Your New York City October 2021 Event Guide

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.

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