Things to Do in New York in October 2026

October is New York's best month, and this year it is stacked. The film festival is running, the weather is finally good for walking, every institution in the city has saved its best programming for now, and it ends with Halloween on a Saturday, which means the Village Halloween Parade is going to be enormous.

Everything below has a date confirmed by the organizer. Where something is recurring or weekly, we have said so. Tickets for the big-ticket items move fast, so book this week.

Before October even starts: Printed Matter's NY Art Book Fair runs at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City through Sunday, September 27. If you like zines, artist books or just being in a room full of people who do, go.

All month

New York Film Festival

Lincoln Center and citywide · Through October 12 · $$

The 64th festival opened September 25 and runs through October 12, with screenings at Lincoln Center plus satellite venues including BAM in Brooklyn, Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, Alamo Drafthouse Staten Island and AMC Bay Plaza in the Bronx. James Gray's Paper Tiger opened it, Tony Gilroy's Behemoth! is the centerpiece, and Ava DuVernay's documentary 14th closes it.

Go for: a premiere with a Q&A you will talk about all winter. Know before you go: rush lines exist for sold-out screenings; get there early.

Archtober

Citywide · October 1 to 31 · Free to $$

New York's architecture and design month, now in its 16th edition, with the theme "In Our Hands." Nearly 100 partners run tours, talks, exhibitions and screenings across the five boroughs. It is the warm-up for Open House New York, and many events are free.

Go for: a building tour you could not otherwise get into. Know before you go: the calendar lives on archtober.org; popular tours sell out.

Día de los Muertos at the New York Botanical Garden

Bronx · October 3 to November 2 · $$

New at NYBG this year: a trail of marigolds, a traditional ofrenda, calaveras and alebrijes set among fall foliage and pumpkins, with weekend music, silk-flower workshops, puppet parades and dance performances. Flower Power, the garden's 60s-themed show, closes October 18, and Kiku, its annual chrysanthemum display, opens October 31.

Go for: peak fall color with a purpose. Know before you go: weekend programs cluster on Saturdays and Sundays; check the schedule for the day you go.

Boo at the Zoo

Bronx · Weekends through November 1, plus Monday, October 12 · $$

The Bronx Zoo's Halloween weekends: animal chats, a costume parade, a hay maze and free face painting for kids, included with general admission.

Go for: a kid-friendly Halloween that is not trick-or-treating. Know before you go: reservations are required and weekends sell out.

Blood Manor

Tribeca · 359 Broadway · October 2 to November 7 · $$$

The city's long-running haunted house, with themed rooms and actors who commit. Not for kids under 14, and not for you if you scream at jump scares in movies.

Go for: a group scare before drinks. Know before you go: it runs select nights; check the calendar, including special student and "lights out" nights.

Weekend markets

Brooklyn and Queens · Weekly · Free entry

Smorgasburg's Prospect Park market runs Sundays 11 to 6 through October 25. The Queens Night Market runs Saturdays 4 p.m. to midnight behind the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park; check its site for the final date of the season. Brooklyn Flea is under the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO every Saturday and Sunday, 10 to 5, through December 21.

Go for: the last outdoor eating of the year. Know before you go: entry is free; bring cash and an appetite.

October 3 to 4

Green-Wood After Hours

Greenwood Heights · Saturday, October 3 · $$

An after-dark walk through Green-Wood Cemetery with access to the catacombs. A historic cemetery after dark is exactly as spooky as you want it to be. Costumes are not allowed.

Go for: the catacombs at night. Know before you go: ticketed and limited.

St. Francis Day and the Blessing of the Earth

Morningside Heights · Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave · Sunday, October 4 · Free

The cathedral's beloved St. Francis Day service, where pets of every size come to be blessed, is reimagined this year as a Blessing of the Earth beneath Gaia, Luke Jerram's 23-foot illuminated globe, which hangs in the nave from September 18 to October 9 for the 800th anniversary of St. Francis's death.

Go for: the procession and a globe floating in a Gothic nave. Know before you go: seating is first come, first served; go early.

Pulaski Day Parade

Midtown · Fifth Avenue · Sunday, October 4 · Free

The Polish-American parade honoring General Casimir Pulaski, a tradition dating to 1937 and held on the first Sunday of October.

