
Your New York City October 2021 Event Guide
Updated: Oct 4, 2021
Here are 31 events—one for each day of the month—happening in and around New York City this October 2021. To get monthly event guides for New York City sent to your inbox, subscribe here.
October 1: Superfine Art Fair
Midtown East
This emerging art fair reimagines contemporary art events by showcasing diverse artists and offering affordable pieces.
October 2: MetFest
Upper East Side
The Met is hosting its first-ever block party, with live music, art activities, performances, and behind-the-scenes tours.
October 3: Brooklyn Book Festival
Downtown Brooklyn
Book lovers will gather for the Brooklyn Book Festival’s flagship Festival Day to enjoy readings, discussions, workshops, signings, and more.
October 4: Landscape Design Lecture: Cohabitation
Virtual
Lisa Switkin, former president of the Landscape Architecture Foundation, will discuss forms of public space that cultivate social connection.

October 5: Flavors of New York Cookbook Group
Virtual
Make iconic dishes from beloved New York City restaurants during this four-week class offered by the 92nd Y.
October 6: NYBG’s Fall Garden Party
The Bronx
The New York Botanical Garden’s fall party will include cocktails in the conservatory followed by an elegant dinner.
October 7: Balanchine + Peck
Upper West Side
Neoclassical elegance and contemporary innovation meet in this New York City Ballet program, featuring ballets by George Balanchine and Justin Peck.
October 8: Reimagining Hospitality with ROAR
Boerum Hill
Learn about the changing landscape of New York’s hospitality industry from leaders of ROAR (Restaurants Organizing, Advocating & Rebuilding), an organization created at the start of the pandemic.
October 9: Julius Eastman’s Feminine
Harlem
The Harlem Chamber Players and the Talea Ensemble will pay a tribute to Julius Eastman, a queer Black American composer known for his progressive, minimalist style.
October 10: Ballet Hispánico
The Bronx
Renowned Latin dance company Ballet Hispánico will perform at the New York Botanical Garden as part of its Contemporary Dance Series.

October 11: Labyrinth of Forms: Women and Abstraction, 1930-1950
Meatpacking District
This Whitney exhibition highlights the works of 20th century women abstractionists who advanced the art approach but whose contributions were generally overlooked.
October 12: Asian American Voices: Composing for History
Annandale-on-Hudson
Two works by composer Huang Ruo—one written in response to the pandemic and the other to honor Chinese immigrants—will be performed at Bard College’s Fisher Center.
October 13: A Latinx Vision for an Inclusive America
Virtual
Five Latinx leaders across disciplines will discuss how we can create a more Latinx-inclusive country.
October 14: NYC Wine & Food Festival
Midtown West
Enjoy cooking demos from Food Network stars, tastings, and master classes at the NYC Wine & Food Festival.

October 15: Candlelight Ghost Tour
Washington Heights
Get in the Halloween spirit with this spooky ghost tour at the Morris Jumel Mansion.
October 16: The Complete Unknowns
Sag Harbor
Experience six decades of Bob Dylan’s music during this tribute performance at the Bay Street Theater.
October 17: Queens Botanical Garden Pumpkin Patch
Flushing
This family-friendly experience offers pumpkin picking, photo opportunities, and pumpkin beers and ciders for the adults.
October 18: Vasily Kandinsky: Around the Circle
Upper East Side
Journey through Kandinsky’s stylistic evolution and the persistent themes in his work at this new Guggenheim exhibition.
October 19: MCNY’s Fall Symposium & Luncheon
East Harlem
This annual Museum of the City of New York event will feature a panel discussion about the ways New York City streets provide inspiration for creatives.
October 20: Tammany Hall
SoHo
An immersive theatre experience, “Tammany Hall” transports the audience to Election Night in 1929 and presents a cast of legendary New York characters.
October 21: BRIC JazzFest
Fort Greene
The BRIC JazzFest returns for its seventh year with a three-day lineup of world-class talent.

October 22: Faure: Requiem
Greenwood Heights
Themes of grief, remembrance, and consolation are explored in this captivating choral performance.
October 23: The Lehman Trilogy
Theater District
See the highly acclaimed three-act, three-man play about the financial family that changed the world.
October 24: Fall Makers Market
Cobble Hill
Support local small businesses and artisans while you shop a curated collected of handcrafted goods.
October 25: Surrealism Beyond Borders
Upper East Side
This Met exhibition explores Surrealism as imagined across time and geographical borders.
October 26: The Great Jack o’Lantern Blaze
Croton-on-Hudson
Head to the Hudson Valley for an incredible array of colors and Jack o’Lantern displays.

October 27: Baseera Khan: I Am an Archive
Prospect Heights
Brooklyn artist Baseera Khan uses their own body—as well as sculpture, collage, photographs, and drawings—to visualize Muslim American experiences.
October 28: Debbie Millman & Roxane Gay: Why Design Matters
Upper East Side
Writer and designer Debbie Millman will sit in conversation with author Roxane Gay, her wife, to discuss Millman’s new illustrated anthology.
October 29: Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Upper West Side
This New-York Historical Society exhibition honors the life and career of the late Supreme Court justice.
October 30: Sentenced to This Vessel
Upper East Side
The lines between performance and reality blur in this two-man play that explores “the things we cannot help but do, feel, and say.”
October 31: Scarecrows & Pumpkins
The Bronx
Celebrate Halloween at the New York Botanical Garden’s Scarecrows & Pumpkins takeover, featuring whimsical displays, larger-than-life puppets, and impressive pumpkin carving demonstrations.
To get monthly event guides for New York City sent to your inbox, subscribe into our Inbox Concierge newsletter.