Staten Island wears autumn well. As the ferry ride gets crisper and the borough’s tree-lined neighborhoods start turning gold, the fall calendar fills up fast, from a 17-year-old pork festival at a National Historic Landmark to a harvest market overlooking Raritan Bay. Whether you’re a longtime resident or new to the borough, September and October bring some of Staten Island’s best outdoor programming of the year. Here’s what’s on the calendar this season, plus the parks and family spots worth building a weekend around.
Featured Fall Events on Staten Island
Pig Island NYC at Snug Harbor
Pig Island NYC returns to Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden on Saturday, September 12, 2026, marking its 17th year. More than 20 chefs, restaurants, and heritage farms take over Snug Harbor’s South Meadow for an afternoon of whole-hog roasts, Caribbean and Puerto Rican barbecue traditions, Carolina wood smoke, and vegetables grown on-site at Snug Harbor’s own Heritage Farm. General admission runs from noon to 4 PM, with an 11 AM early-entry option for VIP ticket holders. It’s a 21-and-up event, rain or shine, so pack a picnic blanket or camp chair and plan to arrive early, popular dishes tend to run out as the afternoon goes on.
Snug Harbor itself is worth the trip independent of the festival. The 83-acre, National Historic Landmark campus sits along the Kill Van Kull on Staten Island’s North Shore and houses botanical gardens, art galleries, and more than two dozen architecturally significant 19th-century buildings, making it one of the borough’s most distinctive backdrops for a fall outing.
Conference House Park’s Harvest Festival
At the borough’s southern tip, Conference House Park hosts its annual Harvest Festival, typically drawing families for an outdoor market with local vendors, seasonal crafts, and fall activities. The 254-acre park, sometimes nicknamed “Little Cape May” by birders for the migratory songbirds and raptors that funnel through it every autumn, is also home to the Conference House itself, a stone manor built around 1680 where Benjamin Franklin and John Adams once met with the British in a failed 1776 peace conference. Between the historic tours, waterfront trails, and fall birding, it’s one of the more layered outdoor experiences on the Island.
Local Fall Bazaars and Street Festivals
Staten Island’s fall bazaar season runs deep. A few of this year’s highlights:
- Richmond County Fair — the borough’s 42-year-old, old-fashioned county fair returns to Historic Richmond Town over Labor Day weekend, with circus performers, rides, crafts, and live music
- Westerleigh Folk Festival (WestFest) — a free, all-day music and arts festival at Westerleigh Park featuring live performances, handcrafted vendor goods, and children’s activities
- Snug Harbor’s Annual Fence Show — a longtime autumn tradition showcasing local artists’ work displayed along the property’s fencing
Check each venue’s site closer to the date, since fair weather and vendor lineups can shift year to year.
Local Spotlight: Family-Friendly Weekend Spots
Parks Worth Building a Weekend Around
Staten Island’s park system is one of the borough’s most underrated assets, and fall is arguably its best season to explore:
- Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve hosts an annual Harvest Festival and offers quiet, less-crowded trails through the borough’s only remaining example of undeveloped Coastal Plain terrain
- Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden pairs its event calendar with year-round botanical gardens, making it an easy repeat destination beyond festival days
- Conference House Park combines Revolutionary War history with waterfront trails and some of the city’s best fall birdwatching
Planning a Family Outing
For families building a fall weekend around the borough, pairing a festival with a park visit tends to work well, arrive early for a market or fair, then spend the afternoon exploring trails or gardens once the crowds thin out. Many of the borough’s fall events, including WestFest and several NYC Parks programs, are free and require no advance registration, making them easy additions to a weekend plan.
Thinking about calling Staten Island home this fall? DOME Property Management has served NYC’s boroughs since 1987, with deep experience in Staten Island’s co-op and rental communities.
Visit DOMEgroup.com or email us at properties@DOMEproperty.com.
Just Dewitt. DOME Property Management — New York City property management since 1987.