Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Halloween in Brooklyn


Call it Boo-klyn!

Halloween in Brooklyn doesn't disappoint this year, with tons of parades, parties and performances to keep you busy.

We've rounded up the best that's out there in our Halloween guide for this weekend. We've also compiled up all the parades for trick or treaters big and small. And, it wouldn't be Halloween without a proper fright fest, and we've got the skinny on Luna Park's "Nights of Horror" (above).

Photo by Stefano Giovannini

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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Is this the best Halloween house in Brooklyn?


These pictures just came into our inbox. They're from Anthony and Marie George's house in Dyker Heights, on 79th Street between 11th and 12th avenues

Marie tells us: For the past several years, my husband has been entertaining Brooklyn residents with his Halloween displays. Each year the displays grow in size as does the number of people that drop by our home. This year, my husband really went above and beyond.

We'll say! Do you know of any houses that rival this horror house?





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Honey-flavored Halloween


By Meredith Deliso

Need a sweet treat for Halloween? Look no further.

The ladies behind Liddabit Sweets, a Bedford-Stuyvesant bakery that can also be found all over Brooklyn at places like the Brooklyn Flea and Bklyn Larder, have shared with us their recipe for Honey-nut Popcorn Balls, a crunchy, sugary snack that’s just the right shape for some Halloween-themed decorating, if you’re in the mood.

“You could certainly stick some candies on there to make a Jack O’ Lantern face,” volunteered co-founder Liz Gutman. Though, after our own little taste test, these treats are sweet enough without the extra sugar!

They’re best within a few days of making, but will stay good for up to a week, for a post-Halloween sugar high.

Honey-nut Popcorn Balls
(makes about 20)

Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tbl. honey
3/4 tsp. baking soda
10 cups popped corn (1 plain microwave bag or 1/4 cup kernels)
1-1/2 cups roasted almonds (or whatever nut you like)

Directions
Have on hand an oiled bowl, with the popped popcorn in it, and two oiled, heat-proof spatulas or spoons. (Be vigilant about removing all unpopped kernels.)

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add sugars, salt, honey, and corn syrup and cook to 300 degrees over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. The mixture will look thick and bubbly. Add the baking soda and stir well to incorporate; it will increase in volume.

Pour the caramel evenly over the popcorn in the oiled bowl, then sprinkle the nuts. Using your spatulas or spoons, toss together until corn is evenly coated. When the caramel has cooled somewhat but not brittle, after two to three minutes of tossing, shape into two-inch balls with lightly oiled hands. (Don’t be afraid to really crush the popcorn to mold it into a ball. And, since the caramel is still somewhat hot at this point, this isn’t an activity for kids).

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Friday, October 30, 2009

Kitchen Klutz: Halloween treats with Wednesday Addams

Photos by Joe Maniscalco


By Michèle De Meglio



Do you know who I am? Do you? Do you?



I am Wednesday Addams and this is a special Halloween Klutz!



Step inside my kitchen and be prepared to be mystified, stupefied and horrified. Seriously, I made something really, really gross.



Inspired by Mississippi Mud Pie, which I've never had the pleasure of tasting, I created Gummy Worm Mud Pie. Doesn't that just sound disgusting? How fun!



Who better to serve this dirty dessert than that sinister oddball we all love - little Wednesday Addams! The persona and costume are fitting since I've been told I have a passing resemblance to Wednesday Addams. I'm not quite sure if these folks were referring to my black hair and pale skin or my demeanor. Hmm.





Anyway, this dessert takes about 10 minutes (or 20 if you're really slow like me) to make. Start by melting a stick of butter, which I did in the microwave, then add that to an entire package of crushed Oreo cookies. To crush the cookies, I put them in a brown paper bag (the kind intended for school lunches) and smashed it on my counter top. After the second whack, the bottom of the bag ripped and cookie crumbs flew everywhere. I suggest double bagging the brown bags or putting the cookies in a mixing bowl and breaking them with a spoon.



After dusting off my counter tops, I spread the buttery cookie mixture in a large baking pan. Then, I mixed gummy worms and frogs into a carton of vanilla ice cream. Some candy corn was thrown in for extra pizazz. That was added to the baking pan and then topped with whipped cream. With a few more gummy worms as a garnish, it was time to put this pie in the freezer.





Verdict: This worm pie looked like a giant white blob but actually tasted pretty good. After all, it's just ice cream, Oreos and candy. No bad ingredients there!



Add some eyeballs and you'll have the perfect treat to scare your pals. That's how Wednesday would want it.



