The best fall activities in NYC to do with the arrival of Autumn

Every fall, Morningside Lights illuminates the night with a procession of awe-inspiring handmade lanterns. This year’s event, titled "TIMEFRAME 1965" features a celebration of the images, icons, and influences of the year 1965. Just after dusk on Saturday, September 20, see more than 50 community-built lanterns.

This mobile, glowing art gallery will represent transformative art and artists, seeking to remind viewers how myriad ways of seeing can cohabit and enrich one singular space. 

The free procession will head from Morningside Park to Columbia University campus, fittingly home to incredible art and arts programming. The route begins in Morningside Park at 116th Street and Morningside Avenue at 8pm, arriving on campus around 8:45pm.

Step into the magical worlds of Halloween Town and Christmas Town at a frightfully fun immersive experience coming to the New York Botanical Garden this fall. After its debut last year, Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail is returning to the Bronx with brand new scenes, festive music and video projections.

This all-ages evening experience was inspired by the timeless classic 1993 movie known for its stop-motion animation and iconic characters such as Jack Skellington. The light trail promises to bring the film to life against the botanical beauty of the garden. The experience runs on select evenings from Thursday, September 25 through Sunday, November 30, with tickets starting at $33 for children and $45 for adults.

Carving a jack-o'-lantern may be a time-honored American tradition for many, but nobody—and we mean nobody—does pumpkin carving quite like the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze.

Every fall, pumpkins aplenty decorate this festive, family-friendly attraction in the Hudson Valley. This year promises thousands of intricately carved jack-o'-lanterns in mesmerizing displays.

Blaze: Hudson Valley runs at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson in Westchester County from September 12 through November 16. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $24.

This year marks the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and you may be looking for events around NYC to memorialize this solemn day. In 2025, events include vigils, memorials, and tribute runs.

Food lovers, rejoice! The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival is making its triumphant return this fall, taking place from October 15 to 19, and, this time around, the extravaganza will be held somewhere completely new: Manhattan’s historic Seaport neighborhood.

Expect multi-course dining experiences, pier parties, master classes, tastings and boozy brunches by acclaimed chefs and Food Network favorites. The full list of events for the New York City Wine & Food Festival are now live and tickets are on sale. Reserve yours here. 

We could all use a big plate of pasta chased with a cannoli right about now. The Feast of San Gennaro is here to meet those needs with its annual festival featuring parades, live music and of course, glorious foods.

Festivities run from September 11 to 21 in Little Italy. Activities kick off on September 11 with the Blessing of the Stands and continue with daily performances and festival fun. Don't miss the Grand Procession on September 13 with floats, the statue of San Gennaro, Clarity Festival Band, The Giglio Band and The Italian Fairy. A Solemn High Mass celebrating the patron Saint of Naples will be held on September 19. Here's the full events calendar.

The New York Comedy Festival is where the best of the best comedians of NYC gather each year. This year, it'll bring more than 200 comedians for 100 shows at iconic NYC venues from  Friday, November 7 through Sunday, November 16.

Its blockbuster lineup includes comedy legends like Margaret Cho and (somehow) Louis C.K. welcoming members of the podcast generation, including The Basement Yard and Hannah Berner. A special treat comes in the form of a Strangers with Candy reunion, with cast members Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello reuniting on the 25th anniversary of the cult Comedy Central series’ cancellation

As New York City's largest free literary festival, this annual 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. The festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Activities run September 14-22 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. 

Here's the full schedule.

Now that temperatures are dropping, it's the perfect time to sip some hot tea. Afternoon tea in NYC is for those who fancy a scone or crumpet alongside a piping hot kettle of tea as a midday pick-me-up. From hotel restaurants to proper teahouses, here’s where to go for the best afternoon tea NYC’s got to offer.

Grab an empty basket and don your best plaid for a fall PYO adventure. At local farms in the tristate area, you'll find a generous offering of apple varieties and fun seasonal activities like petting zoos and corn mazes. We guarantee you're bound to stumble upon some apple cider doughnuts along the way.

