note: the weather forecast may cause some outdoor events to be canceled or rescheduled. please check the venue’s website and/or social media for updates before heading out.
cultural fests / food events / markets / shopping events (free admission, unless noted otherwise):
► fri thru sun: printed matter’s ny art book fair: moma ps1 (lic), $10 admission. >>
► sat 10am-5pm (extreme weather date: sunday): brooklyn pop-up x old stone house traditional makers fair: 4th street cul de sac at washington park (park slope). >>
► sat 10am-10pm: moonies club presents: the third annual magical girls festival: 5-2-a in industry city (sunset park), $20 admission. >>
► sat 11am-4pm (rain date: sunday): the second annual park slope super stoop sale: throughout park slope. >>
► sat 11am-7pm: manhattan vintage clothing show: denim edition: 59 orchard street (les), $15-$25 admission. >>
► sat 11am-11pm: 20th annual nyc anarchist book fair + festival: la plaza cultural community garden and tompkins square park. >>
► sat 1pm: poseidon’s parade: boardwalk at beach 105th st. to 95th st. (rockaway beach). $5 to march, free to watch. >>
► sat 1-7pm: vegan garden social: harlem edition: sugar hill hope garden (harlem). donations welcome. >>
► sat + sun (sat 12-4pm, sun 1:30-4pm): friends of greenpoint library fall book sale: greenpoint library and environmental education center. >>
► sun 9am-5pm: record riot: grove street path plaza (jersey city). >>
► sun 10am-7pm: broadway flea market + grand auction: w. 44th + 45 sts., shubert alley, and the times square pedestrian plaza between 45th + 46th sts. moved indoors to hammerstein ballroom due to weather. >>
► sun 12-4pm: upcycle: community tag sale: montague st from clinton st to hicks st in brooklyn heights (part of montague open streets). >>
► mon 5-9pm: annual fall clothing swap: footlight underground at the windjammer (ridgewood), free admission (donations welcome). >>
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!
friday
dolly parton appreciation day events:
► fri 9pm: dolly parton: karaoke for a cause: starr bar (bushwick), $20 admission, $2/song. >>
► fri thru 10/1: dolly parton: ifc center will always love you: the best little whorehouse in texas, steel magnolias, and 9 to 5. ifc center (greenwich village), $18 general, $15 seniors. >>
three film fests / series (various prices):
► fri-sun: 11th annual imagine this women’s international film festival: regal union square, $17.50. >>
► fri-10/1: the american cinema under george w. bush: 25th hour, jesus camp, the dark knight, war of the worlds, and more. bam rose cinemas (fort greene), $17. >>
► fri-10/12: 64th new york film festival: lincoln center’s alice tully hall, walter reade theater, and elinor bunn munroe film center. >>
fri thru 10/4: the annual village trip festival: celebrating the artistic and activist history of greenwich village, the east village, and the lower east side, the eighth village trip festival returns with ‘revolutionary voices,’ 10 days of music, theater, comedy, cabaret, visual art, talks, and walking tours honoring figures including leonard bernstein, dorothy day, bob dylan, woody guthrie, eugene o’neill, and paul robeson. various prices (many events are free). >>
fri-sun (fri 7-9pm, sat 7-9pm, sun 4-6pm): dream symposium 2026: explore the strange world of dreams from the perspectives of philosophy, psychology, art, and science over three days of conversations and performances at brooklyn public library for arts + culture (fort greene). presented by the dream mapping project and the dream library foundation, the symposium includes live recordings of the podcasts this jungian life with lisa marchiano and deborah stewart, and weird studies with phil ford and j.f. martel, plus a conversation about animal dreaming with philosopher david peña-guzmán and dream researcher kelly bulkeley, followed by a performance by yuki kawahisa. free admission (rsvp). >>
fri 6-9pm: bryant park square dance: bryant park sends off the summer with midtown’s biggest (only?) hoedown. the annual event features a line dancing lesson, a live band and square dancing, trick roping and lassoing lessons, a mechanical bull, and frontier-inspired crafts. country attire is encouraged, and hats and bandanas will be distributed while supplies last. food and drinks will be available for purchase. free admission. >>
fri 7pm: awkward sex… and the city storytelling show: host natalie wall and guest storytellers share personal stories about sexual mishaps, dating disasters, and other awkward encounters, finding the humor in it all. featuring guests michah eames, veronica garza, and calvin cato. friends and lovers (crown heights), $10. >>
fri 7pm: misfit variety show: comedy for weirdos, rebels, and the misunderstood: lauren logiudice’s misfit variety show assembles a rotating cast of eclectic comedy performers to celebrate the beauty of not fitting in. tonight: natasha vaynblat, dejen tesfagiorgis, siddharth raj, bob lombardi, betsy carroll, and lauren’s mom janet. eris mainstage (williamsburg), $13.70 adv, $18.99 door. >>
fri 7:30pm: friend island comedy: castaway your worries at the friend island comedy show, hosted by pals by alex murdoch and kevin mulharin. featuring performances by salma zaky, james mwaura, daniel dellanno, amelia ritthaler, cj koepp, and desmond mcdowell. fiction bar/cafe (williamsburg), $10 adv, $15 door. >>
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 ginny hogan (the new yorker), michael aaron fractor (netflix), brandi posey (lady to lady comedy), max shanker, and danielle clarke fischer. free admission (a tip jar will be passed around at the end of the show). >>
saturday
sat + sun: 21st annual brooklyn book festival: nyc’s biggest free book fest wraps with a children’s day (sat 10am-4pm), a festival day filled with 40+ talks and readings (sun 10am-6pm), and an outdoor marketplace (sun 10am-6pm). brooklyn borough hall and surrounding venues, free admission. >>
