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Arts & Entertainment

Enjoy a Halloween-Themed Weekend: Local Parties, Parades and Pumpkin Art

Have a spooky weekend with these Halloween-themed local events. Plus, more fall festivals.

Halloween weekend is upon us and there’s plenty of ways to celebrate from costume parades to real-life ghost stories. 

Take a Spooky Walk

The festivities kick off Friday night with  at the Center for Science Teaching and Learning at the Tanglewood Preserve in Rockville Centre. If you are new to this event, it is sure to be a tradition-in-the-making. It features two different walks through the woods, one for older kids feauting eery lighting, sound effects and surprise characters and a “not so spooky walk” for younger children. There are also crafts, entertainment and the “Amazing Animal Exhibit"  It runs Friday through Sunday from 6:30 – 9:30 pm. The first 200 kids that visit each night will also receive goodie bags!

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Show Off Your Costumes

If your child can't wait till Oct. 31 to show off their creative Halloween costume then bring them to one of these parades this weekend, where they can dress up. The village of Malverne is holding one on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the gazebo in Reese Park and the village of Lynbrook will have theirs on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. beginning at the Earl Avenue parking lot. Following the parade, Lynbrook will also being having a Halloween-themed party on Atlantic Avenue from noon to 3 p.m. featuring fun activities including a spooky walk, magic show, obstacle course, pumpkin and cookie decorating and, of course - trick or treating! 

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Long Beach will also being holding a costume contest at its "Halloween on the Plaza" event starting Sunday at 10 a.m. at Kennedy Plaza,  located at 1 W. Chester Street. The party will also feature live music, fine arts and handmade crafts for sale, storytime and an author book signing, treat-or-treating and more! 

Amazing Pumpkin Art

Another cool way to celebrate the harbinger of Halloween is to check out Lynbrook High School's third annual “Pumpkin Blaze.” It’s being held at 6 pm on Saturday. The Lynbrook High School National Art Honor Society and the Culinary Arts Club have come together to create an event that’s not soon to be forgotten.  The Art Society will carve over 200 pumpkins and make them into works-of-art. Then, to take it one step further, they will bring out the pumpkins’ full potential by turning them into jack-o-lanterns. Picture over 200 jack-o-lanterns lighting up the athletic field, what a sight to see! Bring your children in costumes. They will have face painting, pumpkin painting and there will be food available compliments of the Culinary Arts Club. Admission is $5 and all proceeds benefit Island Harvest. Oh, and the one of a kind jack-o-lanterns will be for sale too, no mess to clean up in your kitchen and just in time for Halloween!

Ghost Hunters  

If you are looking for something a little different this Halloween weekend, the West Hempstead Library is hosting a presentation by real life ghost hunters.  On Sunday at 2 pm, these ghost hunters will share some of their experiences and some local legends covering 300 years of Long Island history. Come hear about Mary Hatchet, The Ghosts of Otto Zoo, The Ghost of Charlie Klein, the Weeping Woman from Cambridge Hotel and many more.

Fall Festivals

Finally, if you still haven't gotten your Fall Festival fix this year, you have a few options this weekend. The popular Rolling River Day Camp in East Rockaway is having its annual Fall Festival Sunday beginning at 11 am. They will offer rides, inflatables, trick-or-treating, a petting zoo, giveaways, music and more. The Camp is located at 477 Ocean Ave, in East Rockaway.

Other festivals include the Rockville Centre Fall Fair at Sunrise Highway and N. Long Beach Road from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and the Hewlett-Woodmere Fall Festival at Woodmere Middle School (1170 Peninsula Blvd., Hewlett) on Sunday at 1 p.m. The latter will feature games and activities, including jewelry making and face-painting for young children, and demonstrations on how to effectively take care of gardens, with the help of the Cornell Cooperative.

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