Brooklyn, get ready to trade your OMNY swipe for a trip back in time. On Sunday, September 21, the New York Transit Museum’s beloved Bus Festival returns to Brooklyn Bridge Park—and admission is completely free. From 10am to 3:30pm, Emily Warren Roebling Plaza will become an open-air time capsule showcasing more than 90 years of New York City bus history.

Four stars of the museum’s vintage fleet will take center stage, including Betsy, a 1931 double-decker from Fifth Avenue Coach’s “1200 series” that ran until 1947; the 1956 Bus 3100, the first air-conditioned bus in the United States, complete with cushioned seats and fluorescent lighting; the baby-blue 1969 Bus 4727, built to tackle the Bronx’s steep hills; and the 1971 Bus 5227, a “New Look” GM model later overhauled into a “Blitz Bus” and remembered for its hard blue bench seating.

This Queens County treasure is well worth the bus trek or car ride. As the city’s longest continually farmed site in the city (it’s been in operation since 1697), the 47 acres feels like an entirely different world compared to Manhattan.

Feed and pet the barnyard animals, including sheep, ponies and goats, hop aboard a hayride and take advantage of the fall harvest season when you can go pumpkin picking and attempt to find your way through the Amazing Maize Maze (yes, that’s a corn maze).

Going upstate to see fall leaves is great, but it's a trek. Luckily, if you know where to look here in NYC, there are some truly stunning foliage to see in many parks and gardens across the boroughs, including at Fort Tryon Park, the Greenbelt Nature Center, and Sunken Meadow State Park. Happy peeping!

When Louis Armstrong sang the inimitable lyric "I hear babies cry, I watch them grow," he was referencing the kids in his neighborhood of Corona and East Elmhurst, according to Regina Bain, executive director of the famed musician's namesake museum. And a new oral exhibit this fall will give a voice to his Queens community, highlighting the people who grew up next to Louis and Lucille Armstrong. 

Titled "The Corona Collection," the new exhibition at The Louis Armstrong House Museum will debut on October 2 and run through March 2026. Throughout, hear the voices of the Armstrongs' neighbors as they recount cherished memories, share heartfelt stories and dig into neighborhood histories. These oral histories offer an intimate look into the couple's life and their deep community connection. 

As the fall rolls in, there are probably a few things you crave—no, no, not pumpkin spice lattes—apple cider donuts. NYC’s network of open-air markets have all-things apple, year after year. Snag the sugary confection and stock up on apple cider while you’re at it, too. You can hop over to grownyc.org to find a market nearest you. 

The city is full of legit spooky spots and haunted places, from cemeteries and haunted mansions to a crumbling hospital and tragedy-prone island. 

These NYC ghost tours will take you through all the nooks and crannies where real-life horrors and paranormal sightings happened right in our own backyard. Whether you're a Broadway buff looking for theater lore or a history nerd up for touring historic buildings, there's a ghost tour for you.

Some might assume that sky-high imbibing is a spring and summertime affair, but it’s always rooftop season in NYC.

Even during rain, wind and lower temperatures, we simply swap the sunshine and frozen drinks for fireplaces and hot cocktails while still soaking up the skyline view. So grab a sweater and set your sights on the stars at the best cooler weather rooftops in NYC.

Spooky season is upon us! Whether you're looking for a family-friendly celebration or a terrifying haunted house or a raucous party, there's plenty to do this season. 

From the Village Halloween Parade to pumpkin carving demos, it's time to get into the spirits (or spirit) of the season. 

The only thing better than the Bronx Zoo is the Bronx Zoo at night. The famed zoo's annual family-friendly celebration, Harvest Glow, is back and at its best. 

Every Thursday-Sunday from September 25 until October 31, families are invited to explore this immersive jack-o'-lantern trail with its own spin: the 5,000 pumpkins are animal themed, of course! Senses will be heightened as you explore "creatures of the darkness" through the use of music, special effects and dramatic lighting to make sure that you really feel the spookiness. 

And if that wasn't enough, visitors will have the opportunity to live in the Mesozeric Era while walking amongst over 60 animatronic dinosaurs and pterosaurs at the event's Dinosaur Safari. Paired with the darkness, this prehistoric adventure is not to be missed.

