Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale hosting first Haunted Block Party

A Halloween bash is coming to Nassau Coliseum. Oct. 26 marks the debut of the Haunted Block Party, an eight-hour extravaganza broken up into two sessions, each holding up to 2,000 people.

"You typically don’t see a block party during Halloween. Usually, that’s a summertime activity," says Christopher Quirke, owner of NVR86'd, which is curating the event. "We are bringing together various activities and putting it on another scale. Everything is intermixed but it’s setup in a cohesive way making it fun for guests to explore with a spooky décor."

All guests are invited to dress in full costume. and a contest will ensue.

"The NVR86’d staff as well as our breweries and vendors will be keeping an eye out for those that are best dressed," says Quirke, 34, of Huntington. "We will be giving out free admission for the best male costume and best female costume."

All the action takes place in the exhibition hall, which runs approximately 55,000 square feet. Guests must be 21 and over with valid ID. Here’s the breakdown of what to expect.

BEER TASTING

Attendees will receive a signature cup with a 2-ounce pour line which they can use to receive beer samples from 50 craft brewers, scheduled to be in-house with their own booths. Most will be showcasing a seasonal and a flagship beer. Local participating brewers include Ghost Brewing Company of Bay Shore, Cow Harbor Brewing Company of Northport, Montauk Brewing Company, Blue Point Brewing Co. from Patchogue and Sand City Brewing Co. in Northport.

"We will be serving our seasonal hit Graveyard Smash, which is a 7.2% ABV pumpkin ale with spices like cinnamon and clove plus brown sugar and fresh pumpkin as well as its big brother, The Crypt Kicker Five Imperial Pumpkin Ale at 9% ABV," says Ian O’Connor, Sand City’s taproom manager. "Our flagship beer, Oops! I Hopped My Pants, is definitely getting poured that day. It’s a 6.5% ABV New England-style IPA that is citrus forward with a light bitter finish."

LIVE MUSIC

A full stage set up featuring a trio of live bands will provide the musical backdrop. Reggae group Aqua Cherry is tapped  to perform along with punk outfit Iron Chic and rockers the Chris Ruben Band.

"We will be playing songs from our brand new album, ‘An Incredible Forever,’ which drops at the end of September," says lead singer/guitarist Chris Ruben of Poquott. "This new album has a bit of a psychedelic sound on top of an alternative rock base."

PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT

There will be four pickleball courts set up on the side of the stage where a round-robin pickleball tournament will be held for each session overseen by Pickleball Heaven of Medford.

"Each team will get four games guaranteed. Eight teams make the playoffs. The top two teams from each division play in the finals," says Dan Rickey, co-owner of Pickleball Heaven. "The scoring format is games get played to 11, but you must win by two points. Playoff scoring is games get played to 15, win by two points."

Each session is limited to 20 teams (40 people —  two people per team) and the first place winner takes home $2,000. The second place receives $1,000 while the third place gets free admission.

VIP SECTION

A ticket-entry Nightmare VIP Lounge  is to be set up for 200 guests with a bar, couches and chairs. Here, exclusive beer samples and upscale food  will be served along with individual meet and greet sessions with the brewers.

O’Connor and Sand City head brewer Chris Dougherty will be on hand opening aged bottles of Biere de Familie.

"This is a farmhouse ale Brett-style saison we will be bringing especially for the VIPs," says O’Connor. "It’s made with a special yeast that gives it a sour, tart funky note mixed with a classic Belgian-style beer. A lot of passion went into this one."

FOOD COURT, VENDORS AND MORE

Grab a bite at the Hauntington Food Court featuring a half dozen restaurants from Huntington including New York Panini, Wok N’Roll and others.

An entire marketplace of vendors will be available for guests to shop. Goods include art, jewelry, stickers, thrift clothing, handmade candles and various Halloween offerings. Currently, signed up for the booth are Art by Acamps, Print Chapel by Maria Aliberti, Back of The Closet from Huntington, Console Yourself Soap from Brooklyn and Get Things Printed from Huntington.

There will also be a merch stand selling T-shirts and hoodies with the event logo as well as several Halloween-themed photo-ops throughout the exhibition hall designed by Event Kings from Deer Park.

SEASONAL EVENT

This event is not a one-and-done type of deal as more is on the way.

"We are looking to make this a seasonal event at Nassau Coliseum," says Quirke, who began his career selling ice cream at the venue. "The next one will have a Winter Wonderland theme."

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.