Brooklyn’s outdoor festival season runs all the way to the holiday lights, and the best stretch of it is still ahead. From the DUMBO Pizza Party 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.
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 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.
- Through September 13 — Don Juan (Molière in the Park): previewed on the square in August; the full free run is at the LeFrak Center in Prospect Park, evenings at 7 pm through Sunday, September 13, RSVP requested at prospectpark.org.
- 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.
- 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!
Saturday, September 19 | 7:30–10:30 pm | Lena Horne Bandshell, Prospect Park | ticketed benefit; the free 2026 season has ended
New York’s longest-running free outdoor performing arts festival wrapped its free 2026 season with Dominican Night on August 29. What remains is the ticketed closing benefit with Liz Phair and Sleater-Kinney on Saturday, September 19; free shows return next June. bricartsmedia.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.
Brasswick: An Urban Brass Band Festival | Sunset Park
Saturday, September 12 | 1–9 pm | Industry City Bandshell, Courtyard 1/2, enter at 238 36th Street | $19.99 in advance, $25 at the door; kids under 12 free with a ticketed adult | rain or shine, and loud
Five brass bands on an open-air courtyard stage, hosted and headlined by Brooklyn’s own L Train Brass Band with Funkrust Brass Band, PRIZILLA, Purple Gravy and The Funky Dawgz, then a bring-your-own-horn jam session to close the night. Hometown BBQ is on site. Details and tickets.
Kids and Volunteers Fest at Commodore Barry Park | Fort Greene
Saturday, September 12 | 2–5 pm | Commodore Barry Park, North Elliott Place between Flushing and Park Avenues | FREE | all ages
Friends of Commodore Barry Park and Partnerships for Parks throw an afternoon fest on the lawn: snacks, prizes, giveaways, arts and crafts, and a promised surprise guest. Details from Friends of Commodore Barry Park.
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.
Smorgasburg Matsuri: Japan Meets Brooklyn | Prospect Park
Sunday, September 13 | 11 am–6 pm | Smorgasburg’s Prospect Park site at Breeze Hill, off Lincoln Road | FREE entry, food for sale | all ages
Smorgasburg’s Sunday market goes Japanese for the day, with guest vendors from Japan, resident vendors cooking Japanese-inspired specials, cultural performances and hands-on activities; the omakase-style tastings are limited-capacity. Prospect Park Alliance.
The Dumbo Pizza Party | DUMBO
Friday, September 18 | 5–8pm | the DUMBO Archway, Water Street at Anchorage Place | FREE to attend; $2 slices
Ziggy’s, Juliana’s, Grimaldi’s and Ignazio’s sling $2 slices under the Archway, with gelato, a photobooth, live music from The Jelly, and free kids’ activities powered by Brooklyn Bridge Parents. Details here; RSVP on Eventbrite.
Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi | Downtown Brooklyn
Friday–Saturday, September 18–19 | performance times to be announced | Abolitionist Place and plazas across Downtown Brooklyn, plus Lower Manhattan | FREE, no tickets | all ages, and built for the street
St. Ann’s Warehouse sends a herd of 50 life-size buffalo puppets roaming through Downtown Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan over two days, with marching bands, gospel choirs, dancers and tribal ceremonies at the stops, created with Lenape and Lakota elders. Rhiannon Giddens, Laurie Anderson, Pilobolus and the Brooklyn United Marching Band are on the bill; times and routes had not been posted when we checked. St. Ann’s Warehouse.
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
Hudson Canyon to NY Harbor Festival | Brooklyn Bridge Park
Saturday, September 26 | 11 am–3 pm | Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, Brooklyn Bridge Park | FREE | all ages, best for the science-minded
The New York Aquarium and NOAA host a free family STEM festival about the Hudson Canyon, the Grand Canyon-sized chasm 100 miles off the coast that may become a national marine sanctuary. Come back after dark for AQUA COSMOS, an 18-minute projection on the Brooklyn Bridge itself, viewable from the same plaza 7–10 pm on Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26. Brooklyn Bridge Park.
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.
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.
Third United Lenape / Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow | Prospect Park
Saturday–Sunday, October 3–4 | 12–6 pm | LeFrak Center at Lakeside, Prospect Park | FREE, RSVP requested | all ages
A two-day gathering that brings the Lenape, Brooklyn’s original people, back to their homelands for dancing, drumming, regalia and food, with neighboring Indigenous nations joining. Prospect Park hosted formal pow wows from 1916 to 1972; this is the third year of the revival, presented by Prospect Park Alliance, the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective and the American Indian Community House. RSVP 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.
Smorgasburg Diwali: Festival of Bites | Prospect Park
Sunday, October 18 | 11 am–6 pm | Smorgasburg’s Prospect Park site at Breeze Hill, off Lincoln Road | FREE entry, food for sale | all ages
Smorgasburg and Prospect Park Alliance turn the Sunday market into a Diwali celebration: a curated line-up of South Asian restaurants and chefs, resident vendors with Diwali-inspired specials, and cultural performances and activities through the day. Prospect Park Alliance.
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–5 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.
Court Street Fair | Cobble Hill
Sunday, October 25 | hours to be announced | Court Street, Atlantic Avenue to Joralemon Street | FREE | all ages
The last big street fair of the year on the Heights–Cobble Hill border, run by Meteor Festivals: vendors, food and fair games the length of Court Street, and a good warm-up lap for Halloween week. Hours had not been posted when we checked. Meteor Festivals calendar.
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; the Dumbo BID has moved the march earlier to 3 pm for 2026. Dumbo BID.
Park Slope Halloween Parade | Park Slope
Saturday, October 31 | 6:30–8 pm | Seventh Avenue, Park Slope; route to be announced | FREE | all ages, and the smallest children go up front
The Park Slope Civic Council’s children’s Halloween parade has filled Seventh Avenue with costumed kids, puppets and drummers for decades. The route had not been posted when we checked. Park Slope Civic Council.
Creepy Crawly Halloween | Prospect Park
Saturday, October 31 | 10 am–4 pm | Prospect Park | FREE, no RSVP | all ages, best for the bug-curious
Prospect Park Alliance’s Halloween day for kids who like the creatures that give everyone else the creeps: borrow a sketchbook and hunt for spiders, bats and insects (10 am–4 pm), dissect an owl pellet (11 am–2 pm) and try the nature chef’s crunchy treats (12–3 pm). Prospect Park Alliance.
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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Updated: September 2026.
