Is it just us or is Halloween in Bushwick getting better and better every year? We’re super-psyched to present this massive guide to 18 pure-perfection events going down in Bushwick and nearby this and next week!
And now real questions: How many costumes are you getting? And more importantly–what are you dressing up as? Is Pennywise overdone before Halloween even happened? Please let us know in the comments. Also don’t forget to send us your short video footage documenting your Hallow’s week journey!
Yo, guys, disclosure: We invited the businesses and party collectives we love to participate in this guide for a small fee. All the proceeds go toward operation of your fave local news website.
Events are listed in the order, in which we received their submission.
When: Sunday, Oct. 29 at noon
Where: RB Youth Center, 1474 Gates Ave., Bushwick
How much: FREE
What: RiseBoro Community Partnership and the RB Farmers Markets team cordially invites you to join us for CalabazaFest 2017! This beloved annual community celebration melts the traditions of Dia de los Muertos, Halloween, and fall festival all in one fun-filled afternoon.
Expect: Free giveaways, Halloween costume competition, dancing, live music, and arts galore! Free food from Tony’s Pizza & Amaranto! Pumpkin carving, face painting and arts for the whole family!
? Reality Bites 80s + 90s Halloween Party
When: Friday, Oct. 27 at 10:30 p.m.
Where: Littlefield, 35 Sackett St., Brooklyn
How much: $7 in advance, $10 at the door
What: The skint’s ‘Reality Bites’ 80s + 90s Halloween Party will take you back to the days of your youth because the scariest thing in the world right now isn’t ghosts or goblins — it’s the future. Trick-or-treat yo’self; bump in the night to angsty ’80s and ’90s anthems spun by DJ Brian Blackout; get caught in the web of our spooky photo booth, or just haunt the bar and get jack-o-lit with drink specials like the Cherry Bomb, the My Corona and the Tonic Youth. Come as you aren’t. (It’s Halloween, after all.) Dress as your favorite Winona Ryder character, a vampire, a microchip. Anything except a clown. For the love of “It” no clowns.
Expect: 100 pounds of candy for the costume contest winner.
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 8 p.m.
Where: Dromedary Bar, 266 Irving Ave., Bushwick
How much: FREE
What: “Dontcha want… A BALLOON?!?” Step right this way to Dromedary Bar’s “Creepy Tiki Circus”! Circus/ carnival/ clown themed costume party. Think sexy clown, scary strongman, grotesque ringmaster. Come dressed according to the theme or as fun as you like.
Expect: $400 cash prize for best costume. Balloons filled with secret prizes. PLANTATION RUM sponsor drink specials including the “You’re Fucked” Zombie. Beer specials, food specials, horror films in the background! DJ KAPITAL K starts spinning at 9 p.m.
? Martha (The Searchers) Choreographed by Julia Gleich in collaboration with artist Elana Herzog
When: Friday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Mark Morris Dance Center, (James & Martha Duffy Performance Space), 3 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn
How much: $15-$25
What: A new ballet by Julia K. Gleich created in collaboration with artist Elana Herzog with prelude performance by konverjdans and a screening of artist Rachel Farmer’s video “Onward” “Martha, akin to ballet’s Giselle, is an iconic figure broken on the wheel of the American West.”
Expect: Fri, Oct 27 at 7:30 p.m.; Sat, Oct 28 at 7:30 p.m.; Sun, Oct 29 at 4 p.m. Presented by Norte Maar. Produced by Jason Andrew. Starring Michelle Buckley, Courtney Cochrane, Cassidy Hall, Cortney Key, Tiffany Mangulabnan, Jordan Miller, Amy Saunder, and others.
? Sweet Sweet Horror Halloween party
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 9 p.m.
Where: FINE & RAW Chocolate Factory, 288 Seigel St., East Williamsburg
How much: $10
What: Crazy awesome Halloween party in a chocolate factory.
