An errand with kids rather than an activity
The Dumbo BID and the Lower East Side Ecology Center take working and broken electronics — computers, monitors, phones, printers, TVs, consoles, cables, lead-acid batteries — plus clean, dry clothing, shoes, bags, towels, curtains and bedding. No VHS, CDs or DVDs, no ordinary batteries, no household appliances. Data security is guaranteed and tax-deduction forms are on site. Bringing seven or more full-size items? Come in the first three hours.
Stargazing at Brooklyn Bridge Park | Brooklyn Heights
Wednesday, September 23 | 8–10pm | Pier 1, northern promenade corner along the water | Free | Big kids and up, weather permitting
The last session of the season with the Amateur Astronomers Association and their telescopes. It was pushed from September 16 by cloud, so it may move again.
Babies & Books and Toddler Storytime at Park Slope Library | Park Slope
Wednesday, September 23 | 10:30am for birth to 18 months; 11:15am for 18 months to 3 years | Park Slope Library, 431 6th Avenue | Free, registration required | Babies and toddlers
Stories, songs and rhymes, split by age.
Carroll Gardens Library storytimes at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church | Carroll Gardens
Wednesday, September 23 | 10:30am Toddler Time; 11:15am Babies & Books | St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, enter through the gate on Carroll Street | Free | Babies and toddlers
The branch is closed for renovation, so storytime has moved up the block. There is a stroller valet at the gate.
THURSDAY
Prospect Park Stroller Walk | Prospect Park
Thursday, September 24 | 10–11am | Meets at the Audubon Center, 101 East Drive | Free, RSVP | Babies and toddlers in strollers
An hour of walking and company for parents and caregivers, running through October.
Babies & Books at Brooklyn Heights Library | Brooklyn Heights
Thursday, September 24 | 10:30am and 11:15am sessions | Brooklyn Heights Library, 286 Cadman Plaza West, Craft Room | Free, registration required | Ages 0–18 months
Stories and songs in the Craft Room, two sittings.
Prospect Park Fall Migration Walks | Prospect Park
Thursday, September 24 | 7:30am–12pm | Prospect Park | Free | Patient big kids and teens
The Brooklyn Bird Club leads the walk through the autumn migration season. Bring binoculars if you have them.
Movies Under the Stars: The Mitchells vs. The Machines | East Williamsburg
Thursday, September 24 | 7–9pm, screening at dusk | Playground in Cooper Park | Free | Rated PG
The only outdoor movie on the calendar this week — an animated family road trip that turns into a robot uprising, watched from a blanket. Rated PG, so worth a look before younger children come along. Cancelled in heavy rain, with the decision posted in advance.
FRIDAY
Aqua Cosmos: The Hudson Canyon projected on the Brooklyn Bridge | Dumbo
Friday and Saturday, September 25 and 26 | 7–10pm | Best viewed from Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, Brooklyn Bridge Park | Free | All ages
Anita Glesta’s immersive artwork about the undersea canyon off New York Harbor, projected onto the bridge for two nights only.
Nature Exploration: Tree Appreciation Month | Prospect Park
Friday, September 25, 10am–3pm; Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27, 10am–1pm | Prospect Park Audubon Center, 101 East Drive | Free | Best for ages 4 to 10
Drop-in leaf crafts and nature-detective sketchbooks at the Audubon Center.
Noche de Tambores: Brooklyn Brujeria Festival kickoff | DUMBO
Friday, September 25 | 5–10 pm | DUMBO Archway, 155 Water Street at Anchorage Place | FREE, rain or shine | best with big kids and teens — it runs into the night
The ninth annual Brooklyn Brujeria Festival opens with a free night of drumming from across the Afro-Latin diaspora, a 60-plus-vendor night market, tarot and oracle readers and art installations under the Archway; the rest of the festival weekend is ticketed. Details here.
SATURDAY
Brooklyn Book Festival Children’s Day | Downtown Brooklyn
Saturday, September 26 | 10am–4pm | Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza, 209 Joralemon Street | Free | Toddlers through tweens
A full day of readings, workshops, performances, book signings and art projects. This year’s line-up includes R.J. Palacio of Wonder, Bess Kalb of the Buffalo Fluffalo books, poet Mahogany L. Browne, Jorge Aguirre and Adam Gidwitz, plus dozens more.
