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Yellow leaves Central Park during Autumn in midtown Manhattan New York City.
Photograph: Songquan Deng / Shutterstock

NYC events in October 2023

Plan your month with the best NYC events in October 2023 including Oktoberfest, freaky haunted houses and more autumnal adventures.

Rossilynne Skena Culgan
Written by
Rossilynne Skena Culgan
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'Tis the season to get spooky! But beyond the best Halloween events, there are also plenty of other awesome NYC events in October 2023. Use our events calendar to plan the quintessential month for fall foliage spotting, pumpkin picking,Oktoberfest beer drinking and more things to do in fall.

Kick off fall with some epic cultural events you don't want to miss like Open House New York, a show at the new Perelman Performing Arts Center and major exhibits at The Met.

And just in case you want to plan ahead, here's our November event list to start marking your calendar.

RECOMMENDED: Full NYC events calendar for 2023

Featured NYC events in October 2023

  • Things to do
  • Festivals

The Village Halloween Parade—NYC’s creative and spooky procession—is one of the best Halloween events in Greenwich Village and it's coming back this year on Halloween, Tuesday, October 31. Each year, more than 50,000 zombies, ghouls, witches, monsters, robots, Jedis, giant puppets and more things that go bump in the night take to the streets for a night of costumed revelry that you won't want to miss. 

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  • Things to do

The Village Halloween Parade is fun and all, but does it have a plethora of puppies in adorable outfits? For that, you’ll have to head to this annual dog parade held this year on Saturday, October 21. The getups are remarkably elaborate and conceptual—no surprise given the prizes up for grabs for Best in Show. 

Whether you're competing to be top dog or just watching from the sidelines, this canine contest can't be missed.

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs

Hundreds of food and craft vendors and multiple stages close down a busy Brooklyn artery for Atlantic Antic each fall. Spanning 10 blocks and cutting through four neighborhoods, it's billed as Brooklyn's largest street fair, so there’s more to see than stands hawking pashminas and MozzArepas. The eclectic musical lineup brings together diverse local talent and you can graze on grub from a delicious variety of artisanal vendors—washed down with some fab locally brewed ale, of course.

The annual affair, hosted by the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation, has been happening since 1974. Activities run along Atlantic Avenue from Fourth to the Waterfront. This year, it's on October 1, 2023.

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  • Art
  • Art

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.

Tickets for the show are available right here.

 

  • Restaurants
  • Drinking

From Delamotte to Drappier to Dom Pérignon, New Yorkers love bubbly, and you can partake in all of the above at an immersive champagne festival this fall.

The annual La Fête du Champagne—co-founded by champagne expert and author Peter Liem and world-renowned sommelier Daniel Johnnes—returns from Wednesday, October 25 through Saturday, October 28. The event includes four days full of sparkling tastings, introductory seminars, intimate dinners, collaborations with celebrated chefs, winemakers and sommeliers, and more across Manhattan. The fizzy fest will spotlight France's finest Champagne producers, from large historic houses (Krug, Louis Roederer) to smaller family-owned estates and boutique growers (Pierre Péters, Chartogne-Taillet).

Tickets range from $150 to $2,900, through the official La Fête du Champagne website.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

New York may be one of the world’s most caffeinated cities, hence why it may be called “the city that never sleeps,” and it’s welcoming back an annual celebration of all things coffee.

The New York City Coffee Festival will return this fall for its seventh year, consuming Metropolitan Pavilion for a long weekend of all things coffee related from October 6-8. 

At the three-day event, food, cocktails, live music, art, and more are promised, including unlimited tastings and presentations from local and national brands in the coffee, tea and chocolate industries. Confirmed participants include Parlor Coffee, Blueberry Roasters, Rishi Tea, Matcha Direct, De’Longhi, Bodum, Oatly, Raaka Chocolate, Aeropress, and many more.

  • Restaurants
  • American creative

It’s time again for those four awesome days when feasting on the best New York City cuisine and beverages is the name of the game. The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by CapitalOne is back October 12-15.

There will be a whopping 80-plus events that include more than 500 chefs from around the world to present to you tastings, classes, dinners, late-night parties, drag brunches, demonstrations from Ally Love, Marcus Samuelsson, Alex Guarnaschelli, Kardea Brown, Robert Irvine, Andrew Zimmern, Scott Conant, Jet Tila and Jeff Maur and more across the boroughs.

