Things to Do in Cliffside Park

Under the bright lights of the world-famous Madison Square Garden arena, four of the best women’s college basketball teams in the country will tip off in the Maggie Dixon Classic. The first game pits Baylor against St. John’s before DePaul takes on Tennessee to guess the number of jellybeans hidden inside the basketball. The undefeated Baylor Bears, ranked No. 1 in the nation nine games into the season, follow the lead of junior slam-dunk machine Brittney Griner. Pumped up from her placement on the Naismith Trophy early-season watch list, St. John’s senior forward Da’Shena Stevens will induce frustrated growls from Baylor as she makes them work for their points. With 15 NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 23 years, DePaul’s squad enters the high-pressure match gracefully, and Tennessee confidently follows the lead of its celebrated coach, Pat Summitt, named Sports Illustrated’s Sportswoman of the Year for her more than 1,000 wins and ability to slam dunk while riding a unicycle.

Thousands of fashionistas flock to StyleFixx Premier Shopping Events to meet up-and-coming independent fashion designers and browse the latest styles. This year’s displays include the 2012 lines of Hivernage NYC, Bling Boutique, and Cimber Designs. In between shopping sprees, attendees may relax with complimentary beauty treatments such as hair services by Dellaria Salons, makeovers by Virginn Pure Mineral Makeup, and body wraps by good-natured mummies. Once pampered, refreshed guests mingle while sipping free cocktails and munching on samples from Finale Desserts and Haru Sushi, and each partygoer receives a StyleFixx Swag Bag loaded with product samples.

Fun Station USA fills its indoor space with the scaled-down amenities of an amusement park, such as mechanical rides, a multileveled maze, and a large concession stand stocked with carnival cuisine. At all hours of operation, the air buzzes with excitement—a byproduct of jingle-jangling machines, flashing lights, and splashes of color at every corner. After acquiring tickets from myriad arcade games that include skee-ball and air-cannon shooting galleries, revelers head to the redemption counter to exchange their winnings for prizes and foreign currency.

Climbers of all ages and skill levels scamper across roughly 22,000 square feet of climbable space inside Brooklyn Boulders's rock-climbing gym. A dedicated route-setting staff organizes color-coded problems on craggy, angled top-rope walls as well as bouldering walls that reach up to 15 feet, on which climbers scramble as nimbly as mountain goats or fall from safely onto 12-inch pads. To help visitors master these walls, seasoned instructors train them in three basic types of climbing: bouldering, top-rope climbing, or lead climbing—and also test them for a mandatory lead-climbing certification. They teach these skills through classes such as the peak-performance program, which combines seven courses in lead climbing, bouldering, and cross-training to accelerate students' learning. To ease stressed muscles and promote calm reflection, staffers also lead all-ages yoga lessons and monthly yoga workshops.

Brooklyn Boulders also injects creativity into its special events, which encourage visitors to climb in costume around Halloween and take part in competitions during which they pretend the floor has turned to lava. Staffers also invite local graffiti artists to display their murals inside, work to preserve regional climbing areas by partnering with Access Fund, and coordinate programs through its BKB Foundation—a nonprofit that introduces rock climbing to kids and adults.

Discover the exact location where music meets visual art and toast their mutual admiration. Since this Groupon is good for two tickets, use this opportunity to repay a friend who introduced you to the healing power of string quartets or to experience date night in the middle of the day. Spend an afternoon at the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium at the Brooklyn Museum soaking up the auditory gravy. Call ahead to reserve your seats.

Timothy Haskell is no stranger to scaring folks: The Daily Beast considers his Nightmare series "one of the most frightening haunted-house productions in New York City." But when he teamed up with haunted-house vet Steve Kopelman, Timothy didn't want to keep populating creepy corridors with imaginary ghouls. At Nightmare: Killers, the duo tap into the true terror inspired by historical and contemporary serial killers to explore the monstrosity of their actions and the celebrity and cultural obsession surrounding them. The New York Times lauds the attraction as “a taut, assured production that knows exactly what it wants to do (scare the hell out of you) and performs its task with ruthless, coldblooded precision."

In the lobby, a gallery of artwork, memorabilia, and items from or about famous serial killers primes guests on the haunted attraction's theme and provides a glimpse into the warped minds of the killers in question. At the front of the line, personnel can mark any willing visitor’s forehead with an optional scarlet X, which will grant the actors permission to interact with those victims for the next petrifying 20–25 minutes. Inside the haunt, rooms depict scenes based on Ted Bundy and the Zodiac killer, with the occasional cameo from pop culture’s most fearsome fictional figures. To heighten heart rates even more, visitors will also have to navigate twists and turns, fog, and uneven footing as they desperately try to avoid becoming each psychopath’s latest victim.