Expect: Zombies, politicians, the walking dead and chocolate bonbons. The eerie and dark Nathan Wheeler, followed by traversing otherworldly soundscapes with KYLIAN, and the final band, Sky White Tiger, will feast and devour your aural sense. Then come back to life with Soul Clap records, A-Rock, killing it on the dance floor. And come pay special homage to the unliving in our haunted loft space above the chocolate potion room.
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 10 p.m.
Where: Precious Metal, 143 Troutman St., Bushwick
How much: FREE
What: When there’s no more room in Hell the Dead will Dance the Earth! Pop and Hip Hop Dance Party.
Expect: $3 Pumpkin Ale all night long photo stage with lights by Bushwick Community Darkroom for Professional Costume Selfies! Delicious Halloween Cocktail Menu by our award winning bartenders and late night eats by Bushwich Sandwich Lab.
? Scary-oke!: Brooklyn’s Only Costume Karaoke Contest
When: Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m.
Where: Pine Box Rock Shop, 12 Grattan St., East Williamsburg
How much: FREE
What: Come in your Halloween best and sing a song that matches your costume. Are you a Grimus who belts Purple Rain? Or a Zombie who croons Creep?
Expect: $250 cash prize for the best costume. Warm up those pipes with $3 pumpkin ales and show off your costume skills at our free staging area, with professional lighting from Bushwick Community Darkroom.
? ROCK is DEAD II – The Halloween Show in New York
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 9 p.m.
Where: Unit J, 338 Moffat St., Bushwick
How much: $12 in advance (includes a free drink!). Early bird ends on Oct. 28 at 4:30 p.m.
$15 at the door (includes a free drink!) ends at 8 p.m.
What: Fifth anniversary/Halloween bash at Unit J in a very zombie/Bowie style!
Expect: An eight-piece David Bowie cover band to dance the night away (12 a.m.); a zombie tribute to ‘The Band’ by Stage Fright (1 a.m.) and music from local acts Watergate (10 p.m.) and Dirty Bird (9 p.m.).
One free drink with admission. Beer from KCBC in Bushwick. DIY Costume Contest (Winner gets free drinks all night!)
? Gran Noche Bruja-ja & Zombie Prom
When: Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m.
Where: The Footlight, 465 Seneca Ave., Ridgewood
How much: FREE
What: Come for the variety, stay for the ZOMBIE PROM! Gran Noche Bruja-ja is the Halloween EXTRAVAGANZA Ridgewood has been waiting for! COMEDY, MUSIC y MAS at The Footlight. Join us for a ghoulishly good time as we celebrate all think spooky and kooky!
Expect: Performances by Ethan Hall, Gabriel Pacheco, Patrick Holbert, Shin Chan, CW Headley, and other scary surprise guests! Hosted by perpetually terrifying Zilla Vodnas.
Followed by the 2nd Annual Footlight Zombie Prom! Free to enter, Zombie Prom attire encouraged. Prom King and Queen coronation at midnight with booze prizes.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m.
Where: TALON BAR, 220 Wyckoff Ave., Bushwick
How much: FREE
What: Celebrate All Hallow’s Eve with a night of irreverence and dark dance… Halloween Night with Talon Bar with DJ sets by…. Joe Hart (Svmmon/Procession) Semita Serpens (STATIQBLOOM/New York Haunted) Johanna Constantine (Dorian Gray)
Expect: Creative looks and costumes are encouraged. Leather & lace, lingerie, witchy, and fetish themes welcome. Prizes for best costumes
? Rubulad Presents: Boo! A Ghastly Gathering
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 8:30 p.m. (doors), 9 p.m. (shows)
Where: RSVP to [email protected] for Bushwick address
How much: $10 before 9 p.m. or after performances end; $20 otherwise
What: A mind-blowing secret Halloween party by the famed party collective, Rubulad.