Kitchen Klutz follows 20-something Michèle De Meglio as she burns casseroles and her fingers, all in hope of trading frozen dinners for home cooking.



Gummy Worm Mud Pie



Ingredients


1.5 quarts vanilla ice cream


1 small Cool Whip or whipped cream


1 package Oreos


1 stick butter


1 package gummy worms


1 package gummy frogs


1 package candy corn



Directions


Crush Oreos and combine with melted butter. Fill baking tray with mixture. Mix candy with ice cream, then add on top of Oreo base. Cover with whipped topping and garnish with candy. Freeze for two hours.

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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Your guide to Halloween in Brooklyn: Part II

Trixie & Monkey's Party Show comes to the Galapagos Art Space October 30.
Photo by Mike Lee


By Meredith Deliso

Unhinged musicians. Acrobatic burlesque. All female Led Zeppelin tribute band. Oh yeah, and costumes.

This year, Halloween in Brooklyn is a mixed trick-or-treat bag. Last week we brought you events for the whole family. Here’s a look at some highlights happening near you that are, well, not.

Halloween is a clever choice for a fashion show, and a “Zoolander”-themed one even more inspired. While not quite on the night, the Arsenal (153 Roebling St., 4th Floor, Studio 4B) in Williamsburg will do just that with its Zoolander Halloween Party & Derelict Fashion Show October 29, featuring a screening of the film at 7 p.m., followed by a Derelict fashion show at 9 p.m., complete with a walk-off (designers interested in participating in the fashion show can e-mail thearsenalnyc@gmail.com). Come dressed as your favorite “Zoolander” character and work on your best Blue Steel look. $5 at the door or free with a piece of fashionable clothing to be donated to Housing Works.

Another event to rouse you into the Halloween spirit in advance, Trixie & Monkey’s Party Show at Galapagos Art Space (16 Main St.) will bring high-flying antics to the DUMBO venue this October 30. The acrobatic burlesque legends present the first installment of their new monthly show at the space, with Halloween hijinks including a striptease and “madly brilliant stupidity” to kick things off. Hosted by Miss Astrid with special guests Albert Cadara, Lil Miss Lixx, Mr. Gorgeous, and DJ Momo Taro. Starting at 10:30 p.m. Tickets $20. For more, call 718-782-5188.

The King Khan & BBQ Show, a punk-doo wop duo from Canada comprised of former Spaceshifts bandmates Blacksnake (aka King Khan) and Mark Sultan (aka BBQ), is big on mayhem. They’ll be sure to bring it to Brooklyn when they perform at the Bell House (149 7th St.) in Gowanus this October 31 for an early show at 7: 30 p.m. Tickets $15. With Dum Dum Girls. For more Halloween at the Bell House, stick around that night for another Canadian duo — albeit this one more tame — indie electronic pop group Junior Boys, at 11 p.m. Tickets $18 in advance, $20 DOS. With Woodhands. For more, call 718-643-6510.

Another rocker who’s on his own orbit, Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Tim Fite celebrates the release of his new album, “Blood Harvest,” out appropriately on Halloween, with a show that night at Union Hall (702 Union St.) in Park Slope. Fite will play the goriest hits from his Halloween albums while accompanied by the Woes. Via Audio will also dress up and play, and there will be harvest-related activities like pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, as well as new traditions like a costume exchange booth to do just that. Starting at 8 p.m. Tickets $12. For more, call 718-638-4400.

For Lez Zeppelin, another inspired concept, every day is like Halloween, as the female foursome tour the world paying homage to Led Zeppelin. This October 31, they bring their frenzied, gender-bending performance to Music Hall of Williamsburg (66 North 6th St.) for a psychedelic show sure to entertain. Starting at 9 p.m. Tickets $25. For more, call 718-486-5400.

For those with costumes their top priority, two parties in Brooklyn on Halloween will definitely encourage. At BAM (30 Lafayette Ave.) in Fort Greene, the Liquid Sound Lounge Halloween Costume Ball will feature The Super Duper band, providing funky beats for you to shimmy around in (definitely dress for dancing). Free, starting at 8 p.m., with music at 9:30 p.m. For more, call 718-636-4100.

