Where does a Dobbs Ferry fall weekend go once the costumes are packed away? From now until the weekend before Thanksgiving, nearly every answer is the same building. The Dobbs Ferry Public Library has an all-ages event on four dates between Friday, October 30, and Saturday, November 21, and its biggest event of the year now falls at the very end of that stretch.
Taken together, these dates make up the village's late-fall calendar. Most are free, all four are open to every age, and a single volunteer group pays for much of it.
Four Dates, One Address
The library is at 55 Main Street. Here is the run as the library has posted it.
| Date | Time | Event | What's on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, October 30 | 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. | Trick or Treat at the Library | Candy, prizes and crafts, part of the village's Downtown Trick-or-Treating |
| Sunday, November 1 | Noon to 2:00 p.m. | Día de los Muertos | Community ofrenda, Grupo Folklorica Kaukalli performance, face painting, crafts |
| Saturday, November 7 | 10:00 a.m. to noon | Diwali Celebration | Stories read by local families, snacks, henna, a giant group poster |
| Saturday, November 21 | 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. | FerryCon 2026 | Comic Con-style festival with workshops, gaming, a raffle and a film |
Look at the spacing. One event falls on Halloween weekend, the next two land in the first week of November, and FerryCon comes two weeks after that, the weekend before Thanksgiving. A family could keep one weekend morning or afternoon open for the library from now until the holiday and use it every time.
Friday Starts Downtown, Then Stays Late
The run opens on Friday, October 30. From 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., the library is one of the stops on Dobbs Ferry's Downtown Trick-or-Treating, with candy, prizes and crafts for all ages.
The Village hasn't yet posted its own downtown plan for 2026. Its Recreation Department page, 2026 Halloween Happenings, says details and registration for each event "will be sent out shortly." Check that page for this year's streets and times before you head out.
The library's evening doesn't end when trick-or-treating does. From 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. that same Friday, Library Director Erik Carlson hosts Board Games With the Library Director, a tabletop night open to everyone. Guests can bring their own games, food and drinks. That gives the night a natural order. Younger kids get the 4:00 to 6:00 window, and the 6:30 game table is there for anyone who wants Halloween night to keep going.
The First Week of November Belongs to Two Celebrations
Two days after Halloween, the library hosts its Día de los Muertos celebration on Sunday, November 1, from noon to 2:00 p.m. The program includes a community ofrenda, a performance by Grupo Folklorica Kaukalli, face painting and crafts.
Six days later comes the Diwali Celebration on Saturday, November 7, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The library describes it as "a cozy, community-led" event. Local families will read stories and bring snacks, an artist will do henna for anyone who wants it, and everyone will work on a giant poster to mark the day.
The two events have the same design. Both are free and open to all ages, and both are built around something attendees make together, an ofrenda in one case and a poster in the other. That design is also why both fit in a library community room better than in a park in November.
FerryCon Now Closes the Season
FerryCon is the reason this calendar ends where it does. The library calls it its "annual Comic Con-style flagship event for all ages." It started in 2019, and the event page puts that first year at more than 300 participants. The library's history page gives a figure of more than 400. It also notes that FerryCon was founded by Tim Deery and Anthony Moretta, skipped 2020 because of the pandemic, came back as a virtual event in 2021, and returned in person in 2022.
Its place on the calendar has moved over the years. FerryCon used to be a spring event and now runs "one Saturday every fall." The 2025 edition was on Saturday, September 20. The 2026 page carries a "NEW DATE" label and lists Saturday, November 21. That moves the library's biggest day from the start of fall to the end of it. Its programs now lead up to FerryCon instead of trailing behind it.
The FerryCon 2026 schedule runs from late morning into the evening:
- 11:30 a.m. Meet and greet with Spider-Man, then a storytime
- 12:30 p.m. Kids' Combat Workshop with Hudson Valley Saber Guild
- 1:30 p.m. Storybuilding with author Mina Elwell, who helps kids create their own characters and tell their own story
- 2:30 p.m. Sculpt Your Avatar, an art workshop with MakerHive
- 4:00 p.m. A screening of Super Mario Galaxy, rated PG
- All day Pokémon trading, Magic the Gathering, a K-Pop dance party, tarot, a temporary tattoo station and the raffle
Families with younger kids will probably want the late morning, since the Spider-Man storytime and the Saber Guild workshop come back to back. Older kids and adults can arrive later in the day for the gaming tables and the 4:00 film.
The guests change from year to year. The library's alphabetical list of past guests includes James Howe, the author of Bunnicula, and Jerry Craft, the author and illustrator of New Kid. Comics writer Fred Van Lente and artist Ryan Dunlavey were featured in 2025. Mina Elwell, on this year's schedule, has been part of FerryCon before.
Who Keeps the Calendar Free
Most of these events have the same line at the bottom of their listings. Trick or Treat at the Library, the director's game night and FerryCon all note that they are "made possible through the support of the Friends of the Dobbs Ferry Library."
FerryCon is where that support becomes something you can take part in. Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $5 per family at the door, and the page says, "We're fundraising for the library this year!" The suggested amount came down. The library says it first asked for a suggested donation in 2025, when the figure was $10 per family.
The raffle sends money straight to the Friends. Tickets cost $3 for one or $5 for two and can be bought during the week before the event. Kids, teen and adult gift baskets include prizes such as a signed Marvel comic and superhero merchandise. A family that buys a ticket the week before has helped pay for the fall programs before FerryCon even starts.
Lunch Between Workshops
Rosie Bella's Italian Kitchen opened on July 20, 2026, according to The Journal News, so this is its first FerryCon season. It's at 1 Southfield Avenue, the former Scaramella's space. The Rivertowns Dispatch reported that its fettuccine Alfredo is house-made pasta tossed with butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano and pasta water, the traditional Roman way, with no cream sauce.
If you want something faster during a six-hour event, Piccola Market and Rotisserie at 23 Cedar Street sells prepared pasta, rotisserie chicken, house-made sauces and Argentine-style empanadas, according to The Rivertowns Dispatch.
FerryCon has also brought in local food before. The library's list of past food vendors includes Antoinette's Patisserie, Climbing Wolf Coffee Shop's mobile station, Los Ferchos and San Gennaro's. The 2026 page doesn't name food vendors yet, so plan for lunch on Main Street, Cedar Street or Southfield Avenue.
At Land O Listings, we follow Dobbs Ferry's calendar as closely as its sales, because the weekends that fill this library are part of what a home here gets you. If you're wondering what that's worth in your house's value right now, request a free home valuation. We'll walk you through the numbers well before FerryCon's raffle tickets go on sale.