Also expect pumpkin carving demos, games, face panting and tons of photo opps.

A new exhibit coming to The Whitney Museum of American Art reads like a who's who of revolutionary artists working in the 1960s. The show, titled Sixties Surreal, features Diane Arbus, Yayoi Kusama, Andy Warhol, Romare Bearden, Jasper Johns, Nancy Grossman, David Hammons, Louise Bourgeois and Faith Ringgold, just to name a few. 

What all of these artists have in common is their way of contributing to "a sweeping, ambitious, revisionist look at American art from 1958 to 1972 through the lens of the 'surreal,'" the museum says. In all, the sprawling show features the work of 111 artists who embraced the psychosexual, fantastical and revolutionary energy of an era shaped by civil unrest, cultural upheaval and boundless experimentation. See it and step back from September 24–January 19.

Since its humble beginnings at D.C.’s Union Market, All Things Go Festival has become one of the most anticipated events of late New York City summers. With lineups that predominantly feature queer artists, the event stands sturdy in its values. This year, the festival will return to Forest Hills Stadium and will take place from September 26 through September 28. See artists like Lucy Dacus, DJO, DOECHII, Remi Wolf, Clairo and The Marias, among many others.

Shakira might still be on her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran world tour, but that doesn’t mean high-priced concert tickets are your only chance to see her performing live this summer. In fact, you can see her totally free in Central Park on September 27.

An annual NYC event since 2012, Global Citizen Festival effectively turns the Great Lawn into a massive open-air concert as a reward for doing good in the community. The concert blends superstar performances (other performers this year include The Weeknd, Tyla, Ayra Starr and Mariah the Scientist) with calls for global change, from promoting climate action to ending extreme poverty. 

Anyone interested in scoring tickets for the event can do so by downloading the Global Citizen app or going to its website and signing up to be a Global Citizen.

This fall, explore the long and rich history of queer communities in Manhattan's East Village and Lower East Side with Close Friends Collective's Queer History Walking Tours. 

The non-profit Henry Street Settlement and Close Friends Collective takes you on a two-hour storytelling journey through six stops. The stops change depending on the tour guide, current events or time of the year, but no matter what, the tour focuses on the importance of New York queer spaces and how they've evolved over the years. 

The organization is fronted by its founders and guides, a mix of historians, educators and a postdoctoral fellow: Salonee Bhaman, Jimmy Fay, Natalie Hill, erin reid, Katie Vogel (Henry Street Settlement public historian) and Daniel Walber. These walking tours are the combination of their love for public history and their desire to not let queer spaces/narratives be forgotten. 

Here are the fall dates:

— East Village, Saturday, September 13, 3-5pm
— Lower East Side, Sunday, October 12, 11am-1pm
— Lower East Side, Saturday, November 8, 11am-1pm

This online beauty brand is officially going offline. For the first time ever, the digital platform NAILCON is celebrating nail culture with a two-day immersive event on October 18 and 19 in NYC's Meatpacking District. 

In celebration of nail art consumers, beauty professionals and creators, NAILCON 2025 will host a number of events related to the world of nails including panels, live demos, musical performances, masterclasses and interactive experiences—and it's open to all. 

A dearly departed piece of New York’s punk past is being resurrected for one night only this fall. CBGB—the iconic East Village music club that helped kickstart the careers of many notable punk rock and new wave bands, including Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, Dead Boys and Patti Smith Group, among others—will be popping up once again as CBGB Festival on September 27 at Under the K Bridge Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (The original CBGB shuttered for good in 2006 at 315 Bowery.)

The lineup features 21 bands, including Iggy Pop, Jack White, The Sex Pistols, Johnny Marr, Lunachicks, Marky Ramone, The Damned, Melvins, The Linda Lindas, Destroy Boys, Angel Du$t, Scowl, Pinkshift, Teen Mortgage, YHWH Nailgun and Lip Critic. 

Tickets cost between $73-$149 at CBGBFEST.COM

Get your hands dirty and jump into the world of ceramics with Handmade Happy Hour—Greenwich House Pottery's new Friday night happy hour pottery classes this fall.