Over in Prospect Heights, party people Gemini & Scorpio present Masquerade Macabre, a Halloween extravaganza at a private brick-and-chandeliers loft, Brooklyn Urban Sanctuary.The 12-hour spectacle, running from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m., will feature 1920s jazz from Michael Arenella’s Dreamland Octet, tap dancers The Minsky Sisters, exotic Balkan rhythms from the Raya Brass Band, and more, as well as face and body painting by Painteresse Elyzabeth, fortune telling, cocktails by mixologists Court & Spark and a loft lounge with absinthe and other mind-altering potions by The House of St. Eve. For costume inspiration, think “Dark Victoriana,” macabre carnival, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” Georges Melies films, Edward Gorey, and cabinet of curiosities. RSVP to get the exact address. Tickets $15 before 2 a.m., $20 after.

Another secret Halloween party in Brooklyn, Flavorpill Halloween 2009: Gods & Heroes, will host a party with a conscious at a location in Brooklyn, to be revealed on Halloween. All proceeds will benefit charity: water, with the goal to raise enough money to build a well for a school in Ethiopia. To tie in with the philanthropic vibe, the theme of the party is Gods & Heroes, so come as your favorite and dance to headliners the Very Best, plus Afrobeat stars Bajah & the Dry Eye Crew, tabla-rockers Sub Swara, Detroit house phenom DJ Kyle Hall, old-school NYC hip-hop DJ Stretch Armstrong, and Rubulad’s $mall ¢hange.At 9 p.m. Tickets $20, with all proceeds going to charity.

Have an event? Share it in the comments section.

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Friday, October 16, 2009

Your complete guide to Halloween in Brooklyn: Part I

By Helen Klein

Wind whistles through the tree branches, which grow ever barer, day after day.

The sun scuttles itself in early evening, and the shadows -- eerie, omnipresent shadows -- grow longer, their attenuated tentacles reaching out lazily for passersby.

Autumn is here, and, across Brooklyn, a happy mix of suspense and anticipation grows stronger as the days grow shorter, jack o’ lanterns gather on stoops, and cobwebs shroud bushes.

Even those who most eagerly await the day know, in their bones, that Halloween will soon be here.

Ghouls Check In

Kicking off the season is the legendary legerdemain of Gravesend Inn, New York City College of Technology’s High-Tech Haunted Hotel. “Enter if you dare,” warns a sign at the entrance to the hotel that is peopled with skeletons, ghouls, vampires and their chill-inducing kindred.

The web-encrusted, candlelit inn – which debuted in 2001-- will be open at the college’s Voorhees Theatre, 186 Jay Street, on eight days in the last half of October.

Shows are scheduled for Friday, October 16th, 6 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, October 17th, 1 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m.; Thursday, October 22nd, 1 to 5 p.m.; Friday, October 23rd, 6 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, October 24th, 1 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m.; Thursday, October 29th, 1 to 5 p.m.; Friday, October 30th, 6 to 9 p.m.; and Saturday, October 31st, 1 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m.

General admission is $6 per person, $4 for students with ID. Parents are encouraged not to bring very young children. For further information, call 718-260-5588 during business hours, or 718-260-5592 for a recorded message.

Walk on the Wild Side

A full roster of frightful apparitions, from vampires to witches, executioners to ghouls, will be on hand to greet intrepid visitors who venture along the annual Marine Park Haunted Walk, scheduled to take place this year from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 17th.

The adventure begins near the Salt Marsh Nature Center, Avenue U and East 36th Street, and wends its spooky way through the tall grasses and undergrowth that flank the nature trail.

A staple of the Halloween season, this is the 25th year that the Marine Park Haunted Walk will be held, thanks to a collaboration between the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and the Marine Park Civic Association. For further information on the free event, call 718-421-2021 or log onto http://www.nycgovparks.org/.

Harvest Fun

Also on Saturday, October 17th, the scene shifts to Highland Park, which straddles the border of Brooklyn and Queens, for the park’s annual Fall Harvest Festival.

The free event, which will be held in the park, at Jamaica Avenue and Elton Street, will run from noon to 3 p.m., courtesy of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation working in partnership with the Independence Community Foundation.

This year, the annual festival will include a myriad of appealing seasonal activities with a native American theme, thanks to the assistance of the RedHawk Indian Arts Council. Among the afternoon events will be Flumpa and Friends Science Rocks, storytelling, country music, a puppet show, a wildlife show, a trivia contest, a pie-eating contest, and hayrides.For further information, log onto http://www.nycgovparks.org/, call 718-235-0815 or send an email to Margaret.Carrillo-Rosas@parks.nyc.gov.

Festive Family Fun

Then, on Sunday, October 18th, the Old Stone House, in partnership with the Park Slope Civic Council and Park Slope Parents, will hold its fifth annual harvest festival.

