Flushing gets its Halloween early this year. On Friday, Oct. 30, the day before Halloween, NYC Parks has three things going in the neighborhood's parks, from a morning in the Kissena woods to a haunted laboratory in Bowne Park after dark. Two of the three are free with no sign-up.

Mad Monster Lab, Bowne Park, 4 to 8 p.m.

NYC Parks turns the Bowne Park Field House into a haunted laboratory for the evening. The afternoon starts as a fall festival for families: a pumpkin patch, arts and crafts projects, inflatables to bounce on, and Halloween music to dance to. Once the sun goes down, the Mad Monster Lab opens its doors to anyone who dares to walk through it.

It is free, and no registration is required. The Mad Monster Lab is the Queens event on the list of fall festivals and Halloween events the city announced on Oct. 6 for parks and recreation centers in all five boroughs. Questions go to the field house at (718) 393-7370.

Movies Under the Stars: Hoppers, Kissena Corridor Park, at dusk

The same evening, NYC Parks and the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment screen Hoppers, rated PG, at Kissena Corridor Park, at Colden Street and 45th Avenue. The film follows Mabel, an animal lover who uses new technology to move her mind into a lifelike robotic animal so she can talk with beavers, and finds more in the animal world than she expected.

The listing opens at 6 p.m., and the movie starts at dusk. It is free and open to the public. Bring a blanket. Glass bottles and alcohol are not allowed, and heavy rain or extreme weather can cancel the screening. Parks notes that the PG rating means parents may want to check the film before bringing very young children.

Forest restoration, Kissena Park, 9 a.m. to noon

For a quieter start to the day, the NYC Parks Stewardship Team runs a forest restoration workday in Kissena Park. Volunteers help with ongoing work in the park's wooded areas and learn why a mix of species keeps a forest healthy. The program is paid for with U.S. Forest Service funds.

Space is limited and registration is required through NYC Parks. Wear sturdy boots or shoes, long sleeves, long pants and clothes that can get dirty. Volunteers under 18 need a chaperone, and groups of 10 or more sign up through stewardship@parks.nyc.gov.

And on Saturday

Halloween itself brings Queens Botanical Garden's Halloween at the Garden on Main Street, from noon to 5 p.m., with a trick-or-treat trail and crafts; tickets are $10 for non-members and $8 for children. The garden's farm stand is open the same day from 2 to 5 p.m. on the Visitor and Administration Building terrace.

The day at a glance

  • 9 a.m. to noon: Kissena Park forest restoration. Free, registration required.
  • 4 to 8 p.m.: Mad Monster Lab haunted house and fall festival, Bowne Park Field House. Free, no registration.
  • 6 p.m., film at dusk: Hoppers (PG), Kissena Corridor Park, Colden Street and 45th Avenue. Free.

Both evening events are on Friday, Oct. 30. Bring costumes to Bowne Park and a blanket to Colden Street.

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