Fall preview 2013: Top five events and festivals

Celebrate the martyred third-century bishop and patron saint of Naples at this 11-day festival that fills the streets of Little Italy every year. Watch the professionals in action at the cannoli-eating competition and you won't feel so bad about indulging in calorific treats from the food vendors; return daily for live musical performances. Mulberry St between Canal and Houston Sts; Grand St between Baxter and Mott Sts; Hester St between Baxter and Mott Sts.

Kings County exhibition producer United Photo Industries takes over Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5 to create a pop-up village honoring the art of picture taking. This year's festival also includes a beer garden dispensing Brooklyn Brewery suds. Peruse 45 shipping containers, which provide venues for curated gallery installations—from photojournalism chronicling Liberia's civil war to Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner's intimate on-the-road shots of his fellow band members—and interactive workshops, as well as panel discussions with photographers, editors and publishers. Then wander past a 1,000-foot-long fence displaying 200 large-form prints made out of photographic mesh that correspond to the theme "Community: Home/Street/People/Creatures/Play."

This exhibit and event series at the normally private National Arts Club celebrates ten artists who work in what was formerly East Berlin. On Sept 25, toast the opening of the art show with a live feed to the Friendly Society gallery in Germany. Four films will screen, including Comrade Couture (Sept 26), about fashion designers who worked in the then-socialist country during the 1980s, and on Oct 1, attend a gallery talk on the different forms of music and art considered "degenerate" by the postwar government. On Sept 27, the space hosts a cabaret party and fashion show, featuring music by swing band Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks and German singer Adrienne Haan (free tickets are required; visit NAC after Sept 18 at 1pm to reserve).

More than 500 vendors and ten stages will close down a busy Brooklyn artery for the Atlantic Antic. It's billed as NYC’s largest street fair, so there’s more to see than stands hawking pashminas and MozzArepas (although there are plenty of those, too). Look for a full lineup of bands and vendors to be announced in September. Atlantic Ave between Hicks St and Fourth Ave, Brooklyn

This annual festival gives attendees access to more than 200 of the city’s coolest and most exclusive architectural sites and landmarks. Past years have included behind-the-scenes tours of venues such as the Park Avenue Armory, the Gustafsson-Wells House, the Museum of the Moving Image, the Four Seasons and Prospect Park's in-progress Lakeside construction site. Look for the full schedule (and the ability to preregister for certain events) in the first week of October.