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. >>
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