This year, The Cookout, will celebrate hip-hop’s 50th Anniversary and be emceed by Tamron Hall, the Emmy award-winning host of the Tamron Hall Show and Angela Yee from Power 105.1’s “Way Up with Yee.”

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  • Restaurants
  • Drinking

Grab your blue suede shoes and and get ready for an Elvis-themed pop-up coming to NYC this fall. 

Adorably dubbed "Love Me (Bar)Tender," expect wildly retro decor, Elvis-themed cocktails, music from Memphis bands and a photobooth. It'll be free to visit on October 5 and 6 with advance registration (sign up here to get details when registration opens), though the exact location hasn't been announced yet.

The pop-up is inspired by The Jungle Room, the den at the Presleys Graceland mansion. The room harkens back to 1965 and was decorated in Hawaiian-style decor including green shag carpet on the floor (and ceiling!), a rock waterfall and a lacquered tiki bar.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

It is time to start training for the always fun 2023 Empire State Building Run-Up, which is taking place on October 4 at 8pm this year.

As is the case annually, about 150 runners will get to race up the 1,576 stars to the 86th floor of the iconic building.

An obvious feat of athletic prowess, the event has become a huge part of the city's cultural calendar, with participants constantly trying to beat the men's course record of 9 minutes and 33 seconds set by Australian Paul Crake back in 2003 and the women's course record of 11 minutes and 23 seconds set by Andrea Mayr of Austria in 2006.

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  • Things to do
  • Festivals

Contrary to its moniker, Oktoberfest, the annual autumnal celebration anchored in Munich, Germany, with satellite festivities all over the globe, kicks off in the last days of summer.

Lucky for you, New York City hosts some of the best boozy, musical sausage fests in the world.This year’s events include weeks-long waterside parties and brewery bashes—all with plenty of German (and local!) beer to celebrate the season.

The party continues all month. Here's what's on tap.

  • Movies

The annual New York Film Festival dates back to 1963 when it established a mission of bringing the best work from around the world to Lincoln Center.

Excitement is already in the air for this year’s 61st edition, thanks to the August announcement of this year’s main slate lineup which will include Cannes prizewinners Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, Wim Wenders’s Perfect Days, and lots more.

An annual treat that shows off the city’s cinematic good taste in a classy way, the New York Film Festival hosts many fantastic movie screenings and events that you won’t want to miss. The festival runs from September 29–October 15, 2023.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze is back in two New York locations.

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. 

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Autumn brings some of the beautiful colors in nature with its crispy red leaves and bright orange pumpkins, so it's no surprise that Color Factory is going all out for the season as well.

The Soho immersive art museum is now presenting Haunted Hues, a Halloween-themed takeover, running through November 1 with plenty of tricks and treats. Tickets start at $39 and are on sale here.

The experience will include a pumpkin patch with a Color Factory twist, fun giveaways and fresh seasonal treats. Plus, guests can add on a new scavenger hunt to search for hidden monsters throughout the venue.

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  • Restaurants
  • Eating

Magic Hour at the Moxy Times Square is now dubbed "Pink Pumpkin Patch" for fall.

Pink Pumpkin Patch on the hotel’s 18th floor incorporates gourds of unexpected hues—some o’-lanterned—into the grassy Stories/TikTok wall, bench setup and aforementioned steps. There are also the apparently nude, human-sized anthropomorphic bunnies with which Magic Hour has aligned itself, and some hay. 

The Moxy’s Magic Hour’s Pink Pumpkin Patch’s menu also includes on-theme treats like a flaming pink pumpkin dessert, “mummy” Krispies and caramel apples and cupcakes with spiders and skulls on top, respectively. In a zag from “I’m gonna do a cute costume this year” to the macabre, timely tipples include the doctor death, a bright red mix of rum and Vita Coco divided into a duo of IV-style bags for you and your boo, and the also moribund kiss of death, containing a way-less-threatening-than-it-sounds combination of rose petal gin, raspberry tea, lemon, and prosecco.

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Thousands of stories lie beneath the grounds at the historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, and this season, those tales are coming back to life through a variety of tours. Tours highlight everything from the cemetery’s Egypt-inspired art to fall foliage to tales of murder, mayhem, spirits and the utterly bizarre. If you dare, there are also midnight and after-hours tours where you can explore the grounds after dark.

Other highlights include the Concerts in the Catacombs series on Wednesday, October 4 and Thursday, October 5; a large-scale altar installation honoring Dia de los Muertos from October 15 through November 5; and the return of Nightfall, a 21-and-over evening of music and moving image on October 20.

