Brooklyn’s outdoor festival season runs all the way to the holiday lights, and the best stretch of it is still ahead. From the Junior Carnival on Eastern Parkway to the Ragamuffin Parade down Third Avenue, the Atlantic Antic, a run of Halloween festivals and the first tree lighting of the season, here’s your guide to the street fairs, cultural celebrations and open-air events worth putting on the calendar. Updated for fall 2026 — we add dates as organizers confirm them, so bookmark it and check back!
Brooklyn Flea
Saturdays + Sundays | DUMBO Archway | April–December | FREE
The beloved vintage and makers market is back under the Manhattan Bridge arch at 80 Pearl Street in DUMBO, running weekends through December. brooklynflea.com
Brooklyn Museum on Wheels
May–October | Various Brooklyn Neighborhoods | FREE
The Brooklyn Museum’s Airstream-housed mobile arts initiative returns for its 2026 season — traveling to seven Brooklyn neighborhoods from May through October with hands-on art-making, cultural storytelling, games, and pieces from the museum’s teaching collection. Free and open to the public; activities are first come, first served. Brooklyn Bridge Parents is a partner on the season’s opening stop. Full info here.
- September 27 — Atlantic Avenue: at Atlantic Antic / Playtopia, with manga-inspired programming threaded through one of Brooklyn’s biggest street fairs.
- October 24 — Kensington: at the Day of the Dead Parade, joining Casa Cultural’s community-led celebration of remembrance and ritual.
Summer Saturdays at Atlantic Terminal Mall Plaza
August 29 | Fort Greene | FREE
Free crafts, games, block building and water fun this summer at Atlantic Terminal Mall Plaza on Saturdays from 11 am to 1 pm. The final instalment is the Back to School Bash on Saturday, August 29 — bring a bathing suit and towel for the water play. RSVP here.
Summer at Domino Park 2026
June–September | Domino Park, Williamsburg Waterfront | FREE
Two Trees has unveiled Domino Park’s 2026 summer lineup — a season of free public events across Domino Square, Flex Field, and the Williamsburg waterfront, anchored by the return of the Sugar Sugar! performance series, plus live music, wellness classes, family programming, and Movies in the Square. Full calendar at dominopark.com/events.
- Six evenings from July 7 — Movies in the Square: double features against the Manhattan skyline; full lineup announced in June.
- Don Juan (Molière in the Park): previewed on the square in August ahead of a free September run; the company had not posted its September dates when we checked.
- September 20, 4–5pm — Spellbound Theater: an interactive bilingual English and Spanish performance on Domino Square, built for ages 0–5.
- Throughout the season — Sunrise & Sunday Yoga, Summer Fitness Series, Croquet on the Field, Salsa by the Water, Típico P’al Pueblo, Sunset Sessions, Meet the Beekeeper, Craft Nights, Dominoes Socials with Capicu!, and GrowNYC’s Greenmarket on Sundays.
Summer at the Terminal — Brooklyn Army Terminal
June–October | Sunset Park Waterfront | FREE
The 2026 “Summer at the Terminal” series transforms NYCEDC’s 59-acre Brooklyn Army Terminal campus in Sunset Park into a free public destination — waterfront food festivals, outdoor films, community markets, cultural heritage celebrations, and family days running June through October. Full schedule here.
- August 27, 2–6pm — AAPI Culture Day: a waterfront celebration of Asian culture through music, dance, food, and community programming.
- August 30, 2–6pm — End of Summer Event: a closing-weekend gathering of live entertainment, food, and family activities along the waterfront.
- September 19, 7–10pm — Rooftop Films Screening: a second free outdoor film at the BAT waterfront, with Rooftop Films.
- September 27, 2–8pm — Hispanic Heritage Waterfront Festival: in partnership with the Sunset Park Empowerment Center, honoring Hispanic cultures through art, music, and culinary traditions.
- October 31, 2–7pm — Día de Los Muertos Celebration: at the BAT Arches rather than Ferry Plaza Park, with ArtBuilt and Casa Cultural — a communal ofrenda, crafts table, face painting, live music and performances.