Expect: Jake Pinto and The YeahTones Les Sans Culottes Predator Prey Wooing With your Emcee Tanya Solomon DJs: Grave The Spazz(WFMU) Dj Reaganomics Sir Olivier, Esq. and more… The Sperm Whale NYC Kami’s Killer B-B-Q G. Scopitronic’s Non-Stop Fright Fest Myke Flaherty’s Art Hole (to Hell!) and much more…. It’s Halloween – wear a costume!
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 8 p.m.
Where: The Gateway, 1272 Broadway, Bushwick
How much: $10 early bird, $15 regular
What: Toxic Shock Syndrome Presents: DEATH RITES: THE RETURN “It is happening again. It is happening again.”
Expect: A Place Both Wonderful and Strange, Motion Studies as The Smiths, Plaque (mems Yvette, House of Feelings, Courtship Ritual), Ritual Humor, Winkie, Compactor, MUUNY; DJs OJ (Chorizo) and Devin (DIIV); Black Lodge performance art by Hissyfit, visuals by Screaming Horses, tarot readings by Cassie Ramone, the return of the Makeout Coffin, damn good coffee, and more! 21+
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.
Where: Calabrije’s Margaritas and Tacos, 234 Starr St., Space. #3, Bushwick
How much: FREE
What: All Margaritas $6 each! ALL WEEKEND LONG! Frozen/Rocks/Spicy. All 21 flavors! Pumpkin Beer and Tequila shot $7
? KCBC Presents: Dia de los Muertos
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.
Where: Kings County Brewers Collective, 381 Troutman St., Bushwick
How much: FREE
What: Join KCBC for Bushwick’s beeriest and deadliest Halloween extravaganza, ¡DIA DE LOS MUERTOS!
Expect: Kick-ass tunes from DJ Bock Monsieur, tasty eats from Index BK, amazeballs decorations, spooktacular cocktails and the freshest beers in all the land (of the dead).
? 2nd Annual Halloween Freak Show
When: Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m.
Where: Westlight, 111 N. 12th St., Williamsburg
How much: $31-$40
What: Join Westlight for a Halloween to remember. The night will be complete with music by DJ Marlos, and performances by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.
Expect: Performances include: contortionists, magicians, human blockheads, burlesque, sword swallowing, and more. Costumes mandatory. Performances will run from 8:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. Tickets valid from 7 p.m.
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 9 p.m.
Where: The Rookery, 425 Troutman St., Bushwick
How much: FREE
What: Celebrate your dead idols at The Rookery. Cobain to Wild, Monroe to Lennon. Biggie to Beethoven. Zombies and rockers, ghosts and starlets. Rock and roll will never die.
Expect: Ghoulishly great food and drink specials all night. Win prizes in our costume contest for Best Artist, Best Group and Best Album Cover.
? Elsewhere Halloween Grand Opening with Battles!
When: Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m.
Where: Elsewhere, 599 Johnson Ave., East Williamsburg
How much: $30 – $40
What: Elsewhere is making first contact with Planet Earth this Halloween! Come join us for a spooky venue birthday party with Battles and a whole host of amazing artists, with still more to be announced soon. This is a FULL VENUE TAKEOVER: explore our crazy multi-room maze of performance stages, café, art galleries, and more for the first time!
Expect: Costumes STRONGLY ENCOURAGED. Party like your mortal soul depends on it! Doors will open at 8:00 PM, come early and explore! ELSEWHERE TAKEOVER: Battles & Special guests! + Cakes Da Killa, Combo Chimbita, Future Punx Alex Pasternak DJ (Bananas!)
? Cobra Club’s 6th Annual Zombie Prom!
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 9 p.m.
Where: Cobra Club, 6 Wyckoff Ave., Bushwick
How much: FREE
What: Celebrate Halloween Weekend at The Cobra Club’s 6th Annual ZOMBIE PROM.
Expect: Come early for rock’n’roll DJs in the front bar starting at 9 p.m. and stay late to sing with Kings of Karaoke in the back room from 11 p.m.- 4 a.m.!
Cover image: Giphy