On Monday, October 12, two things happen in East Islip on the same day. The East Islip Public Library holds its annual Halloween Fest, and Heckscher State Park reaches the end of the last fee period on its 2026 schedule. The days leading up to that Monday are packed. The weeks after it are quieter close to home and busier a few miles away.
That makes Columbus Day weekend the busiest stretch of the season in and around the hamlet. The library, the state park, the arboretum in Great River and the manor in West Bay Shore all have something on within a three-day window. From then until Long Island Restaurant Week starts on November 1, the park sees a different set of visitors, and the area's biggest single October event takes place in Sayville.
Monday, October 12, at the Library
The library's calendar for Columbus Day reads like a full afternoon. Every Halloween Fest activity is listed under the East Islip Public Library branch:
- 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. A Wonderland Meet & Greet for all ages with an adult, where the library invites families to "follow the yellow brick road" and meet Dorothy.
- 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The Suffolk Cooperative Library System's Spooky SLED walk-through for ages 3 and up. The library warns that some children will find it frightening.
- 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Outdoor Spooky Croquet in the Discovery Backyard, weather permitting, for ages 3 and up.
- 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Drop-In Art with Kristen Duer of Traveling Art Programs for grades 1 through 6, in the Lower Level Meeting Room.
- 2:00 to 8:30 p.m. A scavenger hunt in the Children's Room, where each image found earns a sticker.
The scavenger hunt is the one to plan around if your afternoon is already booked, since it runs until 8:30 p.m., long after the outdoor activities end. Caregivers have to stay for every one of these programs, and the croquet and art sessions don't allow drop-offs. Students in grades 7 through 12 can sign up to volunteer from 2 to 4 p.m. and earn two service hours.
The Weekend That Leads Into It
The two days before the library event fill up with events just outside the hamlet.
On Saturday, October 10, Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River holds "The Art & Science of Pruning: Perennials & Grasses" from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The workshop costs $65 and is open to ages 16 and up. The timing suits anyone getting garden beds ready for winter. At the same time, the arboretum is showing "Inspired by Nature: Paintings by Patricia Lind-Gonzalez," which runs through Saturday, October 17. The artist reception is today, October 4, from 1 to 4 p.m.
On Sunday, October 11, Sagtikos Manor at 677 West Montauk Highway in West Bay Shore holds its Fall Festival & Mourning at the Manor from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day includes colonial demonstrators, vendors, sheep shearing, reenactments, children's activities, music and food. The manor's evening event later this month, "Spirits of Sagtikos at Dusk" on October 24, is already listed as sold out. That leaves the Sunday festival as the manor's open-to-all October event.
Put the arboretum on Saturday, the manor on Sunday and the library on Monday, and the long weekend is covered within a short drive of Montauk Highway.
What Changes at Heckscher After October 12
Heckscher's 2026 fee schedule ends with a period running September 12 to October 12, at $8 per car from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. No later period is listed. Columbus Day is a holiday on that schedule, so it's the last listed day of paid entry for the year. The park itself stays open every day from sunrise to sunset.
From then until the end of the year, the park is set up for a different kind of visit.
| At Heckscher | What the 2026 park listings say |
|---|---|
| Vehicle fee | $8 per car on weekends and holidays through 10/12, with no later period listed |
| Picnicking | Available all year |
| Kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing and paddleboarding | Open through 11/30/26 |
| West Beach and Overlook Beach hours | Season ended, 9/7 and 8/9 |
| Swimming pool | Closed |
| Dog walking | Leashed dogs on undeveloped trails west of the toll booths |
The dog rules are worth knowing before you head out with a leash. State Parks allows leashed dogs on Heckscher's undeveloped trails west of the toll booths, with a leash no longer than six feet. From Labor Day to Memorial Day, the brochure says to park in Field 5. In summer, you park behind Field 4 and walk over. Dogs still aren't allowed in buildings, camping, bathing or picnic areas, or on improved walks and boardwalks.
Paddlers have about seven more weeks of open water after Columbus Day, since the park lists paddling as open through November 30. Heckscher has no October programs on its events list. The next one is a Sensory Scavenger Hunt on Friday, November 27, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. It costs $4 per person and requires a reservation. The fee page and dog brochure don't show an update date, so call the park at 631-581-2100 before a first off-season visit to confirm parking and trail access.
The Rest of October Happens in Sayville
The second half of the month's biggest event is the Town of Islip's 46th Annual Apple Festival on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It's held at Islip Grange, 10 Broadway Avenue in Sayville, where Town and local listings have placed it since at least 2014. Entry is free. The town runs a free shuttle bus from the Sayville train station and is giving drawstring backpacks to the first 2,000 riders. The rain date is October 25. The day includes craft vendors, amusement rides, a Family Fun Zone, pony rides, a petting zoo, fresh apple desserts and live music.
Families who did the library's drop-in art on October 12 have about two weeks to make an entry for one of the festival's two contests. The deadlines are firm:
- Scarecrow Contest: Any theme, free, and open to all ages. Each scarecrow needs a name and a completed registration form. Drop-off is Friday, October 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., or Saturday, October 24, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The contest begins at 10:30 a.m., with ribbons for first, second and third place. Pickup is October 24 from 4 to 6 p.m. For an earlier drop-off, call Cultural Affairs at 631-224-5430.
- Taste of Apple Culinary Contest: Entries must be homemade, made with apples and brought to Islip Grange by 10:30 a.m. on festival day. Categories are pies and cakes, muffins and bread, jams and jellies, and cookies and candy.
Closer to home, the Brookwood Hall Ballroom at 50 Irish Lane hosts the Keep Islip Clean general meeting on Thursday, October 15, at 7 p.m. That's the one October event on the town calendar inside East Islip after the holiday. The Islip Art Museum, long associated with Brookwood Hall, says on its own site that it has been closed since April 2020.
November Brings It Back to Main Street
The calendar comes back to East Islip on Sunday, November 1, when Long Island Restaurant Week begins its 20th-anniversary fall edition. It runs through Sunday, November 8. Restaurants can offer any mix of four prix fixe menus: a $25 two-course lunch and three-course dinners at $30, $40 and $48. Dinner menus need at least three choices for each course. On Saturdays, restaurants may stop serving the special menus after 7 p.m.
Three East Islip restaurants are on the Suffolk list so far:
- Irish Coffee Pub, 131 Carleton Avenue
- Jackson Hall American Bar & Grill, 335 East Main Street
- Shandon Court, 115 East Main Street
As Greater Long Island reported, the organizer says the list will keep growing before kickoff, so check the Suffolk roster again near November 1 for more local names and posted menus. Two of the three current participants are on East Main Street, so a Saturday dinner reservation should be made before the 7 p.m. cutoff for the special menus.
If a quieter Heckscher this fall has you thinking about what your own home could look like in front of buyers next spring, Irene Siconolfi is glad to walk through the timing with you, with no pressure and plenty of local detail. Work With Irene.