Brooklyn Bridge Park 2026 Festivals & Special Events
May–October | Brooklyn Bridge Park | FREE
Brooklyn Bridge Park has unveiled its 2026 lineup of festivals and special events — free, family-friendly programming spanning the waterfront from Pier 1 to Pier 6, with everything from outdoor screenings to the fall Harvest Festival. Full calendar at brooklynbridgepark.org/events.
- Movies With A View: How to Train Your Dragon | Friday, September 18, 6–10 pm — the last film of the season and the only Friday in the series, free and first come, first served on the Harbor View Lawn at Pier 1. Rated PG, 93 minutes; come early and picnic.
- Harvest Festival | Saturday, October 17, 11 am–3 pm — the free seasonal closer, at Pier 6, with live music, arts and crafts, storytelling, lawn games and face painting.
BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!
June 4 – September 19 | Lena Horne Bandshell, Prospect Park | Mostly FREE; benefit concerts ticketed
New York’s longest-running free outdoor performing arts festival runs June 4 through September 19 this year. Most shows are free; the benefit concerts that bookend the season are ticketed. The last free night is Dominican Night at the Bandshell on Saturday, August 29 at 5 pm, and the season closes with a ticketed benefit on Saturday, September 19. Bring a blanket and plan to picnic. bricartsmedia.org
West Indian American Day Carnival: Junior Carnival | Crown Heights
Saturday, September 5 | assembles 9 am | St. John’s Place at Kingston Avenue, parading to the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway | Free to watch | This is the one built for children
The children’s edition of New York City’s largest cultural celebration, and the one to bring kids to. The parade assembles at St. John’s Place and Kingston Avenue at 9 am and moves to the Brooklyn Museum, where Youth Fest runs the same day with a youth costume parade, music and dance. Museum admission that day is $10 for adults and children over 12, and free for under-12s. wiadcacarnival.org
West Indian American Day Parade | Crown Heights
Monday, September 7 (Labor Day) | steps off mid-morning | Eastern Parkway, from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza | Free | All ages, but expect enormous crowds
The main event, and one of the biggest carnivals in the world: floats, dancers in elaborate costumes, soca, calypso and reggae along Eastern Parkway, with more than a million people lining the route. Strollers are hard work in that crush, and the sound systems are loud — younger children do better at Saturday’s Junior Carnival. WIADCA had not posted the 2026 step-off time when we checked, so confirm before you set out. J’Ouvert, the pre-dawn parade of mud, oil, powder and steel bands, is run by a separate organization and had no 2026 details posted either. wiadcacarnival.org
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.
Brooklyn Americana Music Festival | DUMBO
Saturday, September 12 | from 2 pm | the DUMBO Archway, Water Street at Anchorage Place | outdoor stage | opens with a kids’ show
The festival’s 12th edition runs September 10–13 across DUMBO and Red Hook, and Saturday is the day to bring children: the outdoor Archway stage opens at 2 pm with an all-new kids’ show from Neha Jiwrajka, then runs bands through to 9 pm. The Jalopy and Superfine shows are ticketed; the festival had not posted a price for the Archway stage this year, so check before you go. Full schedule here.
Brooklyn Bridge Parents Back-to-School Party
Sunday, September 13 | 12–4pm | Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights | FREE
A Brooklyn Bridge Parents event! Our annual Back-to-School Party returns to car-free Montague Street. Expect free kids’ activities, games, crafts, face painting, community vendors, and a kick-off for the new school year. Free and family-friendly — right in the neighborhood. Free RSVP here.