The event, which will take place between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., will feature such kid-pleasers as a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting, and a costume exchange in the park adjacent to the house, on Third Street, between Fourth and Fifth Avenues.

For further information, contact the Old Stone House at 718-768-3195.

The Way It Used to Be

Halloween in Colonial Brooklyn will be recreated at the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum, at 5816 Clarendon Road, in M. Fidler Wyckoff House Park, on Sunday, October 18th (raindate: Sunday, October 25th) , from noon to 4 p.m. The free event will feature a wide range of kid-pleasing activities. For further information, call 718-629-5400.

Going to the Dogs

On Sunday, October 18th (raindate, Sunday, October 25th), artily garbed pooches head to Bay Ridge, to strut their stuff in the Canine Costume Contest that’s a focal point of the annual Narrows Botanical Gardens Harvest Festival.

The event, which runs from noon to 5 p.m., also includes an art show and a crafts fair. The Narrows Botanical Gardens is located in Shore Road Park between Bay Ridge Avenue and 72nd Street. Dogs must be registered in advance, between October 1st and October 16th, at Paws ‘N Claws Grooming, 57 Bay Ridge Avenue.

For further information about the event, log onto the organization’s website.

Weirdness by the Water

The frights continue on Brooklyn’s fabled seashore, at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, which will thrill visitors with Halloween at the A-scarium. This family-friendly event, to which children are invited to come in costume, will be held the weekends of October 24th and 25th, and October 31st and November 1st.

Among the highlights of the event “monsters of the deep,” and the institution’s Haunted Sea-fari Perils of the Sea haunted house (which will be open weekends, beginning October 10th), as well as kid-oriented activities such as story-telling, music, pumpkin carving demonstrations, crafts and trick or treat stations.

Hours for Halloween at the A-scarium are noon to 4 p.m. Activities are free with Aquarium admission: $13 for adults, $9 for children ages two through 12, and $10 for seniors 65 years of age and older. Children under two are admitted free of charge.

The Aquarium is located at Surf Avenue and West Eighth Street. For further information, call 718-265-FISH.

Pumpkin Party

There will also be a party in the pumpkin patch in Umoja Garden, at the intersection of Broadway and Putnam Avenue on Saturday, October 24th, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Attendees at the free event will have the opportunity to harvest and decorate their own pumpkins, as well as planting fall flowers. For further information, log onto http://www.nycgovparks.org/.

Offbeat Party

This year, Coney Island USA will be throwing a grand Halloween bash at the museum, 1208 Surf Avenue, beginning at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 24th. The event, said Dick Zigun, Coney Island USA.’s director, will feature, “Live music and creepy performances,” as well as an offbeat take on a long-standing Coney Island tradition. Instead of watching contestants cramming down hot dogs, party attendees will be able to observe a zombie brain-eating contest. The party will be held on all the building’s floors, Zigun added. Tickets are $25 per person.For further information, log onto http://www.coneyislandusa.com/, or call 718-372-5159.

Going for the Ghouls

On Sunday, October 25th, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will hold its annual Ghouls and Gourds event. Taking place from noon to 6 p.m., this perennial crowd-pleaser features a wide range of child-oriented entertainment, including Billy Jonas and the Band, Elizabeth Mitchell, Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem, and Sonido Costeno.

There are also other attractions that combine creativity with Halloween fun such as mask and junk-instrument making workshops.

Finally, garden-goers can join in a costume parade led by drummers from Maracatu NY, a Brazilian percussion group, and stilt walkers from Mortal Beasts & Deities. Kids can also meet children’s book authors and illustrators.

The event is free with admission to the garden. The fee on Sundays is $8 for adults, $4 for seniors 65 and older and students over 12, free for children under 12. The garden is located at 1000 Washington Avenue. For further information, call 718-623-7200.

On Halloween weekend, there will be holiday events from one end of the borough to the other.

Prospect Park’s Big Weekend

Right in the heart of Brooklyn, Prospect Park will don its very own Halloween costume, as the central oasis in Brooklyn is reinvented with ghouls to spare.The star turn, of course, is the much-anticipated Haunted Walk to be held on Saturday, October 31st, from noon to 3 p.m., rain or shine. The event – which is populated by a host of horrible creatures, from zombies to witches, headless horsemen to ghosts -- is designed to shiver the spines of the thousands of intrepid souls who climb Lookout Hill each year.

For pure fun, there’s also an autumn carnival in the Nethermead. Both events, which are sponsored by the Prospect Park Alliance, will run from noon to 3 p.m. Admission is free.To reach the Haunted Walk, enter the park at Prospect Park Southwest and 16th Street.

