cultural fests / food events / markets / shopping events (free admission, unless noted otherwise):

► fri + sat (fri 12-6pm, sat 10am-5pm): metropolitan postcard club show + sale: church of the village (greenwich village). $3 admission. >>

► fri thru sun (12-7pm): new york african restaurant week food + music festival: restoration plaza (bed-stuy). >>

► fri thru sun: pee-wee’s playhouse pop-up shop: 213 bowery @ rivington st (les). >>

► sat 11am-6pm (rescheduled from 9/27 due to weather): 51st annual flatbush frolic street fair: cortelyou road between ocean ave and coney island ave, brooklyn. >>

► sat 12-5pm (rescheduled from 9/26 due to weather): thrift2death jersey city thrift market: grove street path plaza (jersey city). >>

► sat 12-6pm (rain date 10/17): junk drawer market: hive mind books (bushwick). >>

► sat 12-7pm (season finale): bronx night market: grand concourse at 161st street. rsvp required. >>

► sat + sun 11am-7pm: electrix vintage pop-up fill-a-bag sale: the maker’s space (williamsburg), $10/bag. >>

► sun 10am-5pm: cozy and crafted bazaar at grand bazaar nyc: 100 w 77th st at columbus ave (indoors + outdoors). free admission. >>

► sun 11am-4pm: the new york mycological society’s 4th fungus festival: the battery. >>

► sun 12-6pm: 62nd annual hispanic day parade: fifth ave from 44th st to 69th st. >>

► sun 2-9pm: please knock presents: fourth annual erotic art fair: tv eye (ridgewood), $5 admission ($20 1pm early entry). >>

► sun 4-9pm: trans art bazaar: brooklyn community pride center (crown heights), $5 suggested donation. >>

► sun + mon (sun 10am to mon 12pm): 11th annual indigenous peoples day: randall’s island. >>

► mon 11-3pm: 82nd annual columbus day parade: fifth ave from 44th st to 72nd st. >>

sponsored

Experience the dynamic energy of the Brooklyn Navy Yard up close on October 17 at their Annual Open House! Step inside the studios of businesses in fashion, design, and technology for exclusive behind-the-scenes access, along with spirits tastings, campus tours, food trucks, live art demos, and more.

Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Annual Open House
Saturday, October 17
12-5pm
FREE
Check in at Building 77, 141 Flushing Ave

MORE INFO

film fests/series:

► fri thru 10/15: 15th new york shorts international film festival: cinema village (greenwich village), $19.99. >>

► sun thru 10/15 women in animation: anthology film archives (east village), $14 general, $10 seniors/students. >>

► mon thru 10/17 14th architecture + design film festival: village east by angelika, $17 general, $13 students. >>

friday

fri thru 2/28/2027 (weds-sun 11:30am-6pm): new exhibitions at the american folk art museum: locating girlhood: place and identity in early american ‘schoolgirl’ art and folk nation: crafting patriotism in the united states. american folk art museum (uws), free admission. >>

sponsored: fri + sat (various times): flop house comedy club: nyc’s friendliest indie comedy club—with great comics and a cozy atmosphere—has some incredible lineups this weekend! save 50% with promo code ‘skint’ on tickets to these shows at 362 grand street in williamsburg: friday 8pm, 9:30pm, and 11pm; and the east village location is back at 201 allen st store 2 friday + saturday at 8:00pm. new: monthly member’s pass ($20) to see as many shows as you want + happy hour drinks + secret drop in announcements! >>

fri 6pm (weather permitting): free outdoor movie: back to the future at hudson yards public square and gardens. >>

fri 7pm (monthly): vocabaret: ‘magic’ edition: wordplay takes center stage at vocabaret, a monthly variety show for language lovers where four of nyc’s wittiest wordsmiths serve up slideshows, games, and other entertainment inspired by a theme. hosted by ally spier with nikolai vanyo, jerry gwiazdowski, abe gatling, and tess garcia. caveat (les), $18.76 with promo code ‘vocabskint’ (reg. $24-25). >>

fri 7pm: the oldest profession at the hidden jewel box theater: sneak into a tiny theater hidden inside port authority for a mad dash through 10,000 years of history, told from a sex worker’s perspective. kaytlin bailey’s solo show blends stand-up, storytelling, lived experience, and researched history, followed by a chance to meet and learn from local sex worker rights advocates. proceeds benefit old pros, a nonprofit using storytelling to advocate for sex worker rights. $5 with promo code ‘oldpros’ >>

