Sunnyside's business improvement district is throwing a Halloween party for the neighborhood's kids this Friday. Sunnyside Shines will host its Halloween Kids Plaza Party on Friday, October 23, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Bliss Plaza on 46th Street in Sunnyside, Queens. Admission is free.

The four-hour afternoon is set up for families to drop in after school, with costumes welcome and no tickets or sign-up listed by the BID.

What is on the program

According to Sunnyside Shines, the party will include face painting, a pumpkin-shaped bouncy house, Halloween crafts and goodie bags for kids. Staff from Queens Public Library are scheduled to lead scary story hours during the event, bringing the library's story time out of the branch and onto the plaza.

The BID lists the detailed schedule of events as still to be announced, so families who want to catch a specific story hour should check the Sunnyside Shines event page or the BID's social accounts (@sunnysideshines) closer to Friday. The event flyer lists support from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs among its partners.

A season of plaza events

The Halloween party is the latest in a run of public events Sunnyside Shines has staged in the district this year. Its 2026 calendar has included SunnyPride, the Sunnyside Self-Care Fest, a Night Market celebrating AAPI Heritage Month, a Hispanic Heritage Night Market plaza party in September and Taste of Sunnyside in early October. Founded in 2007, the BID serves roughly 300 local businesses in the neighborhood.

Bliss Plaza and Lowery Plaza are the two public plazas the BID features on its site as community gathering spaces in the district.

More for kids at the Sunnyside library this week

The Queens Public Library branch at 43-06 Greenpoint Avenue, a few blocks from the plaza, has its own free programs for families in the days around the party. On Thursday, October 22, from 4 to 5 p.m., the branch hosts The Sky Tonight with That Planetarium Guy, a Space Month program about what is visible in the night sky. On Friday, October 23, a Sunnyside Play Date for children and caregivers runs from 10 to 11 a.m., hours before the plaza party begins.

Looking ahead, the branch has a Pre-K and School-Age Storytime and Craft for ages 3 to 12 on Thursday, October 29, from 4 to 4:45 p.m., and a 3D Doodler Art session on Friday, October 30, from 4 to 5 p.m., where participants build three-dimensional designs with 3D pens. The library lists its branch hours as Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday 1 to 6 p.m., Thursday noon to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Sunday.

How to get there

The Halloween Kids Plaza Party runs Friday, October 23, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Bliss Plaza on 46th Street, steps from the 46 St-Bliss St station on the 7 train. It is free. For updates on the schedule, check sunnysideshines.org.

The Sunnyside branch of Queens Public Library is at 43-06 Greenpoint Avenue; call (718) 784-3033 or check the branch page before visiting, since program times can change.

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