Besides the Haunted Walk, there are plenty of other bewitching activities taking place in Prospect Park on the 31tst and also on Sunday, November 1st.

More Thrills and Chills

On both days, the park’s historic carousel will be metamorphosed into a haunted carousel, from noon to 5 p.m., as eerie music sets the scene and such creepy critters as ravens, spiders and bats join the wooden menagerie for the weekend. Rides cost $1.50 each.

The carousel is located at Children’s Corner, just inside the park’s Willink entrance, at Ocean Avenue, Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard.

Don’t Look Now

Scary stories from Flatbush history will bring the past to life at the Lefferts Historic House, at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., on both Saturday, October 31st and Sunday, November 1st. In addition, there will be scharen-knippen (or cut paper) craft sessions, in which children will have the opportunity to create their own skeleton cutouts, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. each day.

Admission to the events at the Lefferts House, which is located on Flatbush Avenue near Empire Boulevard, is free of charge. For further information, call 718-789-2822.

Bugs and Ughs

Also occurring on Saturday, October 31st and Sunday, November 1st is Creepy, Crawly Halloween, a nature-themed event held at the Audubon Center.

The free event, which takes place from noon to 5 p.m. both days, is targeted at families with children from three to 12 years of age and features seasonally-inspired crafts, hands-on experiments and encounters with live critters.

To get to the Audubon Center, enter the park at Lincoln Road and Ocean Avenue and follow the directional arrows.

Animal Antics

The Prospect Park Zoo is also holding its annual Boo at the Zoo event the weekend of October 31st and November 1st. Both days, visitors to the zoo will have the opportunity to visit the zoo’s renowned Haunted Barn. They will also have the chance to meet “spooky creatures” and participate in season-appropriate crafts. Activities are free with zoo admission.

The zoo is located at 450 Flatbush Avenue. On weekends through November 1st, its hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for children three to 12, and $4 for senior citizens age 65 or older. For further information, call 718-399-7339.

Downtown Demons

In Carroll Gardens, families can sample the fearsome delights at Puppetry Arts’ fourth annual Haunted Halloween Carnival, which will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the First Street Recreation Center, on First Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues.

The free indoor event features a costume contest at 3:30 p.m., as well as a wide range of activities, including $1 games, activities and snacks, a haunted house (admission is $2) and a bounce house ($3 admission).

For information on the event, call 718-768-3703.

Eerie Walk

Ghostly lore is the big draw during a pair of Halloween tours of Green-Wood Cemetery led by the cemetery’s official historian, Jeff Richman. This year, Halloween at Green-Wood, part one kicks off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 31st, with part two taking place on Sunday, November 1st, also at 1 p.m.

The tours – which are sponsored by Green-Wood’s Historic Fund -- give walkers the opportunity to “celebrate the holiday with tales of murder, mayhem, spirits, and ghosts,” according to Green-Wood’s official website.

Tours cost $20 per person, $10 for members of the Historic Fund.

While no reservations are necessary, tour-goers are advised to arrive early because of the tours’ popularity. Tours last about two and a half hours and depart from the main gates of the cemetery, inside the 25th Street and Fifth Avenue entrance. Free parking is available inside the cemetery. Tickets can be purchased on line in advance.

Annual Halloween Fun

On Halloween itself, Saturday, October 31st, get a fresh crop of goosebumps at the annual Halloween Haunted Walk, held in Bay Ridge’s Owls Head Park, 68th Street and Colonial Road, and produced by the SWB Parks Task Force, in conjunction with the city’s Parks Department.

Thousands of people are expected to venture along the walk’s eerie trail -- which will be at the bottom of the hill, this year, and which will be set up like a “giant winding cave with vignettes along the way,” according to organizer Chip Cafiero.

They will also be able to enjoy seasonal treats and activities at the adjacent Halloween carnival, whose highlights will include a costume contest for all ages, a food court, a magician, a pumpkin patch, pony rides, inflatable rides, costumed characters and a fairy tale forest for the littlest trick or treaters.The tentative hours for the event are 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. For further information, call 718-238-6044.

Struttin’ Their Stuff

Also on Saturday, October 31st, costumed children can head for the annual Halloween Parade along Seventh Avenue in Park Slope. The parade will kick off at 6:30 p.m. at 14th Street, with marchers veering left on Third Street to Washington Park. Participants can join the festivities at the rear of the procession, according to the Park Slope Civic Council, which sponsors the event, which it says is the largest children’s parade in the country.

Check the PSCC website for further information.

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