This year Halloween falls on a Saturday. In Fort Greene, though, the biggest costumed crowd of the season gathers in the park the Saturday before. The Fort Greene Park Conservancy has set Halloween Fest for Saturday, October 24, 2026, and the Great PUPkin dog costume contest takes up the first hour. A week later, on October 31, the city's free car-free Halloween block in this part of Brooklyn is in Clinton Hill, on Waverly Avenue.
So in 2026 the neighborhood has two Halloween Saturdays, and each one has its own center. Pick the wrong one and you'll find the crowd somewhere else.
Saturday the 24th belongs to the park
The Conservancy's Halloween Fest runs from noon to 4 p.m. on October 24, with a rain date of October 25. The listing promises spooky stories, face painting and family-friendly games. It's free to all, and no RSVP is required.
The format is the same as last year. In 2025, Halloween Fest also ran noon to 4 on a Saturday in late October, with the dog contest in the first hour. NYC Parks listed Monument Plaza, Myrtle Lawn and South Monument Lawn as that year's festival spaces. The 2026 page doesn't break the festival out by lawn, so last year's layout is a guide, not a promise.
The fixed point is the stairs. The Great PUPkin listing on Eventbrite puts the contest at the Fort Greene Park stairs on Washington Park Street, from noon to 1 p.m. If you're bringing kids and want a good view of the dogs, aim for the Washington Park Street side by late morning.
How the PUPkin actually works on the day
Watching is free and needs no registration. Entering a dog takes a few steps, and the timing is strict:
- Preregister on Eventbrite. Ticket sales opened October 19, 2026, at 10 a.m. The listing says there are no refunds.
- Keep your receipt. Print it or have it on your phone for check-in.
- Check in at the Myrtle entrance. The registration table opens at 11 a.m.
- Be there by 11:45 a.m. Entries that haven't checked in by then are forfeited.
- Judging starts at noon sharp. Judges help pick favorites, but the audience decides the winner.
Check-in and the contest are in different spots. The table is at the Myrtle entrance, and the judging happens at the stairs on Washington Park Street. Allow a few minutes to walk your costumed dog between them, especially if the costume has wheels, wings or a cardboard set.
The organizers spell out what they want. Creativity counts, and homemade costumes are the ones they say they love to see.
Why the dog contest anchors the whole day
The PUPkin isn't a Conservancy event. It's run by Fort Greene PUPS, short for Fort Greene Park Users and Pets Society. The group was founded in 1998 and describes itself as a community of more than 1,500 dog owners who support off-leash hours and the park. The 2026 contest is the 28th.
That history explains why the contest sits inside the festival. PUPS lists park cleanups with the Conservancy, quarterly appreciation breakfasts for park workers, poop bag dispensers it pioneered and keeps filled, and a dog-friendly water fountain installed with the help of then-councilperson Letitia James. The group also took part in the citywide effort to codify off-leash rules in New York City.
The money stays local. Entry fees are tax-deductible donations to Fort Greene PUPS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. In earlier coverage of the contest, Brooklyn Paper reported that proceeds fund PUPS programming and the cost of the event. When you pay to enter your dog on the 24th, you're helping pay for the same group's morning coffees and cleanup days the rest of the year.
On the 31st, the car-free blocks are a few streets east
Halloween night works differently. NYC DOT's Trick-or-Streets list for 2026 doesn't include a street inside Fort Greene. The closest Saturday-night entry is the Annual Clinton Hill Halloween Safety Walk with Street Activities. It runs on Waverly Avenue from DeKalb Avenue to Willoughby Avenue, from 5 to 9 p.m. on October 31, with the Society for Clinton Hill as partner.
Fort Greene has hosted these closures before. In 2022, DOT's Halloween list included South Portland Avenue from DeKalb to Lafayette and Willoughby Avenue from Washington Park to Hall Street, both with the Fort Greene Open Streets Coalition. Those were 2022 closures, and neither block is on this year's list. If either one appears closer to the date, it'll be a late addition, not a scheduled event.