🎃 fri 8pm: scream drag tribute show: ghostface gets a drag makeover with rify royalty, mariyea, miss malice, showponii, k. james, and hanukah lewinski putting a campy spin on the horror classic. c’mon everybody (bed-stuy), $20.09. >>

fri 8:30pm: bitches brew comedy show: this women-produced-and-hosted comedy show conjures up big laughs in the back room of halyards (gowanus). tonight’s lineup includes grace johnson (vulture), jim search (sirius xm), rohan dias, elliot thompson, andrea more, and binderiya byambasuren. free admission (a tip jar will be passed around at the end of the show). >>

🎃 fri 9pm: venashitshow: night of 666 tim curries round 2: burlesque performer venatrix presents a burlesque and drag show dedicated to the many characters portrayed by tim curry, with all proceeds benefiting dolly parton’s imagination library. footlight underground at the windjammer (ridgewood), $15 suggested donation. >>

fri 10pm: charli xcx vs. slayyyter: a sleaze pop dance party: dj chase coppins spins all things bratty, maximalist and hard by artists like charli xcx, slayyyter, kim petras, addison rae, adéla, and more. the woods (williamsburg), free admission. >>

fri 10:30pm: step on! britpop band/dance party: step into the ’90s with christian dryden’s all star band performing oasis, blur, pulp, the stone roses, james, and more, plus dj ivy oh spinning madchester, britpop, and indie sleaze between sets. alphaville (bushwick), $15 adv, $20 day of. >>

saturday

sat thru 3/27/2027: the rink at rockefeller center: skate at one of the world’s most famous rinks, tucked beneath the towering skyscrapers of rockefeller center. $22+ (skate rental extra, or byo). >>

sat thru 3/21/2027: seeing the cinema: photographic visions of movie theaters: take a nostalgic trip to the movies with museum of the moving image’s latest photo exhibition, highlighting exteriors, auditoriums, drive-ins, and projectionists. the exhibition will be accompanied by a monthly screening series that casts cinemas as key locations, starting 10/30 with tsai ming-liang’s goodbye, dragon inn. museum of the moving image (astoria), $20 general, $12 seniors, $12 students, free thursdays 2-6pm. >>

sat + sun: open studios: see all the art at the harlem open artist studio tour (12-6pm), flatbush artists open studios (12-6pm), and red hook open studios (1-6pm). free admission.

sat 6am-8pm (rescheduled from 9/26 due to weather): daybreaker – alive festival: dance, move, and connect at daybreaker’s first sunrise-to-sunset sober festival in the u.s., bringing 3,000+ people together to brooklyn bridge park’s pier 3 for a full day of music, movement, wellness, laughter, and community. all ages welcome. free admission. >>

sat 1:30pm: get work: comedians interview for real jobs: watch comedians sit down with actual hiring professionals and attempt to land real jobs. the catch? they’re given terrible fake résumés they won’t see until they take the stage. hosted by dan vetrano and nick felton. caveat (les), $8.46 with promo code ‘skinterviews1010′ (reg. $18.76-20). >>

sat 3-10pm: seaport music festival: the seaport music fest takes over fulton + water streets with an all-day concert featuring native sun, snowmen, tall juan, dead tooth, abby jeanne + the shadowband, pippy, cs cleaners, and short porch. bonus: rsvp here for a free heineken. free admission. >>