Check out the full lineup of fall programming, and register for events, at the Green-Wood Cemetery website

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

If you want your spooky celebrations to be more festive and less frightening, Halloween House is serving up a fear-free All Hallows Eve attraction at The Oculus this fall.

Kicking off on Friday, September 29, and running through Wednesday, November 1, Halloween House—which welcomed 100,000 visitors across its various locations last year—will take over the transportation and shopping hub at 185 Greenwich Street with an array of immersive, intricately designed themed rooms: a Glow in the Dark space, a mysterious Vampires' Lair, a Horror Movie Graveyard and an indoor pumpkin patch, among others. 

Unlike traditional haunted houses, the all-ages Halloween House "sets itself apart by delivering entertainment through meticulously detailed environments, devoid of actors, jump scares, and strobe lights," reads a press release. In terms of decorations, expect more ghouls and graveyards, not gross-out gore or ghastly characters.

You can get tickets at the Halloween House website; adult entry costs $40, while tickets for kids and under are set at $35. 

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

The fall festival at the Bronx Zoo will showcase more than 5,000 carved, animal-themed pumpkins in a jack-o’-lantern trail stretching over half a mile. Live pumpkin carving demonstrations, games, festive fall treats and food trucks will also take place at the all-ages Pumpkin Nights.

Pumpkin Nights will debut on Thursday, September 28 and run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Sunday, October 29 from 6pm to 10pm.

Tickets for Pumpkin Nights range from $26.95-$36.95 for adults; kids' tickets range from $24.95-$26.95 for kids. 

In addition to the new Pumpkin Nights, the Bronx Zoo will continue the tradition of Boo at the Zoo, which will return on Saturdays and Sundays, September 30 through October 29, plus Monday, October 9. 

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

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 opens on October 4 and 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.

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Back for its annual celebration of all things pumpkin (and your best opportunity to take a selfie with a scarecrow in NYC), New York Botanical Garden's Fall-O-Ween officially opens on Saturday, September 16. 

The event includes hundreds of pumpkins and gourds on display, hands-on activities like mini pumpkin decorating, 3D pumpkin carving, food and beverage talks, tastings and more. Two family-friendly Spooky Garden Nights (Saturday, October 21 and Saturday, October 28) will also offer Halloween-themed entertainment including dancing skeletons, decorating trick-or-treat bags, live shadow puppets, plant potting ad more. 

Master pumpkin carver Adam Bierton will return to NYBG on select weekends to create his intricate and nature-inspired pumpkin carvings, and to host a master carver competition. At the “pumpkin patch” at NYBG Shop, guests can pick and purchase the perfect pumpkin.

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  • Restaurants
  • Drinking

Join an elite group this Halloween season: The League of Inebriation Technology (L.I.T.), a storied institution dedicated to studying the celebratory effects of alcohol. Get in on the fun at The Drunken Laboratory, a bar in Brooklyn where you’ll wear lab coats and goggles for a night of sipping drinks and doing science. 

The bar's Haunted Laboratory experience includes a ghostly drink menu, haunted decor and scare actors for a truly immersive experience. Tickets are on sale now starting at $45; the experience in Bed-Stuy has dates running through the finale on Halloween night. 

During the event, guests will try to free the laboratory from the clutches of the supernatural. Plus, you’ll get to compete against each other—from performing exothermic reaction experiments that send heat erupting into the air, to competing in ghoulish trivia quizzes—for the chance to win free themed shots, merch or hangover kits. 

  • Movies
  • Movies

Rooftop Cinema Club is screening rooftop movies this fall with a packed slate of films running all the way through October 31. 

Sip wine and eat vegan popcorn while watching classics like When Harry Met Sally, The Addams Family, Hocus Pocus and lots more this autumn. Tickets are on sale here.

October's lineup include scary screenings such as Rosemary’s Baby, Paranormal, The Exorcist, The Shining, American Psycho and other cult classics as well as family favorites like Coco and Monsters, Inc. That all leads up to All Hallow's Eve's screenings of Hocus Pocus and Halloween.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Prepare to scream in horror. Blood Manor is confirmed to return to New York City this fall from September 29-November 4, marking the haunted house's 20th season in the city. 

To celebrate two decades of terrifying New Yorkers, Blood Manor will present yet another theater-quality production. The space in Soho at 359 Broadway will include three new rooms, and brand-new costumes by designers from Abracadabra, Manhattan's iconic Halloween store. The multiroom immersive experience employs professional actors, set designers and makeup artists, and promises to leave visitors more afraid than ever in 2023. 