sat 6am-8pm: 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 12pm: world’s biggest ‘careless whisper’ saxophone meetup: saxophonists and lovers gather in washington square park to collectively rip through george michael’s ‘careless whisper’ at the same time, led by viral social media saxophonist prazul. >>
sat 2pm: the bars we need: stories of freddy’s + prospect heights: explore how neighborhood bars and other everyday spaces help shape a community, with author gabrielle bendiner-viani sharing photos and excerpts from her book the cities we need: essential stories of everyday places, and freddy’s owner matthew kuhn telling the story of the beloved bar’s fight against demolition during the atlantic yards development. hear the stories at freddy’s current south slope location, which has been home to the bar for 15 years. a book signing will follow. free admission. >>
sat 5pm doors: bad movie night brooklyn: street fighter: pre-game for the new street fighter with bad movie night brooklyn’s screening of the 1994 cult classic starring jean-claude van damme, raul julia, ming-na wen, and kylie minogue at freddy’s bar (south slope). food and drinks will be available for purchase. free admission. >>
sat 7pm: the cultural center at st. john’s: greenpoint’s st. john’s lutheran church christents its new cultural and performing arts center with a chamber music series, continuing tonight with string quartet the rhythm method featuring noelle tannen. $20 suggested donation. >>
sat 7:30pm (monthly): flopsauce comedy show: the monthly stand-up showcase where comedians dish out their latest failures (flops) and successes (sauces) returns for more servings. tonight’s show features eric gorday, gavin rogers, george hayward, amy wieseneck, grace johnson, and amelia ritthaler. hosted by kayla kirk and emily baker. secret pour (bushwick / bed-stuy), free admission. >>
sat 9:30pm: drunk planet earth: mst3k meets animal planet meets drinking game at this participatory show that revolves around watching an animal documentary, drinking, and the audience trying to stump the hosts with animal trivia. hosted by brian morabito and stephen buckley. caveat (les), free admission. >>
sunday
sun 1-4:30pm: walt whitman initiative’s 23rd annual ‘song of myself’ marathon : join the annual marathon reading of whitman’s celebrated poem ‘song of myself,’ with all 52 sections performed aboard the historic tall ship wavertree at south street seaport. note: in case of rain, the event will be held across the street at the walt whitman initiative tane poetry library. free admission. >>
sun 3pm: jim henson’s birthday costume contest: dress as your favorite muppet, puppeteer, or your own original character for a costume contest celebrating the man behind kermit, with prizes awarded by a panel of judges including special guest kate micucci. enter solo or with a group, or come cheer on the costumed chaos. museum of the moving image’s kaufman courtyard (astoria), free admission. >>
sun 6pm + 8:30pm: stand up comedy special taping: mindy raf’s a (very) nervous system: mindy raf comes to littlefield (gowanus) with a comedy hour that questions what is considered ‘normal’ while focusing on the modern spectrum of relationships, identity, and what it’s like being in a very nervous system. $18.71 with promo code ‘skintspecial’ (reg. $24.36). >>
monday
mon 6:30pm doors: movies at the palace: season of courage: sunset boulevard: united palace’s movies at the palace screening series returns with a lineup celebrating bold heroes, big dreams, and unforgettable stories. the season continues with billy wilder’s sunset boulevard (1950), with a pre-show performance by bilingual broadway collective. united palace (washington heights), $10. >>
mon 7pm: three-day champion: a comedic storytelling podcast wrapped inside a game show where comedian contestants are asked, ‘if you were a three-day champion on a game show, what three stories about yourself would you choose to tell?’ hosted by christine walters with jenny zigrino, cipha sounds, and roy wood jr. caveat (les), $19.93 with promo code ‘cechamp’ (reg. $24.93). >>
mon 7pm: the accessible comedy show: this inclusive stand-up show brings together deaf and hearing comedians and audiences, with every performance interpreted in both asl and voice. deaf comics sign their sets with voice interpretation, while hearing comics perform alongside asl interpreters, bridging two communities over comedy. ucb (east village), $15. >>
mon 7pm: broadway nights off: broadway stars betsy wolfe (+ juliet, death becomes her, little shop of horrors) and adam kantor (rent, fiddler on the roof) share the stage for an evening of musical theater favorites with a waterfront view at downtown’s robert f. wagner park. free admission. >>
mon 8pm: the astigmatism comedy show: ‘black women with poor vision but excellent taste’ present a stand-up show with a chance to win a signed book of the month. hosted by kristal adams, alexis bradby, katrina davis, and isabelle pierre at book club bar (east village), with q+a featuring guest author daniella toosie-watson (what we do with god). $15 admission includes $8 off any drink at the bar. >>
mon 9:30pm: 6 degrees of cats (the animal, not the musical) live!: join 6 degrees of cats podcast host amanda b. for a night of games, feline facts, laughs, trivia, and prizes featuring comedian marina franklin (single black female), burlesque producer and podcast host gemma smith (catbaret, tails + tassels), and more. caveat (les), unlock $15 tickets with code ‘skint’ (reg. $24-25). >>
ongoing
our roundup of 50+ ongoing events: cj hendry’s flower market, university open air, climate week events, oktoberfest events, and more. >>
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