sat 7pm: carnegie hill concerts new-music chamber music series: the carnegie hill series presents an evening with saxophonist jaleel shaw, performing new music from his latest album, painter of the invisible, with joe block on piano, eric wheeler on bass, and e.j. strickland on drums. church of the advent hope (carnegie hill). choose-what-you-pay admission. >>

sat 7-11pm: uprising/downfall: repression and resistance in the making of democracy: in observance of the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence, brooklyn public library hosts a late-night teach-in about political resilience and hope, featuring conversations, readings, debates, music, and performances looking back on the u.s.’s major democratic movements and americans’ struggles for equity. the evening kicks off with a set from dj kofta, followed by a keynote address by physicist karmela padavic-callaghan and living colour guitarist/producer vernon reid. brooklyn public library-central library (grand army plaza), free admission. >>

🎃 sat 8:30pm: improvised slasher movie: with the help of audience suggestions, improv group help me i’m drowning performs an hour-long slasher movie on the fly. brooklyn comedy collective pig pen (williamsburg), $10 adv, $15 day of. >>

sunday

sun thru 5/10/2027: roy lichtenstein: like new: the whitney presents the first new york retrospective of roy lichtenstein since 1993, bringing together 130 works, from early pop art to paintings, sculptures, prints, film, and four recreated murals. roy lichtenstein: 1997, on view on the third floor, looks at works from the artist’s final year. whitney museum of american art (meatpacking district), $30 general, $24 seniors/students, free for 25 and under, free for all every friday 5-10pm and every second sunday. >>

sun 12-6pm: (monthly): pioneer works second sundays: pioneer works’ free monthly open house celebrates creativity across art, music, science, and community, with open studios, performances, and programming spread across three floors and the garden. pioneer works (red hook), free admission (donations welcome). >>

sponsored: sun 3pm: men of iron and the golden spike: the china now music festival, chasing dreams, closes its ninth season with zhou long’s men of iron and the golden spike at frederick p. rose hall, jazz at lincoln center. featuring a full symphony orchestra, a 120-voice chorus, and 4 soloists, the powerful symphonic oratorio honors the thousands of chinese laborers who came to america in the 1860s to build the transcontinental railroad. the afternoon also brings the u.s. premiere of li shaosheng’s chasing the sky, a symphonic suite about humanity’s dreams and journey of space exploration. save 30% on tickets with code ‘rift30’ >>

sun 8pm (monthly): disasterpiece movie night: cade the tortured crossing: from the weird to the wondrous, disasterpiece movie night unearths bad flicks for a watch party complete with drinking games, trivia, free pizza, and more. tonight: neil breen’s cade the tortured crossing (2023). wonderville (bushwick), free admission. >>

sun 8pm: glamdammit presents: velvet underground + lou reed tribute: michael t hosts a velvet underground + lou reed tribute concert performed by the richard dev greene players, with glam rock, punk, and new wave sets by sex fixx, the saint marks saints, and push!, plus dj sets by twig the wonderkid, and burlesque by venus in pleather. berlin (east village), $12 adv, $15 door. >>

sun 8:30pm: solving your problems with chloe troast: comedian and actress chloe troast (snl) and her comedy pals team up to tackle the audience’s problems through improv. proceeds will be donated to local mental health charities. ucb (east village), $15. >>

monday

mon 7pm: dirty little secrets improv show: see your secrets turned into comedy gold at the dirty little secrets show, where your anonymously-submitted secrets serve as inspiration for improv performers. the wara theatre (east village), $14 with promo code ‘skintsecrets’ (reg. $22.56). >>

mon 8pm: franklin park reading series: the crown heights bar and beer garden’s fall season continues with an evening of fiction readings from jim shepard (the queen of bad influences), emma copley eisenberg (fat swim), teddy wayne (the au pair), dimitry elias leger (death of the soccer god), grace byron (herculine), and malavika kannan (unprecedented times). books will be available for purchase from indie bookseller unnameable books. free admission. >>