Hudson Canyon to NY Harbor Festival | Dumbo
Saturday, September 26 | 11am–3pm | Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, Brooklyn Bridge Park | Free | All ages
A science festival from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium about the undersea canyon off the harbor — and the daytime half of that evening’s projection on the bridge.
Free public kayaking at Brooklyn Bridge Park | Brooklyn Heights
Saturday, September 26 | 10am–3pm, 20-minute slots | Pier 2, meet at the north entrance by the floating dock | Free, advance registration strongly recommended | Under 18s must have an adult with them
Life vests, equipment and instruction are all provided, and first-time paddlers are welcome. Book through the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse; walk-up spots are occasional and not guaranteed.
Storytime with Jillian Tamaki at Books Are Magic | Brooklyn Heights
Saturday, September 26 | 11am–12pm | Books Are Magic, 122 Montague Street | Free, no ticket listed | Picture-book age
The Caldecott Honor illustrator reads Young Cat, Old Cat, her embroidered and appliquéd book about a girl and her cat growing up together.
Storytime with Ruth Behar and Gabriel Frye-Behar at Books Are Magic | Brooklyn Heights
Saturday, September 26 | 12–1pm | Books Are Magic, 122 Montague Street | Free, no ticket listed | Picture-book age
Picadillo for Paulina, about a girl keeping a promise to go vegetarian without giving up her family’s Cuban cooking.
Friends of Greenpoint Library Fall Book Sale | Greenpoint
Saturday, September 26, 12–4pm and Sunday, September 27, 1:30–4pm | Greenpoint Library, 107 Norman Avenue | Free to browse | All ages
The branch’s annual fall sale. Note that Greenpoint’s Wednesday toddler storytimes and Saturday Family StoryTime are cancelled this week while staff set up for it.
University Open Air | Prospect Park
Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27 | 10am–2pm | Prospect Park Audubon Center | Free, RSVP | All ages
Open-air classes from Brooklyn Public Library and Prospect Park Alliance.
Pop-Up Audubon | Prospect Park
Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27 | 12–4pm | Concert Grove Pavilion and Nethermead Arches | Free | All ages
Two stations: one on supporting migratory birds in autumn at the Concert Grove Pavilion, one on what lives underfoot at the Nethermead Arches.
Jazz in the Garden at the Amazing Garden | Carroll Gardens
Saturday, September 26 | 5–6pm | Amazing Garden, Carroll Gardens | Free | All ages
The Willie Martinez Trio play a community-garden set, courtesy of Carroll Gardens Library. Bring a picnic blanket.
Vanderbilt Avenue Open Street | Prospect Heights
Every Saturday through the end of September | 12–10 pm | Vanderbilt Avenue between Atlantic Avenue and Park Place | FREE | all ages
Now in its seventh season and Saturdays-only this year, Vanderbilt goes car-free for live music, games, crafts, workshops, fitness classes and food from the avenue’s own restaurants. One of the easiest things on this list to drop into for an hour on the way somewhere else. Prospect Heights Open Streets.
60th Bay Ridge Ragamuffin Parade | Bay Ridge
Saturday, September 26 | steps off 1 pm | 76th Street and Third Avenue down to 92nd Street, Bay Ridge | FREE to watch and to march | built entirely around children
Sixty years of Brooklyn children in costume marching down Third Avenue, in a tradition that predates modern Halloween. Day-of registration runs 11 am–12:30 pm at Our Lady of Angels on 74th Street off Third, judging is 11:30 am–12:15 pm, the parade assembles at 12:30 pm and steps off at 1 pm, passing the main stage at 90th Street and finishing at 92nd. Children should be accompanied by an adult along the route. ragamuffinparadebayridge.org.
Daybreaker ALIVE Festival | Brooklyn Bridge Park
Saturday, September 26 | 6 am–8 pm | Pier 3, Brooklyn Bridge Park | FREE, RSVP encouraged | all ages, alcohol-free
Daybreaker’s first sunrise-to-sunset sober festival in the US: 3,000-plus people arriving at dawn for a day of movement, music, dancing and community on Pier 3, with no bar anywhere on the grounds. Come for an hour or the whole day. Details and RSVP.
