NYC events in November 2023

This fall, embrace the magic of strolling through Central Park while crisp colorful leaves drift through the air. Most of the park's fall foliage is at its peak in early November, meaning you should get there this month to experience this autumnal wonderland in the heart of Manhattan. 

The Central Park Conservancy's new fall foliage map shares intel about when leaves are at their peak in seven different parts of the park's 843 acres. The park is home to more than 18,000 trees, all cared for by expert arborists who keep an eye on where to find the best, brightest foliage.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is bringing back its gorgeous, after-dark illuminated spectacular to its grounds from November 17, 2023–January 1, 2024.

Lightscape, an illuminated trail of art from local and international artists, features the iconic Winter Cathedral and a larger Fire Garden—all set to over a million lights, color and music. This year, it has been reimagined with a longer trail and new immersive experiences along the way, including “Supernova,” a 24-foot-high illuminated Moravian star, a sparkling new Chandelier Walk and a giant red poppy blossoms of Floraison that hover above the trail.   

As always, a curated playlist of music brings the light art to life, but this year, BBG is celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with “Kaleido Circle,” an illuminated area in Oak Circle that will play a mix of hip-hop songs by influential Brooklyn musicians, curated by Queens-based artist Sherwin Banfield.

Sure, pickleball is all everyone is focusing on these days, but there's just something about a classic game of ping pong that tickles the average New Yorker's fancy, which is why we're so excited about the opening of the second SPIN location in New York, which will actually function as the brand's flagship moving forward, taking over the space formerly occupied by Carolines on Broadway.

SPIN Midtown will officially open at 1626 Broadway, between 49th and 50th Streets, on October 9. The ping pong social club stays true to its mission of celebrating the game, albeit adding modern touches to both the space and its offerings—starting with Spinny, a robotic ping pong arm with, according to an official press release, "artificial capabilities that optimize play for novices and pros alike." 

You'll get to play with Spinny at one of ten Olympic-sized table tennis tables found underground (don't worry about getting lost: a trail of neon lights will lead the way). 

Following successful runs in Madrid, Milan, Paris and Rome, the Balloon Museum is officially set to take over Pier 36 in The Seaport this fall.

Set in and outside of the 80,000-square-foot space, the new cultural destination will make its debut on October 27 with a new exhibit titled “Let’s Fly,” scheduled to run through January 14, 2024. 

Visitors are encouraged to interact with the installation, touching and feeling the various pieces exhibited. In terms of actual pieces, you can expect a 4,000-square-foot ball pit, inflatable lava lamps and the sorts of infinity rooms that you'll itch to post about on Instagram.

The Queens Craft Brigade hosts an exceptional community of makers exclusively from the borough of Queens. The independent, queer-owned market at Katch Astoria brings together talented makers exclusively from around the borough and has created monthly curated events featuring artwork, jewelry, fashion, crafts, and more.

This month's event is on November 25 with a Small Business Saturday theme.

Majestic, incredible elephants are getting the spotlight in a new exhibit at The American Museum of Natural History. "The Secret World of Elephants" will showcase both modern and ancient elephants, offering visitors a chance to see a full-scale model of a woolly mammoth, learn about what elephants eat, touch an elephant's tooth, listen to elephant calls and more.

The exhibition opens on Monday, November 13, in the museum’s LeFrak Family Gallery. An additional ticket is required to visit the exhibit; museum members can visit for free.

The Seaport has become a surprisingly vibrant food hub over the years, and you can get delicious proof for yourself at Taste of the Seaport.

Now in its 13th consecutive year, the one-day culinary and community festival returns to Lower Manhattan on Saturday, November 11 from noon to 5pm, with the aim of raising funds for both student and teacher cultural enrichment programs at area schools including Peck Slip (PS 343) and Spruce Street (PS 397) for the 2023-2024 school year.

Along with eats fest and the opportunity to shop small businesses and local artists, the family-friendly affair will also include live music and a kid play zone with attractions from Church St. School for Art & Music, Spotlight Kids, Lifetime Fitness, Manhattan Youth, and Spark Art.

Miracle on 9th Street and Sippin' Santa's Surf Shack have announced that this year's decked-out editions will be popping up beginning November 2023. 

Miracle on 9^th Street will be found at The Cabinet Mezcal Bar in the East Village, whereas Sippin’ Santa will take place this winter at Williamsburg neighborhood bar Thief. 