Two more DOT entries nearby fall earlier in the week:
- Jitu Weusi Plaza, on Putnam Avenue between Fulton Street and Grand Avenue: Thursday, October 22, 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., with FAB Fulton BID as partner.
- Gates Avenue Plaza, between Vanderbilt Avenue and Fulton Street: Friday, October 30, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., with The Language and Laughter Studio as partner.
On Saturday night, there's a second option one block past Waverly. The Brooklyn Bridge Parents Halloween guide lists a free Grand Avenue Halloween Block Party on October 31 from 5 to 8 p.m., on Grand Avenue between Clifton Place and Greene Avenue. Private Picassos and Good People NYC organize it, with trick-or-treating, fog and bubbles, glowing sidewalk chalk, giant inflatables and a cardboard haunted house for kids to decorate. The guide pitches it to families with kids under 12.
What stays inside Fort Greene on Halloween itself
Halloween afternoon's main event in Fort Greene is indoors and outdoors at BAM. BAMboo! runs Saturday, October 31, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Avenue between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street. It's free, with carnival games, arts and crafts and candy giveaways. BAM says this year's activities will happen both inside and outside the building.
BAMboo! ends at 5 p.m., the same hour the Waverly Avenue safety walk and the Grand Avenue block party begin. A family could do BAM in the afternoon and walk east up Lafayette as it gets dark.
The quieter Halloween happens on the brownstone blocks near the park. A 2026 Visit Brooklyn roundup points to the streets around Fort Greene Park, especially South Portland Avenue and South Oxford Street, for decorated stoops and facades. Brooklyn Bridge Parents' 2026 trick-or-treat guide for Fort Greene and Clinton Hill also names the Myrtle Avenue businesses, Clinton Avenue from Myrtle to Gates, and St. James Place from DeKalb to Atlantic.
One familiar stop isn't on the calendar yet. Last year, the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership hosted the Myrtle Monster Mash at Myrtle Avenue Plaza from 4 to 6 p.m. on October 31. As of mid-October, the Partnership's events calendar lists only the regular farmers market for October 31, 2026. Check back before the weekend.
The two Saturdays at a glance
| Date | What | Where | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct 22 | Trick-or-Streets, FAB Fulton BID | Jitu Weusi Plaza, Putnam Ave | 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. | Free |
| Sat, Oct 24 | Great PUPkin check-in | Myrtle entrance, Fort Greene Park | 11 to 11:45 a.m. | Entry fee for competing dogs |
| Sat, Oct 24 | Great PUPkin contest | Park stairs, Washington Park St | Noon to 1 p.m. | Free to watch |
| Sat, Oct 24 | Halloween Fest | Fort Greene Park | Noon to 4 p.m. | Free |
| Sun, Oct 25 | Halloween Fest rain date | Fort Greene Park | If needed | Free |
| Fri, Oct 30 | Trick-or-Streets | Gates Avenue Plaza | 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. | Free |
| Sat, Oct 31 | BAMboo! | 30 Lafayette Ave | 2 to 5 p.m. | Free |
| Sat, Oct 31 | Clinton Hill Halloween Safety Walk | Waverly Ave, DeKalb to Willoughby | 5 to 9 p.m. | Free |
| Sat, Oct 31 | Grand Avenue Halloween Block Party | Grand Ave, Clifton Pl to Greene Ave | 5 to 8 p.m. | Free |
If your dog already has a costume, the 24th is the date to circle. If your kids are the ones in costume, BAM at 2 p.m. on the 31st and then Waverly Avenue at 5 make a full afternoon and evening within walking distance.
We're Fort Greene neighbors too, and we'll be watching the PUPkin from the stairs. If seeing the brownstone blocks dressed up for Halloween has you thinking about a stoop of your own, or about where you might go next, Claudette Rolling would love to hear from you. Say Hey — Book a Free Consultation.