mon 8pm: joke book comedy: gabbie watts and geneva rust-orta assemble ‘brooklyn’s most literate’ comedians for a night of jokes and books at book club bar (bushwick). featuring ginny hogan (the atlantic), kenice mobley (fallon), glorelys mora (netflix is a joke), and kendall farrell (ny comedy festival ‘comic to watch’). free admission. >>

ongoing

our roundup of 50+ ongoing events: 2-for-1 off-broadway tickets, gaia, oktoberfest events, the amazing maize maze, and more. >>

support us

if you enjoy this newsletter, please consider supporting us here.

Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Annual Open House
Saturday, October 17
12-5pm
FREE
Check in at Building 77, 141 Flushing Ave

Discover the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 300-acre innovative campus during their Annual Open House, part of Open House New York Weekend on October 17 from 12-5pm. Step inside the studios of businesses in fashion, design, and technology for exclusive behind-the-scenes access, along with wine tastings, food trucks, live art demos, and more.

This year, two unique tour tracks have been created to guide visitors on their journeys:

Creative Currents– Creativity flows through the Brooklyn Navy Yard; home to hundreds of artists, ranging from painters to photographers to jewelers. They’ll be opening their studios to the public, inviting audiences in for a rare opportunity to view their work, learn about their processes, inspirations, and their journeys here at the Yard.

BNY Past, Present, and Future – From our start in 1801 as a premiere ship building facility, the Navy Yard has always been on the cutting edge of manufacturing and technology. On BNY’s campus, rich history meets an innovative future, as we look ahead towards what’s next in the fields of space tech, green energy, robotics, and more. Come tour BNY’s waterfront campus and take in centuries of legacy, as well as the labs and studios where the tech of the future is being made.

No matter what route you choose, this day celebrates a dynamic campus of makers and offers artists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and neighbors alike the chance to connect, meet the businesses who call the Navy Yard home, and experience innovation up close.

MORE INFO

sponsored post

three film fests / series (various prices):

► 🎃 tues thru 10/30: masters of horror: deep red, the fly, a nightmare on elm street, prince of darkness. quad cinema (greenwich village), $18 general, $16 seniors. >>

► weds thru sun: 19th annual bushwick film festival: various venues, $20+. >>

► 🎃 weds thru 10/31 wednesdays + 10/31): hitchcocktober at angelika: strangers on a train, rear window, suspicion, vertigo, psycho. village east by angelika, $19. >>

tuesday

tues thru sun: fifth annual breaking the binary theatre festival: coinciding with lgbtq+ history month, the annual breaking the binary theatre festival brings together 10 teams of transgender, non-binary, and two-spirit+ playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, stage managers, and performers to develop and showcase new works created entirely by and for tnb2s+ artists. mcc theater hell’s kitchen), free admission. >>

tues thru fri (weather permitting): free outdoor movies: 23rd annual central park conservancy film festival, presented by national geographic: carl sagan: we are made of star stuff, time and water, blink, and lion at the lawn between cherry hill and sheep meadow (closest entrance is at w 69th st). >>

🎃 tues 6:30pm: night at the haunted opera: best new horror books launch event: celebrate spooky season with nypl’s annual 25 best new horror books list, picked from more than 250 titles published since last halloween. librarian and horror expert becky spratford moderates the evening, which features a discussion with authors deena helm, saratoga schaefer, and kailee pedersen, plus a haunted opera performance with pedersen and brian wong. a book signing and author meet-and-greet will follow. bonus: get a free book by one of the featured authors! 53rd street library (midtown), free admission. >>