And as usual, the Miracle and Sippin' Santa holiday mug collections will also be making their return, with limited-edition glassware available for purchase exclusively at the pop-ups.

If you didn't get to visit before Halloween, don't worry because The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze stays open into November.

The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze will be back in the Hudson Valley at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson for the 19th year through November 19, as well as Old Bethpage Village Restoration in Old Bethpage, Long Island for the fourth year through November 5.

Both experiences will feature thousands of hand-carved jack o'lanterns set up in elaborate displays: along with annual favorites like the Statue of Liberty and the Pumpkin Planetarium, you'll find a circus sideshow, a jack o’lantern tribute to the Day of the Dead, and the country's first-ever pumpkin Ferris wheel in Hudson Valley, while Long Island attendees can be wowed by an under-the-sea installation, including a giant pumpkin octopus and a Montauk mermaid. 

Grab your garlic because a vampire masquerade is making its debut in NYC this fall, and it's going to be truly immersive. "Dreams of Dracula: An Immersive Masquerade Experience" will recreate the classic Dracula universe as a brand new vampire theatrical adventure.

The production runs through November 11 at Musica NYC in Hell's Kitchen; previews begin September 22. Gothic and Victorian costumes are "very much encouraged," event organizers say. Tickets start at $69 and are available for purchase here.

Putting a new spin on the Bram Stoker classic, this choose-your-own-adventure evening whisks visitors through two floors and six rooms across 25,000 square feet for a heady mix of immersive theater, dance and decadent masquerade.

The one and only Dave Matthews Band is headed for NYC this fall.

The acclaimed group, which has sold more than 25 million tickets in its 32-year history, is finishing up its summer tour with its three-day, Labor Day weekend celebration at Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. 

It’ll begin in the south and work its way up north, finishing the tour here in NYC at Madison Square Garden with two shows on November 17 and 18.

Long before Pablo Picasso's works made it to major American museums, an art collector in Brooklyn identified the artist's talents and believed his works should be displayed. In fact, he wanted to hang Picasso's works on his very own walls. 

In 1910, Hamilton Easter Field commissioned Picasso to adorn a room in his Brooklyn Heights home with murals, but Picasso didn't finish the works before Field died. Now, for the first time, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is bringing together six paintings linked to the commission. "Picasso: A Cubist Commission in Brooklyn" is now open and runs through January 14, 2024.

"It's an important aspect of Picasso's work that has been not researched on that level, has been not known before we embarked on this project," The Met's director Max Hollein said. "I hope the exhibition will be as revelatory to our audience as it has been to us."

From The Marcy Houses to the biggest stages in the world, Jay-Z has always represented Brooklyn. Now Brooklyn is radiating that love back to him with a major, free exhibition called The Book of HOV on view at Brooklyn Public Library.

The exhibit chronicles the journey and impact of Shawn Carter through thousands of archived objects, including original recording masters, never-before-seen photos, iconic stage wear, prestigious awards and videos. Roc Nation created the exhibit as a surprise to the renowned hip-hop star as the city celebrates 50 years of the genre that started right here in New York City. 

See it at Brooklyn's Central Library along Grand Army Plaza during regular library hours through December 4, Jay-Z's birthday.

Wake up with the sun for a morning yoga class with Chelsea Piers Fitness has you covered.

Head to the Maker's Room at Chelsea Market for a free 7am all-levels vinyasa flow class every Thursday morning. Just be sure to bring your own yoga mat and towel and register in advance. It'll be a good way to embrace the vinyasa flow all throughout your day. Programming runs through the end of the year.

Comedy institution The Second City will officially open its new 12,000-square-foot entertainment complex at 64 N. 9th Street in Williamsburg on November 16, 2023. 

Ticket holders will get to catch shows at two different cabaret-style live theaters, order fare from the full-service restaurant and bar on site and even visit seven different Training Center classrooms. 

Tickets for the first slate of shows are already available right here. The opening slate of productions includes The First City Revue, which celebrates the art of improvisation and sketch comedy; Jack Frost Roasting on an Open Fire, an interactive comedy; and Improv Holiday Brunch, which is exactly what it sounds like. 

Remember when NASA published those first images from the Webb telescope and blew everyone's minds? 