Just for Kids: Owl Loves Angeline | Marine Park
Saturday, September 26 | 11am–12pm | Carmine Carro Community Center, 3000 Fillmore Avenue | Free | No registration required
Puppeteer Emmanuel Elpenord performs a piece drawn from Haitian folklore, following an owl who becomes captivated by a woman named Angeline. Told through puppetry and simple, poetic narration.
Family Rave at Fontainhas Dukaan | Dumbo
Saturday, September 26 | 9–11am | Fontainhas Dukaan, 28 Jay Street | Free, RSVP required | All ages
A kid-friendly morning rave, with DJ VF spinning feel-good music at a volume built for small ears. This month’s theme is Happy Camper. There is room to dance and coffee and food for the grown-ups, and RSVPs go through the event page. Stroller space is limited, which the hosts say themselves.
SUNDAY
Atlantic Antic street fair | Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights -> Postponed to 10/4
Sunday, October 4 | Daytime, along Atlantic Avenue | Free | All ages
Brooklyn’s biggest street fair, with a kids’ zone, live music and a mile of food stalls. Our guide has the stroller routes, the bathrooms and where to find the quiet corners
Brooklyn Book Festival Day and Literary Marketplace | Downtown Brooklyn
Sunday, September 27 | 10am–6pm | Brooklyn Borough Hall and surrounding venues, including Columbus Park and the Center for Brooklyn History | Free | Teens and grown-ups, with the marketplace fine for everyone
Eight indoor and outdoor stages and a marketplace of publishers and booksellers. Marlon James, Joyce Carol Oates, Colson Whitehead, Tracy K. Smith and Douglas Stuart are among the names announced.
Upcycle: Community Tag Sale at Montague Open Streets | Brooklyn Heights
POSTPONED — now Sunday, October 4 | Tag sale 12–4pm; street car-free 10am–7pm | Montague Street between Clinton and Hicks | Free | All ages
Cancelled this Sunday, September 27: Montague Open Streets is off for the day because of rain and high winds, and the tag sale and the rest of the afternoon’s programme move to Sunday, October 4.
Forty Brooklyn Heights households clearing out secondhand kids’ clothes, books, toys, housewares and décor. No early shoppers, and seller spots are full — waitlist only, no walk-ups. Free the same afternoon on the same two blocks: walking tours of Brooklyn Heights with McNeil Tours at 1pm and 3pm, meeting outside Khaosan Thai at 128 Montague Street and bookable in advance; Art for Kids with Miss Piera outside Le Meraviglie at 108 Montague, 12–5pm, with an adult staying alongside; and giant street chess, oversized lawn games and sidewalk chalk. The Atlantic Antic has moved to October 4 as well, so the two still fall on the same day — pick one or do both slowly.
Greenmarket and Intro to Capoeira at Domino Park | Williamsburg
Sunday, September 27 | Greenmarket through November 22; capoeira Sundays through October 25 | Domino Park and Domino Square, River Street | Free | Beginners and families
GrowNYC’s Sunday market for produce, flowers and plants, and a beginner-friendly Afro-Brazilian martial arts class on the same afternoon.
Garden Club at McGolrick Park | Greenpoint
Sunday, September 27 | 10am–12pm | Meet at the pavilion in the center of McGolrick Park | Free, sign up | Big kids and grown-ups
Two hours of volunteering in North Brooklyn’s oldest park.
Third Avenue Festival | Bay Ridge -> Postponed to 10/4
Sunday, October 4 | 10 am–6 pm | Third Avenue from 69th to 94th Street, Bay Ridge | FREE
Bay Ridge’s big annual street festival, run by the Merchants of Third Avenue — vendors, food and stages the length of the avenue. Worth knowing that it lands on the same Sunday as the Atlantic Antic, so this is a pick-one afternoon. Details here.
Sunset Park Stoop Day | Sunset Park
Sunday, September 27 | 10am–4pm | Stoops across Sunset Park — start anywhere on the walking map | FREE to stroll | All ages
Thirty-plus stoops, courtyards and sidewalks across the neighborhood become pop-up sales for the day — household goods and furniture, kids’ clothes, toys and books, jewelry, plants, baked goods and lemonade, and several stoops giving things away free. The organizers’ walking guides sort the stoops by theme and come in English, Spanish and Chinese. Every stoop is run by a neighbor, so hours and prices vary; bring a tote bag and small bills.