Blood Manor’s most infamous attractions will return for repeat visitors looking to relive their self-induced terrors, and the space will be revamped, and amplified to intensify the fear factor. Visitors will journey through dark, sinister corridors filled with twisted characters and jumpscares at every turn.

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Spine-chilling pop-up bar series Black Lagoon is coming back this fall. 

The "adult Halloween celebration of your nightmares" from bar experts Kelsey Ramage and Erin Hayes will return with immersive Halloween pop-ups in cocktail bars across 19 cities this October, including here in New York at Pretty Ricky's (101 Rivington Street). The experience will feature a curated cocktail menu of eerie Halloween-themed drinks created by Ramage and Hayes, as well as transforming the hosting drinking dives into macabre dens festooned with frightfully fun decor. 

This spot really puts the BOO in booze.

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  • Art
  • Art

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."

  • Things to do
  • Quirky events

Hoof it around Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park in this run that stretches 5 kilometers and includes two pizza checkpoints: at each checkpoint, you’ll have to scarf down a slice of pizza before continuing on your way. In case you’re wondering, the pizza is from Table 87, “The Home Of The Coal Oven Slice.”

Top finishers get bragging rights and prizes, but everyone goes home with a T-shirt, swag bag and the warm fuzzies for supporting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. What's more, runners get a free drink afterward at the nearby German DSK Beer Garden. Even if you're not the kind of person who can run a 5K with saucy bread and cheese in your belly, come by to cheer on the runners. 

The run, hosted on October 1 this year, is the 13th annual event. 

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  • Art
  • Art

The performing arts—with comedy shows, musical comedy and stand-up—can definitely make us laugh. But what about the visual arts? Can a sculpture elicit a chuckle?

This fall, a troupe of New York City artists want to find out. They're launching a free art exhibition called "Funny Stuff," which runs from September 23-October 13 at Andrew Logan Projects in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood. 

The art show features humorous works created by both artists and comedians. 

It's open Wednesday-Sunday from 2-9pm. 

  • Shopping

The Queens Craft Brigade is back for 2023 with 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.

On October 28, it's the Queens Witchcraft Brigade (Halloween Party).

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  • Art
  • Art

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.

  • Theater
  • Theater & Performance

The Perelman Performing Arts Center has officially opened to the public, marking the final piece in the puzzle of the World Trade Center site. Twenty-two years after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, officials say the site offers hope at the sacred ground.

The Perelman is the only major performing arts venue in Lower Manhattan. Its opening, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, adds to the vibrancy and growth of Lower Manhattan.

Events this month include:

  • An intimate “Evening with Brian Stokes Mitchell” (October 5). 
  • 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition (October 14 and 15)
  • Actress and creator of the “Red Table Talk” series Jada Pinkett Smith (October 16).
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  • Art
  • Art

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.

  • Movies

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, this film series at Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria celebrates the insatiable beats and lyrics of hip-hop. The series will focus on hip-hop artists who have appeared on the big screen, including Queen Latifah, Tupac, and Ice Cube. In addition to the screenings, "Real Rap" will feature special guest speakers, discussions, a spoken word showcase and a summer dance party. 

Titles include Baby Boy, Just Wright, Poetic Justice, Barbershop, 8 Mile, Ghosts of Mars, and other titles to be announced. Real Rap: Hip-Hop Star Power on Screen runs through October 21. 

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

In celebration of The Great Gatsby's century-long success, party organizers Rosé Lifestyle and experience creators Bucket Listers are bringing their iconic 2015 immersive event, The Great Gatsby, to six cities around the United States, including where the story is based—New York. 

On October 6 and 7, ticket holders will be directed to iconic downtown destination Capitale at 130 Bowery for an evening of live music, burlesque stars, theatrical acts, aerialists performances and much more. You can even reserve a “Jay Gatsby Table” for an exclusive, roped-off experience that will guarantee you better views of the stage to be enjoyed alongside table service. 

Tickets to The Great Gatsby Party are available right here

 

  • Things to do
  • Festivals

Get your silicone ears and Infinity Gauntlets ready: The biggest pop culture event in North America is back—New York Comic Con 2022! It's back in person this year from October 6-9 and filled with can’t-miss panels, celebrities and all the cosplay you could ever fantasize about, this event is one of the best things to do in fall. Don't forget to binge the best superhero and action movies on Netflix before you tune in to get in the spirit!