These classes are perfect for beginners or pottery experts at any level, as you'll be guided by an expert teaching artist and provided all the tools and materials needed to make your pottery creation. Once you're done with your masterpiece and you've picked a glaze, they'll fire the piece to over 2000 degrees—then you can pick it up in about three weeks. 

It's a perfect night out for friends, a date or even going solo and meeting new creative friends. Every class is BYOB. Classes run from 7:30 to 9:30pm and cost $105 per person. 

The full schedule is here: 

• Sept. 26: Pottery Wheel (featuring beverages from sponsor Empirical Spirits)
• Oct. 3: Handbuilding Project
• Oct. 10: Pottery Wheel
• Oct. 17: Handbuilding Project
• Oct. 24: Pottery Wheel
• Nov. 7: Handbuilding Project
• Nov. 14: Pottery Wheel
• Nov. 21: Handbuilding Project
• Dec. 5: Pottery Wheel
• Dec. 12: Handbuilding Project

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine’s annual Halloween Extravaganza returns to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve on Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25 at the uptown house of prayer.

The long-standing Upper West Side tradition was born decades ago under the direction of Artist in Residence Ralph Lee, founder of the Mettawee River Theatre Company. This year, the cathedral honors that legacy with an evening featuring frightening Mettawee performers who will haunt the audience with tricks and treats. 

The evening will kick off with a showing of The Phantom of the Opera in celebration of the film’s 100th anniversary. Additionally, the Cathedral will celebrate the return of the Great Organ to the Halloween Extravaganza with live accompaniment by Tim Brumfield. Showings begin at 7pm on both days for the Halloween Extravaganza, with $50 tickets available on the cathedral's website starting September 2.

Talk about a Time Warp: The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been part of the pop culture landscape for a full five decades now. Originally released in theaters September 25, 1975, the future cult classic made barely a splash during its initial theatrical run, despite the presence of pre-fame Barry Bostwick, Tim Curry, and Susan Sarandon. But in the years since, the musical took on a whole new life as a midnight movie sensation, potentially keeping fishnets on the market long past their natural expiration date.

And to celebrate its big 50th anniversary this year, actors from the beloved film have been touring North America with a very special iteration of the beloved screening tradition, giving fans a chance to party with the stars. And the tour just announced a stop in New York City: On Monday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m., bring your rubber gloves and noisemakers to The Town Hall, where stars Bostwick (Brad), Nell Campbell (Columbia) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta) will be on hand for a very special screening. 

Beneath the cobblestone streets of the Seaport, secrets hid underground for decades—until now, that is. A walking tour led by the South Street Seaport Museum unearths the neighborhood's freaky and fascinating facts.

The museum's "Sinister Secrets of the Seaport" whisks visitors back in time for a 90-minute walking tour full of true crime tales about theft, organized crime, murder and even pirates. Tours are available for $40/adult. Whether you're a true crime buff or you're still soaking up the Halloween spirit, these tours make for a memorable afternoon in a historic neighborhood.

Carreau Club, the nation’s first pétanque bar, now offers an indoor location with more space to get your game on while sipping a drink—even when temperatures get chilly.

For the uninitiated, pétanque (pronounced puh-TONK) is a bocce-ball style French boules sport gaining popularity in the U.S., starting here in NYC.

For those new to the sport, don't worry: Each court reservation comes with a lesson from a pétanque guide, plus equipment and a seating area. For the more competitive pétanque player, join a league to get in on weekly games.

This "crazy mini-golf course" and entertainment complex straight from London offers three nine-hole golf courses across 23,000 square feet under 20-foot-high ceilings. For those new to the game, "crazy golf" is a British spin on mini-golf, but it's for a 21-and-over audience since craft cocktails are served by caddies on the course.

At Swingers NoMad, expect six cocktail bars with signature classic cocktails from London and D.C., as well as a variety of cocktails created specifically for NYC, private rooms you can rent, an opulent clubhouse and gourmet street food vendors with pizza, burgers and cookies.