We Throw the Best Halloween Parties in NYC

Thousands of ghouls and goblins descended on Pier 57 on Sunday, October 29, sending a resounding message that Halloween belongs to those who believe in the power of creativity – regardless of age. 

Even better, our utterly ambitous monster puppet Hattie roars to life tonight as the centerpiece of Children's Museum of the Arts’ float in the Village Halloween Parade!

Constructed by the expert puppeteers of Monkey Boys Productions and lovingly decorated by child artists at our Halloween Pier Party, Hattie [short for Manhattan] embodies the utterly ambitious public art projects that make Children’s Museum of the Arts special.

Revisit our favorite memories of the weekend below:

We took over all three classrooms at Pier 57 for a day of spooktacular artmaking inspired by contemporary artists like Leonora Carrington.

We marveled at amazing handmade costumes, like Pizza Rat.

It was hard to distinguish the kids from the art, like these three sisters dressed as Claude Monet’s home in Giverny, France and his inspirational water lilies.

Monkey Boys Productions built an enormous monster puppet named Hattie [short for Manhattan] that will be a focal point of CMA's float in the Village Halloween Parade.

Kids created their own mini monsters to add to Hattie …

…. which means the float will showcase kids’ artwork side-by-side with the work of professional artists!

We also created our own trick or treat bags using Baggu totes …. 

…. and built a shadow puppet mural in the style of silhouette artist Kara Walker.

Baby DJ School turned the lobby into a kid-powered dance floor ….

… and ended the day with a triumphant Costume Catwalk where kids showed off the costumes and accessories they created that day. 

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