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  • Art
  • Art

Robert Indiana's iconic LOVE sculpture has been MIA from its usual corner of 55th Street and Sixth Avenue for the past few years, after the work was removed from its post for conservation in 2019. Now Rockefeller Center is bringing a little love—pun intended—back to New York with an installation of work from the American artist. 

Now through Tuesday, October 24, see artworks from Robert Indiana throughout Rockfeller Center's landmark campus, including the long-awaited return of his LOVE sculpture to Manhattan.

  • Art
  • Art

Of course, we all think our beloved pets are works of art, but now Fotografiska New York, the contemporary photography museum in Gramercy Park, is happily agreeing with us. 

This fall, the museum will stage “Best in Show: Pets in Contemporary Photography,” a sprawling art exhibition exploring “the role our furry (and feathered) friends have played in culture and how they stand in as representations of status, power, loyalty, compassion and companionship."

The exhibit, on view through January 2024, features more than 130 photographs—both artfully arranged portraits and amusing candid snaps—and video installations from 24 global artists across two museum floors.

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  • Movies
  • Movies

Imagine catching a screening of Pulp Fiction and being served the same giant milk shake that Uma Thurman's Mia delightfully enjoys in one of the film's most iconic scenes. Or, perhaps, picture yourself devouring a plate filled with Ladurée desserts, just like the ones surrounding Kirsten Dunst in 2006's Marie Antoinette, while taking in her amazing performance.

That sort of event is exactly what Fork n' Film hopes to provide New Yorkers with when it finally launches here with screenings of Pixar's iconic Ratatouille starting October 1 through 22.

The experience is pretty straightforward: buy a ticket, show up at the designated space (likely, a rooftop), sit at your table (no movie theater-like seatings here) and start watching the movie as the Fork n' Film team delivers a multi-course meal directly to you, inspired by and timed to key events happening in the film. 

To be clear: attending one of these showings isn't going to be cheap. Tickets might cost up to $300 per person. Keep checking the website to snag passes for the upcoming screenings.

  • Restaurants
  • Drinking

The public's thirst for all things immersive continues strong.

Case in point: "Welcome to the Continental: The Hotel Bar Experience," a new pop-up at 82 Beaver Street in the Financial District inspired by the much-anticipated John Wick prequel, The Continental: From the World of John Wick.

According to an official press release, at the pop-up, guests will be able to "venture into the hotel's cryptic underworld for an unforgettable evening of decadent cocktails and live, interactive storylines with in-world characters and photo ops."

Reservations for the immersive experience are already open and you can make yours right here. The space will be open from September 21 through the 24, from September 27 through October 1 and then again from October 4 to the 8. 

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  • Things to do
  • Literary events

This annual literary celebration brings together hundreds of spectacular writers from across the globe for more than a week of talks and shopping to satisfy the borough’s brainiacs.

Activities run from September 24 to October 2 with writers in a variety of genres: international and local, for adult and young readers, working in fiction and nonfiction, poetry, prose, and graphic storytelling. Events are free, but you’ll definitely want to bring some money to buy some new books to take home. 

While activities run for the entirety of the nine-day celebration, the centerpiece festival day on Sunday, October 1 takes place in the parks and plazas surrounding Downtown Brooklyn’s Borough Hall and other venues. Seven stages will overflow with conversation as authors come together to converse, read and sign books throughout the day. Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Hilton Als, Toluse Olorunnipa, Robert Samuels, and Colson Whitehead will all be on stage. Hilton Als will be awarded The Best of Brooklyn (BoBi) award. Festival Day also stages the largest book market in the Northeast.

Also don't miss the Virtual Festival Day (Saturday, September 24) and Children’s Day (Saturday, September 30). Plus, more than 50 bookend events will take place across the five boroughs and online.

Here's the full schedule.

  • Music
  • Music

“The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” the titular performer's seminal solo debut album, turns 25 years old this year. The 1998 neo-soul record produced classic tracks like "Doo Wop (That Thing)", "Ex-Factor" and "Everything Is Everything" and earned Hill five Grammy awards, making the singer-rapper the first woman to receive that many awards in one night. 

After the anniversary tour plays Newark (Lauryn Hill is a Jersey girl, after all) on Tuesday, October 17 at Prudential Center, it will make its way to NYC with a Brooklyn show on Thursday, October 19 at Barclays Center.

