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The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) becomes the region’s pumpkin headquarters during NYBG Fall-O-Ween, offering a fun and engaging array of activities, programs, and photo opportunities for all ages, through Sunday, November 12, 2023.

Experience hundreds of pumpkins and gourds on display; food and beverage talks, demonstrations, and tastings; and two family-friendly Spooky Garden Nights, offering Halloween-themed entertainment for adults and children alike. Fan favorite Adam Bierton returns to NYBG to create his intricate and nature-inspired pumpkin carvings and to host a master carver competition. Once again, the Botanical Garden is the place to see giant pumpkins during the last two weeks of October, culminating in the exciting Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend. At the “pumpkin patch” at NYBG Shop, pick and purchase the perfect pumpkin to take home for decorating or eating, and on select weekends, get a mini- pumpkin to paint either at the Garden or at home. Fall-O-Ween concludes with two Fall Forest Weekends, with programming celebrating the colorful spectacle of autumnal foliage in the Thain Family Forest. 

Join in for a special weekend of pumpkin carving, as well as the return of our popular ticketed beer sampling event for adults. Evening events give kids the chance to show off their Halloween costumes and more.

Mini-Pumpkin Decorating
Saturdays, October 7, 14, and 28
Sundays, October 8 and 15; 12–3 p.m.
Mosholu Entrance Solar Pavilions
On select weekends, pick up a mini-pumpkin to decorate right on-site or to take home for later. Be inspired by master carver Adam Bierton’s creations during the weekends, or other pumpkin and fall themed activities and attractions at the Botanical Garden. Stop by NYBG Shop to purchase the perfect harvest and Halloween décor to complete your visit.

Pumpkin Carving with Adam Bierton
Saturdays, October 7, 14, and 21
Sundays, October 1, 15, and 22
Monday, October 9, 2023, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Leon Levy Visitor Center
Watch amazing pumpkin faces and designs emerge from pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. Adam Bierton is a professional sculptor and pumpkin carver, as well as the season five winner of the Food Network series Halloween Wars. Most famously known for his 3D-style pumpkin carvings, Bierton has masterfully carved some of the largest pumpkins from all over the country.

Weekend Beer Garden
Saturdays and Sundays through October 29
Leon Levy Visitor Center, Hudson Garden Grill Bar, and Pop-Ups across Garden Grounds Every weekend through October, enjoy seasonal brews on tap at the Visitor Center’s Beer Garden, at the Hudson Garden Grill Bar, and at pop-ups across the Garden grounds. Sip on seasonal IPAs, stouts, and lagers from local Bronx breweries, chill out with a frozen apple cider cocktail, and snack on a variety of savory and sweet treats. Enjoy a beer or two at any one location, or take flight across the Garden by purchasing tickets redeemable for additional draft beers at locations throughout the grounds. For heartier fare, sit down at the Hudson Garden Grill, featuring fall-inspired farm-to-table dishes, or stop by the Pine Tree Café for artisanal panini, Neapolitan-style pizza, and signature salads.

Flavors of Fall
Saturdays and Sundays, October 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, and 29, and November 4, 5, 11, and 12; 12–3 p.m.
Leon Levy Visitor Center
Savor your favorite flavors of the season’s harvest and explore the botanical and culinary backgrounds and uses of pumpkins, spices, maples, and more with food and beverage talks, demonstrations, and tastings from local artisan vendors, such as Sahadi’s of Brooklyn, Boogie Down Bronx Honey, Plant Candy, Kris Da Bronx Vegan, and XOLO Kitchen.

Top Carver: A Master Pumpkin Carving Face-Off
Sunday, October 8, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Leon Levy Visitor Center
Three carvers battle in a round of intense pumpkin carving challenges, hosted by master carver Adam Bierton.

Giant Pumpkins on Display
Saturday, October 21–Sunday, October 30
Leon Levy Visitor Center
Explore this year’s crop of award-winning giant pumpkins from growers around the country and see one transformed by expert carver Adam Bierton on October 27, 28, and 29.

Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend
Friday, October 27, Saturday, October 28, and Sunday, October 29, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. 
Master carver Adam Bierton returns for a pumpkin carving finale. Last year, after 16 hours of scraping, chiseling, carving, and detailing, a dragon’s head emerged from his 2,424-pound pumpkin. Don’t miss the masterpiece Bierton creates this year.

Spooky Garden Nights
Saturday, October 21, and Saturday, October 28; 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Tickets: Non-Member $30, Member $25
(Advance purchase is recommended to guarantee admission, as events do sell out.)
Wear your Halloween costume while exploring the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden and enjoy hands-on crafting activities such as decorating trick-or-treat bags and potting up plants. Witness pumpkin carving with Adam Bierton, shadow puppet shows by Hit Lights Theater, and roaming giant skeletons by Lucrecia Novoa.

Dancing Skeletons
Larger-than-life skeletons specially commissioned by Bronx-based visual artist, educator, and puppeteer Lucrecia Novoa greet visitors of all ages during these fun evenings. Novoa is the founder and director of the performing art group “Mascara Viva.”

Live Shadow Puppet Performance
Award-winning storytellers from Hit the Lights! Theater Co. return to the Botanical Garden, using the magic of shadow puppetry, vintage overhead projectors, and live music to tell an enchanting tale about scarecrows that awaken on Halloween night.

Nighttime Giant Pumpkin Carving
Marvel as master carver Adam Bierton continues to carve into the night and see his jack-o-lanterns begin to glow.

Kiku: Spotlight on Tradition
Saturday, October 28–Sunday, November 12; 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Bourke-Sullivan Display House at the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections Artfully trained Japanese chrysanthemums—known as kiku—are on display in unique, sculptural forms that take nearly a year to grow. Visitors can marvel at this year’s kiku collection in an intimate snapshot of a generations-old artform.

Fall Forest Weekends
Saturdays and Sundays, November 4, 5, 11, and 12; 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Thain Family Forest
Explore the 50-acre Thain Family Forest—New York’s largest old-growth woodland—in its fall splendor. These weekends also spotlight Native American Heritage Month offerings, tours, educational demonstrations, and entertainment.

Big Tree: A Conversation with Author Brian Selznick and Dr. James Boyer
November 4, 2023; 11 a.m.
Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall
This family-friendly, hour-long conversation and book reading is an introduction to author Brian Selznick’s children’s book Big Tree, exploring what it means to live on this planet. Selznick, the author of best-selling The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is joined by Dr. James Boyer, NYBG’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Vice President for Children’s Education. Their conversation will be followed by a book signing in the Arthur and Janet Ross Gallery.

Vanishing Art: A Living Gallery
This pop-up programming includes performances, chalk art, and poetry readings on select dates, focusing on sustainability in art and art that leaves minimal traces on the environment. In October, Vanishing Art features a bilingual children’s theater performance that celebrates the power of community.

¡Corre, Abuelita, Run! with New York City Children’s Theater
Saturday, October 7, 2023; 12 and 2 p.m.
This interactive Spanish and English performance, a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, uses language, music, puppetry, and movement to explore the vibrant and diverse neighborhoods of New York City. ¡Corre, Abuelita, Run! celebrates and explores the power of community, the joy of intergenerational family relationships, New York City, and the importance of language and traditions.

For more information about NYBG Fall-O-Ween and to purchase tickets, visit our website at https://www.nybg.org/event/fall-o-ween/. The New York Botanical Garden is located at 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10458. For more information, visit nybg.org