Go for: folk dancers and marching bands. Know before you go: it runs on Fifth Avenue in Midtown; expect street closures.

October 8 to 12

New York Comic Con

Hudson Yards · Javits Center, 429 11th Ave · October 8 to 11 · $$$

The 20th anniversary edition, with a Coney Island theme. Friday, Saturday, four-day and VIP tickets are already sold out, so if you do not have a badge, check the official site for Thursday or Sunday tickets, or just enjoy the cosplay spilling onto the West Side.

Go for: panels, exclusives and the people-watching. Know before you go: buy only from official channels; fake badges are common.

Columbus Day Parade

Midtown · Fifth Avenue, 44th to 72nd Streets · Monday, October 12 · Free

The 97th edition of the Italian-American parade, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with floats, bands and classic Italian cars.

Go for: the bands and the cars. Know before you go: Fifth Avenue will be closed through Midtown most of the day.

October 15 to 18

Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival

Seaport and citywide · October 15 to 18 · $$$

More than 50 events centered on the Seaport, from the Grand Tasting to the Blue Moon Burger Bash, with walk-around tastings, dinners and classes.

Go for: the burger bash if you like crowds, a small dinner if you do not. Know before you go: the headline events sell out; smaller ones often do not.

Open House New York Weekend

Citywide · October 16 to 18 · Mostly free

The best free weekend of the year. About 300 buildings, civic sites, infrastructure and private spaces open across the five boroughs, most for drop-in visits with no charge. Some sites require advance reservations, which go fast.

Go for: the places you have walked past for a decade and never been inside. Know before you go: reservations for the popular sites open ahead of the weekend; watch ohny.org.

Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade

East Village · Tompkins Square Park · Saturday, October 17 · Free

The 36th annual parade of dogs in costumes, run by the nonprofit New York Dog Parade. It is the purest joy available in the city this month. See our East Village guide for where to eat after.

Go for: a dachshund dressed as a hot dog, inevitably. Know before you go: crowds pack the park early; bring your own dog only if it likes crowds.

October 22 to 25

Nightfall at Green-Wood

Greenwood Heights · Thursday and Friday, October 22 and 23 · $$$

Green-Wood's after-dark arts night: musicians, dancers, storytellers, circus performers and film projections across the cemetery grounds. It is 21 and over, and it is magic.

Go for: the most atmospheric night out of the season. Know before you go: tickets sell out; buy now.

Diwali at Times Square

Times Square · Saturday, October 24 · Free

The largest Diwali celebration outside India, with live performances, dance showcases, a kids' zone, and a diya lighting countdown on One Times Square. It is the one day of the year a New Yorker should voluntarily go to Times Square.

Go for: the lighting countdown. Know before you go: it is free; arrive early for a good spot.

October 31

The Village Halloween Parade

Greenwich Village · Sixth Avenue · Saturday, October 31, 7 to 11 p.m. · Free

The 53rd parade, theme "Body & Soul." Anyone in costume can march by lining up at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue between 6:30 and 9 p.m. Everyone else can watch from the sidewalks up to 15th Street, or on NY1 from 8 p.m. Our full Village Halloween Parade guide has everything you need.

Go for: the best night of the year in New York. Know before you go: costumes are mandatory for marchers, and alcohol is banned in the parade.

And one day later

TCS New York City Marathon

Five boroughs · Sunday, November 1 · Free to watch

Technically November, but it is the morning after Halloween, and 2026 marks 50 years of the marathon running through all five boroughs. Nurse your hangover on First Avenue in the East 60s and 70s or on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn and cheer for strangers.

Go for: the most emotional free show in the city. Know before you go: plan your crossing points; the course cuts neighborhoods in half.

Not this year

The Central Park Pumpkin Flotilla on the Harlem Meer is paused for 2026. The Conservancy said it had simply grown too popular for its setup to handle safely.

The Shout NY take

If you do three things this month, make them Open House New York, one night at Green-Wood, and the Village Halloween Parade in costume. Fill in with a NYFF screening, a Sunday at Smorgasburg before it closes and a Saturday at the Queens Night Market. For the museum side of the season, see our fall museum shows, and for everything that costs nothing, our list of free things to do.