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  • Restaurants
  • Eating

If you're a Barbie girl who's always dreamed of living in a Barbie world, now's your big moment.

The Malibu Barbie Café, an immersive pink-hued pop-up, is now open in the Seaport. Boasting fun photo opps, a menu from a Master Chef finalist, California vibes and, of course, actual Barbie dolls, this cafe feels like a spot Barbie herself would hang out with Ken, Midge and Skipper.

All ages are welcome to experience The Malibu Barbie Café, which is available for booking through October 15. Each reservation includes your choice of entree and side item, full access to the Barbie Cafe experience and a 90-minute table reservation. Early bird pricing ranges from $22-$30 for kids and $39-$49 for adults depending on the date and time. You can buy additional drinks, dessert and food. 

  • Art

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.

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  • Things to do
  • City Life

Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace is back at Rockefeller Center through October. 

The rink offers smooth ride with plenty of space to get around other skaters. Being able to glide by Prometheus and in front of spectators visiting Rockefeller Center is quite a thrill. Before Flipper’s first opened last year, the last time anyone roller-skated here was in 1940!

Tickets start at just over $20 for a one-hour rink time.

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

Eighty years ago, as World War II raged on, Danish citizens worked together to ferry 7,000 Jewish people to safety, keeping them out of concentration camps. 

Now, New York City’s Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will commemorate that anniversary, known as one of the most effective examples of mass resistance in modern history. "Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark" will debut on October 15, 2023; it’s the museum’s first exhibition developed for elementary-age students.

The exhibit focuses on themes of separation, bravery and resilience to help children ages 9+ reflect on the dangers of prejudice and on their own potential for courageous collective action.

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  • Art

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.

  • Music
  • Music

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 this fall (an exact closure date hasn't been set).

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  • Events & Festivals

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.

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  • Sports and fitness
  • Yoga & Pilates

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.

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The former Astor Place Kmart, which shuttered in 2021, will soon become an 82,000-square-foot Wegmans—and there’s finally an official opening date!

The Wegmans at 770 Broadway between Lafayette Street and Broadway will be the beloved grocery chain’s first Manhattan location and will include a 94-seat seafood restaurant with a Champagne-Oyster Bar and a 10-seat sushi bar with omakase, which will open in the first half of 2024.

The bi-level store is slated to open at 9am on Wednesday, October 18, and has a 30-year lease anticipates the longevity of the supermarket, meaning it’s not going anywhere (knock on wood)! 

 

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  • Restaurants
  • Eating

Pepsi's 125th birthday will be one for the books. Pepsi will celebrate the historic anniversary with a fittingly long campaign—125 days, to be exact, stretching through New York's Eve—that includes a fresh logo, new packaging and even an immersive dining experience in New York City. 

From Thursday, October 19 through Wednesday, October 25, the soft-drink brand will host the Pepsi 125 Diner in midtown Manhattan. Inspired by the "timeless American diner," the immersive pop-up will honor some of the most memorable moments in the company's history, including “Is Pepsi OK,” “The Pepsi Girl,” “Pepsi-Cola Soda Shop” and more. 

Seatings will be available at the diner in two-hour increments, with tickets starting at $50 per person. The experience includes a three-course meal, as well as complimentary Pepsi beverages and 21-and-over cocktails. Fans can sign up for priority pre-sale access at The Pepsi 125 Diner website.

  • Things to do

Autumn is the time to pick two of the season’s most emblematic fruits: apples and pumpkins. Fortunately there are some fantastic farms where you can go apple and pumpkin picking near NYC. These farms and orchards will get you into that fuzzy fall feeling in no time.

There’s nothing quite like taking a bite out of a crisp apple straight from the tree (even better, taking home a basketful for making pie), and your Halloween pumpkin will be that much more special when you pick it right off the vine. You’ll find a wide variety of apples and pumpkins at these farms, plus fun activities like hayrides, corn mazes and petting zoos. Don’t miss hot apple cider and other fresh-made treats at the farmstand. Apple picking and pumpkin picking have never been better at these NYC-area farms.

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  • Things to do
  • Walks and tours

You might think leaf-peeping is primarily for New Englanders, but New Yorkers have plenty of options for viewing the foliage in and around the city. From a stroll through a park to a train ride through the Adirondacks, natural beauty is definitely within reach, and we've tips on exactly where to go to admire it. And if New York City fall foliage is not enough, check out our guide to all the other great spots where you can see fall foliage in the US.

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