Montague Street Open Streets | Brooklyn Heights
Seven Sundays, September 13–October 25 | 10 am–7 pm | Montague Street, Clinton to Hicks | FREE
Montague goes car-free for seven straight Sundays this fall, with a different headliner each week. September 13 is Brooklyn’s Biggest Back to School Party with Brooklyn Bridge Parents (above); September 20 brings the FAD Market and 50+ independent makers, 12–6 pm; September 27 is a community tag sale; October 4 has the Feast of St. Francis animal blessing at 1 pm outside St. Ann & the Holy Trinity, 157 Montague; October 11 is a square dance jamboree with Jalopy Theatre, callers teaching the steps, fun for all ages; October 18 is the pickleball tournament, 12–5 pm; and October 25 closes the season with the Montague Diner dog costume contest. Full weekly line-up here.
Bus Festival | Brooklyn Bridge Park
Saturday, September 19 | Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, Brooklyn Bridge Park | 10am–3:30pm | FREE
The New York Transit Museum and MTA New York City Transit park a fleet of vintage buses on the waterfront and let children climb aboard every one of them — “Betsy,” an enclosed double-decker from 1931; Bus 3100, the first air-conditioned bus in the United States, from 1956; and a 1971 GM “New Look” later rebuilt as a Blitz Bus. Note that the festival is in the park, not at the museum’s Schermerhorn Street home. It runs rain or shine and needs no ticket, though registering in advance enters you in a raffle for a household membership. Children 15 and under must stay with an adult, the buses have stairs, and the museum posts a social narrative PDF for families preparing a sensory-sensitive child for the day.
FamChella in Bay Ridge
Saturday, September 19 | 5th Ave Bay Ridge | FREE
Join Brooklyn Bridge Parents and the 5th Avenue BID for the 2nd annual FAMChella, a FREE family-friendly block party inspired by the fun and flair of Coachella, happening Saturday, September 19th from 3 to 6 PM. We’re turning the car-free stretch of 5th Avenue from 68th to 81st Street into a lively festival zone filled with FREE kids activities including a Family dance party, a bouncy house, arts & crafts, water fun, games, LEGO play, and more! The whole neighborhood is invited to come dance with us and celebrate an unforgettable afternoon of family fun. Bring bathing suit and towel for water play! Free RSVP here.
60th Bay Ridge Ragamuffin Parade
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.
Brooklyn Book Festival Children’s Day
Saturday, September 26 | 10 am–4 pm | Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza, 209 Joralemon Street | FREE
Author readings, workshops, book signings and activities for kids and families, plus a children’s book market — part of the largest free literary festival in New York. The main Festival Day and Literary Marketplace follow on Sunday, September 27, 10 am–6 pm, at Borough Hall and venues around it. brooklynbookfestival.org
Atlantic Antic | Boerum Hill
Sunday, September 27 | 12–6 pm, rain or shine | Atlantic Avenue, Fourth Avenue to the waterfront | FREE
One of Brooklyn’s biggest and oldest street fairs, stretching over 10 blocks of Atlantic Avenue through Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and beyond. Local vendors, food, live music, and family activities, plus a kids block with pony rides, bounce houses, face painting and circus performers. Join us for PLAYTOPIA by Brooklyn Bridge Parents in Boerum Hill with free kids activities, the Brooklyn Museum on Wheels and more! atlanticave.org
Third Avenue Festival | Bay Ridge
Sunday, September 27 | 10 am–6 pm | Third Avenue, 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.
Fall Fest at Atlantic Terminal Mall
Saturday, October 10 | Atlantic Terminal Mall Plaza & Car-free Fort Greene Place | FREE
Atlantic Terminal Mall and Brooklyn Bridge Parents are throwing a FREE, family-friendly fall festival on Atlantic Terminal’s outdoor plaza and car-free Fort Greene Place on Saturday, October 10 from 11 AM to 2 PM! Our epic “urban pumpkin patch” will be packed with pumpkins just waiting for the kiddos to pick out and decorate! The entire outdoor plaza and car-free street will come alive with fall fun, featuring hands-on arts & crafts, pumpkin painting, block building, spooky haunted trucks to enter and more. Kids are highly encouraged to rock their favorite costumes. Rain date: Sunday, October 11. Free RSVP here.
