"Celebrate Halloween with LICP on Vernon BOO-levard for an afternoon of safe trick-or-treating!" That's the pitch on the Long Island City Partnership's Halloween in LIC 2026 page, posted October 14. The important word there is afternoon. This year the neighborhood's biggest Halloween street event starts and ends earlier than last year's, and the change lines it up with everything else happening on the waterfront.
Because October 31 is a Saturday, the main events in Hunters Point are spaced so a family can go from one to the next. Trick-or-treating on Vernon Boulevard wraps up half an hour before the costume parade starts at the Oval. The parade ends around the time the movie begins on the lawn. Clocks fall back the next morning.
Last year it ran Friday evening. This year it starts at 3.
In 2025, LICP and the LIC Business Improvement District ran the LIC Monster Mash on Friday, October 31, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. They closed six blocks of Vernon Boulevard between 46th and 50th Avenues, and LICP's recap says "thousands of families" came out for trick-or-treating at local businesses. That schedule worked for a weekday: it started after school and work and ran into the dark.
The 2026 version has a new name, LIC Trick-or-Streets. It uses the same stretch of Vernon between 46th and 50th Avenues and runs Saturday, October 31, from 3 to 5 p.m. LICP and the LIC BID are hosting again. Partners this year are GB's Juke Joint, Manducatis Rustica VIG, The Only Bay Allstars, Town and Gardens, and Velvet Turtle Events. The street is closed to cars, and The Only Bay All Stars play at 4 p.m.
The two-hour window is the same length as last year's. It just moved an hour and a half earlier. On a Saturday nobody is rushing home from work, so the street part can end while there's still light, which leaves room for what comes next.
The Saturday, hour by hour
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 to 11:30 a.m. | Halloween Clay Class for Kids, ages 8 and up, $55 | BrickHouse |
| Noon to 5 p.m. | Halloween Pet Costume Contest | DK PubLIC, 38-40 29th Street |
| 2 to 5 p.m. | Trunk-or-Treat & Halloween Festival, $25 per family | Culture Lab LIC |
| 2 to 8:30 p.m. | Halloween on the Waterfront | Hunter's Point South Park |
| 3 to 5 p.m. | LIC Trick-or-Streets, band at 4 p.m. | Vernon Boulevard, 46th to 50th Avenues |
| 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. | Costume parade and contest | The Oval |
| 5:53 p.m. | Sunset | |
| Around 6:30 p.m. | The Nightmare Before Christmas screening | Hunter's Point South Park |
| 2 a.m. Sunday | Clocks fall back one hour |
Early afternoon: trunks, costumes and dogs
Culture Lab LIC's Trunk-or-Treat & Halloween Festival runs from 2 to 5 p.m. and overlaps the whole Vernon street event. Families decorate their car trunks in a parking lot and hand out candy from them. There's also a magic show, face painting, pumpkin decorating, treat bags for kids and local vendors. Admission is $25 per family, and all proceeds go to Make-A-Wish. Families who decorate a trunk and take part get in free. To register a car, call Culture Lab at (718) 433-4007.
For many households the early afternoon will involve a dog. DK PubLIC at 38-40 29th Street is holding a Halloween pet costume contest from noon to 5 p.m. Bring your pet in costume, staff take a photo and post it to social media, and voting opens right away. Winners are announced by 8 p.m. Farther up Vernon Boulevard, Socrates Sculpture Park at 32-01 Vernon Boulevard is hosting its Halloween Harvest Festival + Season Closeout from noon to 5 p.m. That one includes the Planted Culture Vegan Food Market and a dog costume contest co-presented with Chateau le Woof.
Kids who would rather make something can start the day at BrickHouse. Its Halloween clay class runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for ages 8 and up, costs $55 with materials included, and teaches hand-building for spooky sculptures. Seats are limited.
3 to 5 p.m. on Vernon Boulevard
LICP is keeping a trick-or-treat map of participating businesses, and businesses can still sign up through a form on the same page. Check the map on the morning of the 31st. More pins may appear between now and then.
The closed blocks run from 46th Avenue down to 50th Avenue. If you want to see the band, they go on at 4 p.m., in the middle of the two hours.
5:30 p.m. at the Oval, then a movie in the dark
Hunters Point Parks Conservancy's Halloween on the Waterfront runs in Hunter's Point South Park from 2 to 8:30 p.m. Its main event is the Halloween Fest at the Oval, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., with a costume parade and contest. HPPC says "more details to come," so check its events page closer to the day. The event is sponsored by TF Cornerstone. HPPC lists its walks at "The Oval near Borden Ave. & Center Blvd."
Trick-or-Streets ends at 5, and the parade starts at 5:30. Sunset in New York on October 31 is at 5:53 p.m., according to timeanddate.com. So the parade starts in the last of the daylight and ends after the sun is down. HPPC lists the screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas for around 6:30 p.m. By then it will be dark enough for an outdoor movie, with the Manhattan skyline lit up across the river.
Bring a layer for the kids. They'll go from walking around in the afternoon to sitting on a lawn by the water after dark.
The days before have their own events
The Saturday is the main event, but the days leading up to it are already busy.
- Thursday, October 22, 7 to 11 p.m.: MoMA PS1's after-hours music series, School Nite, with Isabella Lovestory, B0YG1RL and ali rq.
- Friday, October 23, 6 to 10 p.m.: Lights Out Climb Night at Brooklyn Boulders in LIC. Bring neon and a headlamp. Come in costume with a friend and you both climb for the price of one day pass.
- Saturday, October 24, 1 to 5 p.m.: Blocktoberfest at Culture Lab LIC. It's 21+, with 30+ NYC breweries, and was rescheduled from September 26 because of rain.
- Sunday, October 25, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: The first 5 Boro Foto Fest at Culture Lab LIC, free to enter, selling original prints with a no-generative-AI pledge.
- Wednesday, October 28, 4 to 6 p.m.: A Halloween & Día de los Muertos block-party celebration at LaGuardia Community College.
- Thursday, October 29, 7 to 9 p.m.: A free Miggy Augmented Orchestra "Tomodachi!" concert at Culture Lab LIC, with an audience Q&A afterward.
- Friday, October 30: Dink or Treat at CityPickle Long Island City, 9-03 44th Road. CityPickle lists a $10 Halloween pickleball session from 4 to 6 p.m. and a separate free block-party RSVP. QNS lists the event as running 4 to 7 p.m.
After the kids are asleep, and the extra hour
Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, and clocks go back to 1 a.m. That's an extra hour after a long Saturday. For adults with a sitter booked, Rewind at 45-57 Davis Street is open Saturdays with late hours. It's a new underground restaurant, cocktail bar and karaoke lounge with eight karaoke rooms. QNS reported its grand opening on September 9.
The extra hour also makes Sunday afternoon at the Oval easier. On November 1, from 3 to 4 p.m., local artist January Yoon Cho and HPPC Executive Director Jessica Sechrist lead a free walk through Hunter's Point South Park about how the park's ecology supports local wildlife. It meets at the Oval, and registration is through Eventbrite. The next Saturday, November 7, HPPC holds its 12th Annual LIC Bulbfest from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
If you'll be trick-or-treating near your own building on the 31st and have been wondering what it's worth now, Michael Molina works in Long Island City every day and can give you a clear, local answer. Request a free home valuation, and enjoy the parade.