sponsored: tues 7pm: uptown showdown: ‘hot vs. cold’ with michael ian black, ophira eisenberg, and more: from hot streaks and hot messes to cold feet and cold cases, no angle is off limits. at this installment of the popular uptown showdown comedy debate series at symphony space (uws), expect fiery arguments, frosty rebuttals, and plenty of ridiculous reasoning as our debaters try to prove that their side reigns supreme. with performances by michael ian black (have i got news for you), ray cordova (astronomy club), jake cornell (hey big guy), ariel elias (the late show with stephen colbert), mia jackson (life + beth), and zach zimmerman (surprise me), and featuring guest host ophira eisenberg. skint readers can get a $17 ticket using code: ‘warm’ (reg. $25). >>

tues 7pm doors: heel toe rodeo: heel toe rodeo returns with another beginner-friendly line-dancing event at littlefield (gowanus), with line-dancing lessons and open floor dances throughout the night. hosted by juliet hartz. $15 adv, $20 door. >>

tues 9:30pm: sagematch: scientists and comedians go head-to-head creating presentations based on topics given by the audience and delivering them on the spot. hosted by ben taylor. caveat (les), $13.61 with promo code ‘sageskint’ (reg. $18.76-20). >>

sponsored

Image: Orchestra photo by Fadi Kheir; festival graphics by Saboteur Studios, UK; historic photo in the public domain.

Look closely at this famous 1869 photo celebrating the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion. Do you notice someone missing? 90% of the workers who built the Railroad were Chinese, but none were at the completion ceremony. On October 11, they finally take center stage.

Men of Iron and the Golden Spike, a symphonic oratorio by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long, brings this story to life with a full symphony orchestra, a 120-voice chorus, and 4 soloists.

The same afternoon brings the U.S. premiere of Li Shaosheng’s Chasing the Sky, a symphonic suite about humanity’s dreams and journey of space exploration.

Together they close the 9th annual China Now Music Festival, whose theme “Chasing Dreams” celebrates America’s 250th anniversary. From railroad tracks to rocket launches, this afternoon tells the stories of the shared dreams, resilience, and creativity that connect us all.

Sunday, October 11 at 3 PM, Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center

Save 30% on tickets with code RIFT30 — get tickets here today!

wednesday

weds thru 10/23: festival of firsts: lincoln center’s fifth annual festival of firsts presents two weeks of premieres and collaborations across theater, music, and dance, spotlighting artists taking creative leaps and marking career milestones. lincoln center’s david rubenstein atrium (uws), free admission. >>

weds 11:30am-2:30pm: lunch box food fair: $10 for lunch? downtown alliance’s annual lunchtime pop-up serves up $10 ‘lunch boxes’ from 10 of lower manhattan’s newer restaurants, each packed with a protein and two sides. fosun plaza @ 28 liberty street, free admission. >>

weds 1-3:45pm, 4:15-7pm: 2026 game-a-palooza indie game showcase: play over 50 new, unreleased and in-development digital and tabletop games from local creators and meet the teams behind them. 339 adams street (downtown brooklyn), $10 admission. >>

weds 7pm: next slide please: a powerpoint comedy show: from data-driven rankings of the best manhattan street corners for first-date make-outs to passionate defenses of the 2003 jessica alba vehicle honey, expect anything when a lineup of comedians deliver side-splitting powerpoint presentations on whatever topic they choose. tonight’s presenters include meredith dietz, brooks allison, brielle demirjian, jorge oyola, and val parker. hosted by reed kavner. caveat (les), $13.61 with promo code ‘skint10’ (reg. $24-25). >>

weds 7pm (wednesdays): baby shoes comedy: clare donaher and alex murdoch’s baby shoes comedy show delivers grown-up laughs with a fresh lineup of comedians each week. tonight’s show features olivia stadler, akshay sampath, wils pelton, and simon o’keeffe. black cat les, free admission. >>

weds 7pm (weather permitting): free outdoor movie: obsession at msgr. mcgolrick park (greenpoint). >>