Smith Street Neighbors & Makers Street Fair in Cobble Hill
Saturday, October 17 | 11 am – 2 pm | Cobble Hill
A fall-filled celebration with local makers, community and a Brooklyn Bridge Parents kids zone with free kids activities on car-free Smith Street from Bergen to Union. Free RSVP here.
Halloween Fest | Fort Greene Park
Saturday, October 24, rain date October 25 | 12–4 pm | Fort Greene Park | FREE, no RSVP | costumes encouraged
The Fort Greene Park Conservancy’s Halloween Fest returns with spooky stories, face painting and family games. Free to all and nothing to book — turn up in costume. Fort Greene Park Conservancy.
Fall Harvest Festival | Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Saturday, October 24 | 11 am–4 pm | Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Washington Avenue | ticketed, free for members | flannel or a costume
Live music, hands-on family activities and an afternoon costume parade among the Garden’s fall foliage. The Garden lists it as a ticketed event but had not posted a price when we checked; members go free. Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Día de los Muertos at Avenue C Plaza | Kensington
Saturday, October 24 | time to be announced | Avenue C Plaza, Kensington | FREE | all ages
Casa Cultural and the Kensington Cultural Council call this their biggest event of the year: community ofrendas, performances, giant sugar skulls and alebrijes sculptures on the plaza. The Brooklyn Museum on Wheels joins the same day. Times had not been posted when we checked. Kensington Culture.
Halloween Fest Bay Ridge
Saturday, October 24 | 4 – 7 pm | 5th Ave | Free
Brooklyn Bridge Parents is partnering with the 5th Avenue BID to bring you Halloween Fest, a spooktacular free block party taking over 10 car-free blocks of 5th Avenue from 72nd to 85th Street on Saturday, October 24th from 4–7 PM. Celebrate the season with free kids activities, including puppet show, bouncy house, pumpkin decorating, “Trunk-or-Treat,” haunted trucks, games, crafts, giveaways, and so much more! The PuppetMobile will feature Pinocchio from 4:00 to 4:35 PM. Experience a fresh take on the classic fairytale! In this new telling, Geppetto is a New York City kid with a talent for invention, going so far as to create a robot friend in the form of Pinocchio. The story follows the pair as they tour around classic locales, from the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park to the Victorian Gardens Amusement Park, and the hijinks they get into along the way. Free RSVP here.
BKLYN BOO! | Downtown Brooklyn
Friday, October 30 | 4–6 pm | Abolitionist Place, Willoughby Street at Albee Square West | FREE | whole family
Downtown Brooklyn Partnership’s Halloween afternoon with City Point — music, treats and costumes on the plaza, and an easy one to fold into a Friday pick-up. Downtown Brooklyn.
Dumboween
Saturday, October 31 | March to the Arch gathers 3 pm, Archway party 3:30–6 pm | Washington Street between Front and Water, then the DUMBO Archway | FREE | little kids especially
DUMBO’s Halloween: a costume march from Washington Street to the Archway, then crafts, a free photobooth, a costume contest judged at 4 pm, the Howl-o-Ween dog contest and trick-or-treating at more than 50 neighborhood businesses. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so expect a crowd. Times are from the Dumbo BID’s standing Dumboween page, which had not been dated for 2026 when we checked. Dumbo BID.
NYC Marathon Mile 8 Cheering Station | Fort Greene
Sunday, November 1 | 9 am–1:30 pm | mile 8 of the course, Fort Greene | FREE
Downtown Brooklyn Partnership sets up at mile 8 with live music, free coffee and free cowbells. One of the easiest big-city spectacles to do with small children — you stand still and the event comes to you. Details here.
DTBK Gets Lit! | Downtown Brooklyn
Tuesday, November 24 | 6–7 pm | Albee Square, Fulton Street at Albee Square West | FREE
Downtown Brooklyn’s annual holiday lighting, with live music, performances, refreshments and the countdown to switching the lights on. The first of the season and a short, early-evening outing that works with young children. Downtown Brooklyn.
Know of a festival we missed? Let us know and we’ll add it to the guide!
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