
Stilt Dancing Insanity! Caterpillar Feedings!
Rutabaga Skee-ball! Brooklyn’s Wackiest Costume Parade!
#ghoulsgourds #brooklynbotanic
Performances
Planet Pumpkin
- Noon–12:45 p.m.
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Shinbone Alley Stilt Band
High-stepping Dixieland jazz and shamelessly silly shenanigans
- 1:00–1:45 p.m.
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Pam Fleming's Dead Zombie Band
A raucous resurrection of frenzied brass
- 2:00–3:15 p.m.
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New Kingston
Brooklyn’s young lions of roots reggae
- 3:30–4:30 p.m.
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Billy Jonas & the Band
North Carolina’s award-winning kids’ troubadour returns to BBG.
Hayloft Stage
- Noon–12:30 p.m.
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Phydeaux's Flying Flea Circus of Fate
Tiny acrobats hit the big top.
- 12:30–1:15 p.m.
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Mettawee River Theatre Company
Victorian creatures invite you to their woodland waltz.
- 1:30–1:45 p.m.
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Phydeaux's Flying Flea Circus of Fate
Tiny acrobats hit the big top.
- 1:45–3:00 p.m.
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Eddie Barbash
American roots music from NYC’s late-night sax king
- 3:00–3:15 p.m.
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Phydeaux's Flying Flea Circus of Fate
Tiny acrobats hit the big top.
- 3:15–4:00 p.m.
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Metropolitan Klezmer
Gotham’s greatest players of Yiddish party music
Activities
Noon–4:00 p.m.
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Club Bug
Dr. Rutledge’s Insectorium and Petting Zoo
Pet a hissing cockroach, feed a hornworm, and meet an entomologist!Build a Gigantic Spider Web
Use recycled ribbon and fabric scraps to create a home for the world’s largest arachnid.Arthropod Antennae
Craft your very own freaky feelers and become an insect for the day.Squirmy Wormies
Enjoy these wiggly worms and behold their composting skills!Bad Bug Tats
Get inked with an Asian long-horned beetle tattoo from the USDA’s beetle busters.Mind Your Own Beeswax
Craft a candle with natural wax from real honey bees!
This activity takes place in the Discovery Garden Pavilion. -
Vegetable Midway
Rutabaga Skee-Ball
Step right up and play this classic arcade game—with a veggie twist.Brussels Sprout Bowling
Try your hand at this crazy cruciferous game of skill.Lenape Indian Corn Darts
This Native American tossing game is harder than it looks.You Look Radishing!
Veg out at one of our selfie photo stations. -
Creature Features
Mortal Beasts & Deities
Magnificent stilt dancers and magical puppets stroll the Esplanade.
Official WebpagePretend Petting Zoo for Toddlers
Come play in our imaginary menagerie.Point and Cluck
Snap a photo of your chickeny self.
Children's Book Barn
Noon–4:30 p.m.
With the Community Bookstore Pop-up Shop
Get an autograph and enjoy readings by local authors and illustrators.
- Author-illustrator Selina Alko reads from A Case for Loving
- Author-illustrator Nancy Carpenter reads from Lucky Ducklings
- Author-illustrator Shana Corey reads from The Secret Subway
- Author-illustrator Nina Crews reads from The Neighborhood Sing-Along
- Author-illustrator Melanie Hope Greenberg reads from Mermaids on Parade
- Author-illustrator Abby Hanlon reads from Dory Dory Blacksheep
- Author Kate Hosford reads from Big Bouffant
- Authors Paul DuBois Jacobs & Jennifer Swender read from My Subway Ride
- Author Jane Kelley reads from The Book of Dares for Lost Friends
- Author-illustrator Michelle Knudsen reads from Marilyn’s Monsters
- Author-illustrator Huy Voun Lee reads from The Magic Brush
- Author Diane Muldrow reads from How Do Lions Say I Love You?
- Author-illustrator Johan Olander reads from A Field Guide to Monsters: Googly-Eyed Wart Floppers, Shadow-Casters, Toe-Eaters, and Other Creatures
- Author-illustrator Sean Qualls reads from Two Friends
- Author Esme Shapiro reads from OOKO
- Author-illustrator Javaka Steptoe reads from Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean Michelle Basquiat
- Author Lauren Thompson reads from The Apple Pie That Papa Baked
- Author-Illustrator Iza Trapani reads from Gabe and Goon
Costume Parade & Drum Circle
4:30–5:30 p.m.
Parade kickoff at the Planet Pumpkin Stage at 4:30!
Brazilian percussion corps Maracatu NY leads our celebrated costume parade and dynamite drum circle! March to the beat of bodacious bands, strut your stuff with silly stilt dancers, shake your bag of bones, or just show off your costume for all to see!
Admission
- Adults
- $15
- Seniors (65 and over)
- $10
- Students 12+ with valid ID
- $10
- Children under 12; BBG Members
- Free