The Family Fireworks show was scheduled for Sunday, August 16 at Steppingstone Park. It will now go up on Sunday, November 1, as the closing act of the Great Neck Park District's Harvest Festival. The show has moved twice since summer, and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival moved once. The calendar for the waterfront at the end of Steppingstone Lane now looks very different from what the district printed in its fall catalog.
Here is where things landed. Starting October 11, the district has something on five Sundays in a row, The Moon Festival at Steppingstone opens that stretch, and the Steppingstone fireworks fall on the fourth of those Sundays, one week before the district's tree planting day. Getting into those two Steppingstone events depends on things you set up in advance: a current Park Card, photo ID and, for at least one of them, a ticket you register for online.
Where the fireworks went
The rescheduling makes the most sense in order. Here is each date as the district has published it:
- Sunday, August 16. The Family Fireworks Day at Steppingstone Park was postponed. The district's listing said it was moving to Sunday, October 11, and that tickets issued for August 16 would be honored at the Harvest Festival on that date.
- The fall catalog. The 2026–27 catalog combined the two events into a "Family Fireworks Celebration & Harvest Festival" on Sunday, October 11, from 2 to 7 p.m. It listed the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival on Saturday, September 26.
- September 15. The district posted a News Flash with a new flyer marked "NEW DATE," moving the Harvest Festival and Family Fireworks Celebration to Sunday, November 1, from 2 to 6 p.m.
- The Moon Festival. It now takes the October 11 slot, running from 3 to 8 p.m. at Steppingstone Park.
The district hasn't said why either date changed. In practice, the waterfront lawn now hosts a large evening event on October 11 and the fireworks three weeks later. A printed copy of the catalog on the kitchen counter is wrong about both.
For Kings Point households, the district's own boundary description settles who can go. Its election rules put the Village of Kings Point in Park Election District No. 1 and describe that district as encompassing the village as a whole. By contrast, the Village of Great Neck is split between districts. Great Neck House at 14 Arrandale Avenue, 516-482-0355, is the office to call to confirm a specific address.
October 11 is a ticketed evening
The Moon Festival includes a Dragon Boat Challenge, live music and entertainment, according to the catalog. The registration portal lists both Great Neck Park District dragon boat teams and invited visiting teams. The district calls it popular enough that every resident has to pre-register, and the entry rules on the portal are strict:
- Tickets are free. Resident tickets are listed at $0, and residents must register online in advance.
- Bring two things to the gate. You need photo ID and your event ticket. The portal says "absolutely no exceptions."
- A Park Card is required. Pre-registered tickets are only for residents with a current Great Neck Park District Park Card.
- September 26 tickets still work. Tickets issued for the original date will scan on October 11, and you don't need to register again.
- Tickets can't be transferred. The portal says trying to transfer a ticket will cost you your Park Card privileges and freeze your account.
- Guest tickets open October 5. The portal says guest registration resumes that day, and it lists two guest ticket entries at $0.
Today is October 4, so guest registration reopens tomorrow, six days before the festival. If you're bringing visitors, that is the window to use.
The Sundays between the two Steppingstone dates
The rescheduling put the fireworks on the far side of everything else on the district's October calendar, so Steppingstone now hosts the first Sunday of a five-week stretch and the fireworks on the fourth. The table combines the current listings for the two moved events with the catalog dates for the rest. Since the catalog dates for two events have already changed, check the others before you go.
| Date | Event | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, Oct. 11 | Mid-Autumn Moon Festival | Steppingstone Park | 3–8 p.m.; pre-registered ticket, Park Card and photo ID |
| Sunday, Oct. 18 | Scarecrow Festival | Village Green | Choose 10 a.m. or 12 p.m.; $35 per family; bring old jeans and a T-shirt |
| Sundays through October | GNPD Farmers Market | Firefighters Park | 10 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Sunday, Oct. 25 | Costume Parade and Candy Hunt | Steppingstone Park | 10–11 a.m.; Pre-K through Grade 3 |
| Sunday, Oct. 25 | Window Painting | Local business windows | 12:30–2 p.m.; Great Neck public school art students |
| Friday, Oct. 30 | Halloween Skate Parade | Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink | 3:45–5:15 p.m.; free admission for residents in costume |
| Sunday, Nov. 1 | Harvest Festival and Family Fireworks | Steppingstone Park | 2–6 p.m. |
| Sunday, Nov. 8 | 110-Year Tree Planting Day | Not specified in catalog | Date subject to change |
The Scarecrow Festival is the only one in the table with a per-family fee. Each family builds a scarecrow and takes it home, and the catalog lists activities for children and light refreshments. The Costume Parade on October 25 is a short morning event for young children. The catalog says costume winners get prizes and every child gets a goody bag on the way out. The November 8 planting day marks the district's 110th anniversary. If the date holds, the catalog's invitation to help keep the parks great for future generations closes out the run of Sundays.
November 1, and what's still unsettled
The new flyer gives a fuller picture of the Harvest Festival than the catalog did. It lists inflatables, pony rides, a petting zoo, balloon artists, costumed characters, hayrides, a climbing wall, a hay maze, music, GRIT NINJA, food trucks and the fireworks. It doesn't name any performers or food vendors. The event also lost an hour in the move: the catalog said 2 to 7 p.m., and the current listing says 2 to 6 p.m.
Entry is the part that hasn't been confirmed. For the October 11 date, the catalog described the Harvest Festival as open only to Park District residents and free with a Park Card and an event ticket. The November 1 listing and flyer don't repeat those rules. Neither one says whether tickets issued for August 16 still count. Those tickets were last promised to the October 11 date, which no longer exists. Neither event lists a rain date either. If you're holding an August ticket, call Great Neck House before November 1.
The weekday side of the season
Between the busy Sundays, the waterfront is much quieter. The district describes Steppingstone as a 12.8-acre park overlooking Long Island Sound, with a marina, boat launch ramp, moorings and a sailing school, along with picnic areas, gardens, a playground and restrooms. The marina's listing includes fishing and kayaking and says food service there is seasonal.
Tennis season ends earlier at the other end of the village. The four Har-Tru courts at Kings Point Park, off Steamboat Road and Redbrook Road, close on or about October 15. That's the Thursday after the Moon Festival. When the snow comes, the catalog lists the Sled Hill at Kings Point Park as open to the public.
The newest landmark on the peninsula is a weekday visit as well. The Memorial Pavilion at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was dedicated this June and replaces the Memorial Arbors from 1976. The old installation had room for 2,700 names, and the pavilion holds more than 10,000. It is designed to look like a sailing ship, and star-shaped openings in the ceiling light up different names on the black granite monuments as the day goes on. Sources disagree on visiting hours. Long Island Press reported the campus open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with photo ID required at the main gate. The Academy's own visiting page lists weekday hours, with closures on federal holidays and during summer and winter leave, and it asks visitors to call ahead.
The district's fall schedule has already changed twice this year. If you're thinking about how a home near Steppingstone or Kings Point Park fits the way your household spends its weekends, Maggie Keats knows this end of the peninsula well. Let's Connect.