Well, now you can admire never-before-seen visuals captured by the James Webb Space Telescope in this new immersive art experience at ARTECHOUSE in Chelsea. “Beyond the Light” runs through November 5 with adult general admission starting at $25.

The phrase “women’s work” is often used derisively to indicate labor that’s seen as “less than,” but a new exhibit at New-York Historical Society reclaims that phrase. Aptly titled "Women's Work," the show chronicles the history of women's contributions to labor and how those efforts are both inherently political and essential to American society. 

The exhibit features dozens of objects in the museum's collection from indenture documents to medical kits to military uniforms. With items ranging from the 1740s to today, the show celebrates the strides society has made in equality while not shying away from highlighting the gender-based inequalities that persist today.

"Women's Work" is on view through August 18, 2024 in the Joyce B. Cowin Women’s History Gallery at New-York Historical Society on the Upper West Side.

When genius meets genius, there’s often an explosion of creativity and inspiration but sometimes it leaves relationships in shambles. Enter Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas—two of modern art’s biggest players—who were actual "frenemies" to the very end.

In fact, the relationship was so fraught that Manet once ripped a beautiful Degas painting in half!

Drama among artists is what we live for, so this fall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art's new exhibition, "Manet/Degas" will be the one to see. Starting September 24, it is the first art show to put the French impressionists’ relationship on blast and expose the sort of dialogue they had together through their art. 

Across 160 paintings and works on paper, "Manet/Degas" unfolds a tale of two wealthy French artists who were undeniably inspired by each other but just couldn’t keep it together.

He's one of our most famous New Yorkers—now legendary director Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing, Crooklyn, The 25th Hour) is getting his own immersive installation at the Brooklyn Museum this fall.

Running from Friday, October 6, 2023 through Sunday, February 4, 2024, at the museum's Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing and Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, "Spike Lee: Creative Sources" will delve into the world, works and influences of the acclaimed director who, though born in Atlanta, Georgia, was raised and revered as one of New York's own, particularly in the borough of Brooklyn. 

The exhibit will feature more than 300 works from Lee's personal collection, "items that have been touchpoints for Lee and the topics he explores on-screen," the museum released.

For the first time, a New York museum will present a comprehensive survey of work by feminist artist Judy Chicago. "Judy Chicago: Herstory" will span the artist's 60-year career across painting, sculpture, installation, drawing, textiles, photography, stained glass, needlepoint, and printmaking.

"Herstory" will trace the entirety of Chicago’s practice from her 1960s experiments in Minimalism and her revolutionary feminist art of the 1970s to her narrative series of the 1980s and 1990s in which she expanded her focus to confront environmental disaster, birth and creation, masculinity, and mortality. Contextualizing her feminist methodology within the many art movements in which she participated—and from whose histories she has frequently been erased—"Herstory" will showcase Chicago’s tremendous impact on American art and highlight her critical role as a cultural historian claiming space for women artists previously omitted from the canon.

See the show from October 12-January 14, 2024.

In a pioneering exhibition, the Brooklyn Museum will present the first-ever museum show dedicated to zines by artists in North America. "Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines" encompasses more than 800 objects examining how artists have used the medium of zines over the past half century.

This exhibition explores the largely unexamined, yet vibrant aesthetic practice of zines. Zines have been widely used to create and foster communities outside of dominant culture since the early 1970s, when more affordable reproduction technologies like the photocopy machine became widely accessible. The exhibition documents the zine’s relationship to a range of avant-garde practices and intersections with other mediums, including painting, drawing, collage, photography, performance, sculpture, video, and film. From conceptual art to punk and street culture to queer and feminist practices, this canon-expanding exhibition interrogates hierarchies between media and features artworks by nearly one hundred artists.

It'll be on view November 17, 2023–March 31, 2024.

A new exhibition that celebrates Jewish comics is coming to the Center for Jewish History this fall. JewCE! The Museum and Laboratory of the Jewish Comics Experience will showcase the work of renowned Jewish comics writers and artists, including original artwork, historical artifacts, interactive installations that explore Jewish themes and narratives in comics and more. 

Guests will also be able to try their hand at character creation, storyboarding and iconography as part of the Laboratory portion of the exhibit.

The exhibition is open from October 9 through December 2023. It will also be presented alongside “JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience,” a Jewish comic book convention happening November 11-12.

Free tickets to the exhibition are available here.