Buttonwood Park Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo is back for its 25th year, and there are still two weekends left to go. The zoo puts on daytime trick-or-treating across the entire campus, roaming costumed characters, face painting, and enough fall atmosphere to justify putting on a jacket for the first time since April.
What Is Boo at the Zoo?
Buttonwood Park Zoo hosts Boo at the Zoo as an annual daytime Halloween event for families. Kids come in costume and trick-or-treat their way through the zoo grounds while the animals go about their business nearby. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, so you’re visiting a facility held to national standards for animal care and conservation, not just a seasonal pop-up.
Twenty-five years running. It’s become one of those fall traditions that families around New Bedford and the SouthCoast plan their October weekends around.
Dates, tickets, and hours
The event spans three consecutive weekends, Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
- Weekend 1: October 10 and 11 (already passed)
- Weekend 2: October 17 and 18
- Weekend 3: October 24 and 25
BPZOO members: Adults (18+) $15, children (2 to 17) $10, under 2 free. Non-members: Adults (18+) $20, children (2 to 17) $15, under 2 free.
Tickets are available through the Buttonwood Park Zoo website.
What’s happening each day?
Every day of the event includes face painting, the Bubble Fairy (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), roaming pirates (10 a.m. to noon), and a roaming dinosaur (1 to 3 p.m.). The lineup changes slightly by day:
- Saturdays add roaming princesses from noon to 2 p.m.
- Sundays add a roaming Huntrx character from noon to 2 p.m.
All of this runs alongside the regular zoo experience. The trick-or-treat stations are spread across the campus, so you’re walking the grounds past the animals rather than standing in one spot.
Baby Boo and pumpkin contest
Two extras worth knowing about:
Baby Boo at the Zoo runs Friday, October 30, and is built for kids ages 5 and under. The Toe Jam Puppet Band performs. If you have toddlers and the weekend crowds feel like too much, this is the calmer option. Details are on the BPZOO Baby Boo page.
The 2026 Pumpkin Decorating Contest is also part of Boo at the Zoo. The drop-off window (October 1 through 9) has closed, but the zoo has run this contest as part of the event for several years. Rules: no carving (decorated only), no store-bought entries, and no food items glued on.
See you at Buttonwood Park
Buttonwood Park Zoo sits at 425 Hawthorn Street in New Bedford. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. If you’re coming specifically for Boo at the Zoo, the remaining weekends are October 17 to 18 and October 24 to 25, with Baby Boo on October 30.
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