I suppose we could have a debate, but I’d win: there’s really nothing more Fall than Halloween in Brooklyn Heights. And with a world going sideways, we need community, small humans and canines in costumes, Fall lovers and spectators, pumpkins, homemade treats and gratitude in this harvest home. 
This Saturday, October 28th, is shaping up for a good dose of all of those things in the neighborhood.
Now, there are many options, but I’m partial to at least part of the day being spent at Plymouth Church’s historic Yankee Fair. It’s back post-pandemic! Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 75 Hicks Street, with Orange Street closed off for kid rides and booths. 
I’ll be there early slinging Roebling Lattes and Promenade Fogs—my fancy names for toting along my beloved milk frother to top off standard church coffee and tea with foam—at my booth—Brooklyn Loaves + Dishes. Stop by if you want to talk neighborhood stuff and nosh on magic bars and poppy seed bread between visits to the book sale, vintage clothing, history tours, chili lunch, sing-alongs and pumpkin crafts.
BloomAgainBklyn will be there spreading flowers and joy too! 
Profits go to Heifer International for world food relief so track down your Venmo password.
Alas, my kids have outgrown the BHA’s annual Brooklyn Heights Halloween Parade, which also kicks off on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Clark Street, traveling down the Promenade. Don’t miss it! Please indulge me a little Parade nostalgia—a personal Eras Tour—starting with my #1 favorite family costume creation:
a homemade Empire State Building and Miss Liberty circa 2000. 
It was an innocent time.
Little did we know the next Halloween, we’d need Batman or something,.. anything…to carry us through Gotham’s darkest days. 
Halloween of 2001 was somber. Our homemade Batmobile had a flag license plate. Neighbors flooded local firehouses, reeling from September 11th losses, with donated candy and community warmth. We paraded our wagons and Batmans and Barbies, princesses, pirates and Power Rangers, ghouls, dinosaurs and puppies to pay respects to the real superheroes–our first responders.
And our community somehow carried on.
Young neighbors at the Hicks Street Firehouse–October 31, 2001.
Until eventually, we were able to gaze upwards again.
This Saturday, with so many choices, how about a circuit of the neighborhood? You could stop in at Plymouth’s Yankee Fair for your latte, pick up a HandMade Booth knit cap or one of my vintage NYC subway map ornaments made while watching messed up news this week (and if we’re honest, mostly by my husband James, a local architect and waaaaay more skillful with the Modge Podge).
Get an early look at the trunks of vintage jewelry donated for this year’s sale and then stroll to the Promenade for the BHA Parade at 11 a.m. and down to the event-filled Montague BID Open Streets for games and demonstrations. Then make your way back to Plymouth for a community lunch of pulled pork and vegan chili, and an Underground Railroad history tour.
Or, start at the Parade, linger on Montague Open Streets and come by Yankee Fair in the afternoon in time for Raymond Trapp and his jazzy friends to warm you up at the 2 p.m. community singalong. I hear they’re playing Sweet Caroline! Watch kids bounce away the sugar. Or grab a last minute costume at the Underground Thrift Store. By then, the Trinkets and Treasures booth may have gone half price and the book sellers will be begging you to fill a bag on the cheap.
At Brooklyn Loaves + Dishes, I’ll sell you my famous Kentucky Derby pie—bipartisan this year with Brooklyn and Kentucky bourbon—for your Thanksgiving (they freeze well!) 
And, you can shop the frozen food aisle for dinner—applesauce, pesto from basil grown in Red Hook, holy bread pudding with bourbon sauce, French commando onion soup and Uncle Frankie’s Beef Bourguignon.
I’ll give you an ice pack so you can finish off your late afternoon along Montague Street, maybe even ending at the Cocktail Co-op at Clinton and Henry for an adult beverage from a local merchant.
Yankee Fair has been building tradition in Brooklyn Heights for years. 
Check out these vintage posters.
I’ll throw in a free latte or pretzel rod if you mention this post!
For the healthy eaters, I adorned some with dark chocolate, chia and hemp seeds, so no excuses.
Or try a sample of Brooklyn Granola– because we are all a bit sweet and a bit salty, sometimes nutty, sometimes nutritious— and all mixed into this together.
Whatever you do this weekend, soak in Brooklyn Heights at Halloween. I’ll see you out there. I’m grateful for our community of warmth where we stand together, in the toughest days, costumed up as needed, and counting on each other.
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