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A spirited menagerie: Ft. Greene Park Halloween fest draws unicorns, bumble bees, and other creatures

A spirited menagerie: Ft. Greene Park Halloween fest draws unicorns, bumble bees, and other creatures
Photo by Caleb Caldwell

Talk about a magical day in the park!

Hordes of costumed people and their pups trotted to Fort Greene Park on Saturday to celebrate its 17th-annual Halloween festival, including a family of unicorns, the parents of which chose to sport some sparkly horns after finding a mini mythical getup for their daughter, according to the mother creature.

“I just found a cute costume for my daughter and couldn’t resist dressing her up, and thought she needed unicorn parents as well,” said Boerum Hill resident Adrienne Mitchell, who stopped by the festive affair with her 1-year-old daughter, Poppy, and husband, Jesse.

Attendees jumped in a bouncy castle, picked pumpkins from a patch set up for the occasion, got their faces painted, and took rides on a miniature trolley, but Mitchell, whose unicorn pack hit the event with friends dressed as a family of pandas and as a beekeeper and bees, said she preferred people-watching over standing in the long lines for activities.

“We were there to check out the costumes and show off ours,” she said.

Those who waited patiently for their turn to play included a tiny tot dressed as princess Moana from the like-named Disney movie, who hopped in her first potato-sack race — a challenging, but rewarding, endeavor, according to her mom.

“Her first few hops, she fell down, but it was good. I think she really had fun,” said Manivone Clayton of her 3-year-old daughter, Bua.

And hounds partook in the fest’s great pup-kin costume contest, which featured an appearance by Republican mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis and her Chihuahua, Peanut, just days after the miniature mutt caused the pol to fracture her foot as she tried to avoid stepping on it, according to a New York Daily News report.

Clayton, who took home a pumpkin after snapping a few photos of her daughter frolicking in the patch, gave her first visit to the fun-filled festival a rave review, vowing to return next year.

“It was perfect,” she said. “We’ll definitely go again.”

Reach reporter Lauren Gill at lgill@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260–2511. Follow her on Twitter @laurenk_gill