weds 7:30pm (wednesdays): we have fun: a stand-up show: hosts zach sims and dan wilbur team up to bring the fun-ny to young ethel’s (south slope), with stand-up by claudia cogan (last comic standing), gabe pacheco (sirius xm), carolyn castiglia (comedy central), and andrew tavin (laughing devilcomedy fest). free admission. >>

weds 7:30pm: central chamber series: ‘songs without words’: the central chamber series kicks off its 10th season with a concert featuring works by haydn and mendelssohn at central presbyterian church (ues). $20 general, free for students with id. >>

weds 8pm: our bar theatre: our bar transforms a real nyc bar into a stage, where a rotating cast of theater artists perform original scenes that could actually happen right there, that night. grab a drink (a bud light is included with admission), find a seat, and watch the stories unfold. tonight’s theme: ‘spectral saloon.’ fáilte bar + restaurant (kips bay), $13 admission includes a bud light. >>

weds 8:30pm: hot gossip comedy show: comedian jonathan van halem (clickhole) pauses his perpetual gab sesh to host an evening of stand-up featuring judah friedlander (30 rock), aparna nancherla (bojack horseman), emmy blotnick (colbert), and rachel coster (boy room). ucb (east village), $10. >>

thursday

thurs thru 1/18/2027 (opening reception 10/8 6-8pm; regular hours sat + sun 12-6pm): sense + the city: exploring new york city through the five senses: explore nearly 200 nyc places at a multisensory exhibit based on caitlin van dusen’s city lore blog: sniff scratch-and-sniff strips of sidewalk christmas trees and bronx pickle factories, touch aqueduct racetrack dirt and a basket woven from staten island vines, hear a piano that plays sounds collected from queens, and more. city lore gallery (east village), free admission. >>

thurs thru sun: musk: documentary filmmaker alex gibney (taxi to the dark side, enron: the smartest guys in the room, the inventor) takes a look at elon musk and the people and forces shaping his growing influence in the world. select screenings at angelika film center and amc lincoln square will feature q+as with gibney and guests ashley st. clair and ronan farrow, or introductions with gibney. various prices. >>

🎃 thurs 6pm doors (weather permitting): free outdoor movie: practical magic at pier 57’s rooftop park (chelsea). >>

thurs 6:30pm: no kings: susan meiselas: acclaimed photographer susan meiselas launches her new book no kings: signs of the times, a chronicle of the handmade signs carried at protests in nyc and washington, d.c., from just before trump’s second inauguration through today. international center of photography (les) hosts a launch event with meiselas, book designer yo cuomo, and text contributors laura wexler and eduardo cadava, talking about the photographs, politics, graphic culture, and history behind the project. $5 suggested admission. >>

thurs 8pm (monthly): savage! comedy show: savage comedy returns to logan’s run in park slope. hosted by lizzie martinez, melissa rocha, nonye brown-west, and chloé cunha, tonight’s show includes standup by kaytlin bailey (the oldest profession podcast), annam choudhry (don’t tell comedy), aaron kominos-smith (comedy central), molly brenner (rest day), and stephon bishop (subwaytakes). bonus: rsvp for a chance to win a free drink. free admission. >>

thurs 8pm (monthly): tip top tits comedy show: it’s comedy or bust at the tip top tits comedy show, hosted by mary cella and jill weiner and featuring casey james salengo (comedy central), matt koff (the daily show), terry thomas jr. (impractical jokers), and clare austen-smith (the new yorker). bonus: $3 pbrs. tip-top bar + grill (bed-stuy), free admission. >>

thurs 9pm: gourd-geous: a halloween variety show: oona o’brien and christine fiala host an autumnal variety show featuring standup comedy, characters, and magic, candy, and more. costumes encouraged. footlight underground at the windjammer (ridgewood), $10-15 sliding scale admission. >>

ongoing

our roundup of 40+ ongoing events: 2-for-1 off-broadway tickets, gaia, oktoberfest events, the amazing maize maze, and more. >>

support us

if you enjoy this newsletter and would like to help keep it going, please consider supporting us here