Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
The Best Things To Do In NYC This Week: From Celebrate Mexico To The NY Coffee Festival
By
Oriana Leckert
Published Oct 7, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Chop and Quench
By
Oriana Leckert
Published Oct 7, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Celebrate Mexico Now @ Various venues
Immerse yourself in the culture of our southern neighbor at Celebrate Mexico Now, the 16th-annual showcase of contemporary Mexican art and performance. The weeklong festival features free and low-cost performances, screenings, exhibitions, culinary events, and panel discussions all across the city. Highlights include new work by Yucatán-based Créssida Contemporary Dance, an exploration of the connection between the Mexican and Harlem Renaissances, a screening of shorts from the Morelia International Film Festival, and live ranchero rock from multidisciplinary artist Maya Burns.
Opens Monday, October 7th // Various venues // Various prices
Have your fill of modern Mexican culture at Celebrate Mexico Now
Créssida Danza Contemporánea
Crafted: Sip & Stitch @ Lululemon Soho
Here’s a cute new spin on the traditional book club. At Crafted, there will be not only literature and libations, but also something to do with your fingers: bookish handicrafts. The novels under discussion will be Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls and Jacqueline Woodson’s Red at the Bone; each ticket includes one of the two books, wine and snacks, and an embroidery kit. Gilbert herself will be present as well—after finding out about the club, she invited herself over.
Tuesday, October 8th, 6:30 p.m. // Lululemon Soho, 520 Broadway // Tickets: $30
Pop-Up Magazine @ Lincoln Center
There are tons of live storytelling events these days, but Pop-Up Magazine is one of the best. It’s a curated evening of never-before-told stories paired with live music, visual projections, and multimedia flourishes—past editions have included elements of taste and even smell to fully engage all the senses. The theme this time is “escape,” and performers include comedians Jo Firestone and Jordan Carlos, writers Chris Duffy, Clio Chang, and Keri Blakinger, photographers Lucas Foglia and Lisette Poole, and more.
Thursday, October 10th, 7:30 p.m. // David Geffen Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, Manhattan // Tickets: $14
Indulge all your senses at storytelling soirée Pop-Up Magazine
Jon Snyder
New York Coffee Festival @ Metropolitan Pavilion
Get extraordinarily buzzed at the fifth-annual New York Coffee Festival. Expect 100+ local and national exhibitors, latte art demos and workshops, a brew bar featuring experimental flavor profiles and techniques, a cold brew cocktail bar, a chocolate factory with tastings and classes, a movie room showing films focused on coffee culture, and on and on. There will also be a Roast Masters tournament, a Breezy Masters competition, and a coffee art contest, plus talks on everything from “baristastainability” to an exploration of origin diversity. Proceeds go to Project Waterfall, which brings clean water to coffee-growing communities across the globe.
Friday, October 11th, through Sunday, October 13th // Metropolitan Pavillion, 125 West 18th St., Manhattan // Tickets: $30 and up
Breathing With Strangers @ Snug Harbor Cultural Center
Move to the music at Breathing With Strangers, a durational and (literally) moving dance performance. The newest large-scale work from Melissa Riker / Kinesis Project Dance Theater—described as a “ragged, sweeping, and surprising love song to New York City”—travels throughout the buildings and hillsides of Snug Harbor’s Shinbone Alley, and audience members are invited to both follow along and interact with the dancers. The performance is part of Snug Harbor’s Performance Art Salon Saturdays.
Saturday, October 12th, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. // Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island // Tickets: $10
Make moves to Staten Island to see a durational dance performance
Stephen Delas Heras
Cloudspotting for Beginners @ Grand Central Library
Get your head in the clouds at Cloudspotting for Beginners, an enlightening afternoon of gazing skyward. You’ll learn things from the scientific to the whimsical, like the difference between common cloud formations, how clouds indicate invisible atmospheric movement, and how cloudspotting is a great antidote to our busy digital lives. Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the UK’s Cloud Appreciation Society, will lead the workshop.
Saturday, October 12th, 2 p.m. // Grand Central Library, 135 East 46th St., Manhattan // Free
Pumpkin Patch @ Queens Botanical Garden
Spend the whole long weekend in seasonal nature at the Queens Botanical Garden. The popular Pumpkin Patch is three family-friendly days of harvest-themed photo ops, pumpkin decorating, face-painting, crafts, a mini-maze, and botanical demonstrations. And on Sunday, double it up with the annual Harvest Fest, which includes live music, inflatables, a petting zoo, food vendors, a beer and wine garden, and more. Take home your own pumpkins all weekend for $6 apiece.
Saturday, October 12th, through Monday, October 14th // Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Queens // Patch tickets: $10 child, $12 adult; Fest tickets: $13 child, $15 adult
Revel in the spice of actual pumpkins in Queens
Queens Botanical Garden
Native American Heritage Celebration @ Museum of the City of New York
Spend a day dedicated to some of New York’s indigenous people at MCNY’s Native American Heritage Celebration. There will be singing, dancing, art-making, and storytelling representing tribes all across the country, including performances by the renowned Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, the oldest resident Native American dance company in New York. And visit the museum’s current exhibits to see Lenape objects in New York at Its Core as well as contemporary art by Native American New Yorkers in Urban Indian: Native New York Now.
Sunday, October 13th, 11 a.m. // Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave., Harlem // Free
Felabration! NYC @ House of Yes
Each October, venues all around the world hold Felabrations to celebrate the life and musical legacy of Nigerian icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti, and this year the Afrobeat extravaganza comes to House of Yes. Dance your face off at Felabration! NYC, featuring live performances by the official FELA! The Musical band and cast members. If that’s not enough, also joining forces is DJ Rich Medina's annual Fela tribute party, JUMP n FUNK, which has been kicking off dancefloors since 2001.
Sunday, October 13th, 9 p.m. // House of Yes, 2 Wyckoff Ave., Brooklyn // Tickets: $15
Tagged
things to do
events
events guide
Oriana Leckert
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
Spoiler alert: It's still 26.2 miles.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 2:36 p.m. ET
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
Arts & Entertainment
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .