NYC Free & Cheap October Best Things to Do

Queens Beer Festival with unlimited tastes from every Queens-based brewery along with a curated selection of brews from Brooklyn, The Bronx and Staten Island, at LIC Flea the weekend of Oct. 14/15.  Tickets are $29 and up.

Jameson Love They Neighborhood Brewery Fest – Drink beer and whisky while you listen to live music and support the non-profit charity that plants trees and flowers in NYC parks, gardens and sidewalks in the bargain. All proceeds support the New York Restoration Project which plants trees and flowers in NYC parks and sidewlks.  Tickets for the Oct. 14 event are $20 with the special NYCOTC discount code.

Halloween

There’s just too much Halloween happening in NYC to include here.  We’ll have a full events list in a few days.

You and the Night and the Music

The Armstrong Continuum – This periodic FREE night of music features top jazz artists playing music associated with the ongoing legacy of Louis Armstrong. This concert includes performances by Kidd Jordan, known as the dean of avant garde music in New Orleans, and the Louis Armstrong Tribute Band All Stars, performing compositions and music he made famous. The band is lead by famed jazz trombonist Wycliffe Gordon.  At Miller Theatre at Columbia University,2960 Broadway @ 116th Street, 7pm on Thurs., Oct. 12.  Note – there are no reservations and no tickets; seating is first come first serve.

Talks and Discussions

1917: How One year Changed the World: Explore how Jewish New York responded to the US entry into World War I, including issues of Jews in the military.  This panel discussion features authors Deborah Dash Moore and Ronit Stahl, in conjunction with the publication of two landmark books on Jewish history in America.  Tickets are $10 online, $12 at the door.  At the Leo Baeck Institute/Center for Jewish History in Flatiron on Tuesday, Oct. 17.

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like …..

The Rink at Rockefeller Center re-opens for the season on Oct. 7.

Winter Village at Bryant Park – The FREE ice skating rink and holiday shopping kiosks return on Oct. 28th.

Street Fairs and Block Parties

Diwali Times Square – Celebrate the Hindu Festival of Lights in Times Square on Oct. 7 with Bollywood stars, music and dancing.

• Where to eat in Times Square at local NYC restaurants, not national chains

Lower East Side Pickle Day –  Buy a pickle on a stick or other pickle-themed food, take part in games and activities, and hear live music. Festival is on Orchard St., between Delancey and E. Houston, where once upon a time you could buy a pickle for a nickel from vendors selling them out of giant barrels. Noon to 5pm, Sun., Oct. 15.

Take the Kids

Little Red Lighthouse Festival – Celebrate Manhattan’s only remaining lighthouse with Urban Park Ranger educational presentations, visits to the lighthouse interior, readings of eponymous children’s book, fishing clinics, live music, food vendors, and fun family activities, on Sat. Oct. 7.  The entertainment line up includes performances of The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge musical  (Noon-1pm), ensembles from The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps, and Cinderella Samba by the Swedish Cottage Marrionette Theatre PuppetMobile  (2-3pm).  Between those performances there will be educational talks from the Urban Park Rangers and readings of our giant copy of the book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge written by Hildegarde Swift, illustrated by Lynd Ward.

The Butterfly Conservatory: Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter, an annual favorite visited by millions of children and adults, returns to the American Museum of Natural History on Sat., Oct. 7, on view through the end of May 2018. Celebrating its 20th year at the Museum, this popular attraction transforms the coolest day into a summer escape, inviting visitors to mingle with up to 500 fluttering, iridescent butterflies among blooming tropical flowers and lush green vegetation in 80-degree temperatures. Butterflies are also important harbingers of environmental change.  It’s a magical 1,200-square-foot vivarium, a freestanding transparent structure aflutter with activity because you interact with the butterflies as you stroll along a winding pathway of by tropical plants and colorful blossoms.

Great Tastes

Broadway Bites returns to Greeley Square on Oct. 4th with nearly 30 of NYC’s finest fresh, inventive street international cuisines, desserts, and beverages. It’s a mix of veteran vendors and exciting newcomers, including Arepa Factory, Chick’n Cone, Hold My Knots, Mr Bing, Jicama, Enfes NYC, DAA! Dumplings, Bao by Kaya, Baked Cheese Haus, Todaro Bros., Frida’s Favorites, Kimchi Bowl, Hai Street Kitchen, Empanada Papa, Delicatessen Taco, Bento by Bessou, Oconomi, Bolivian Llama Party, Casa Toscana, Coney Shack, Paella Shack by Barraca, Mian Kitchen, and Bex Waffles. Top Hops returns to offer a selection of beers to pair your food with. To satisfy that craving for something sweet, try Melt, Doughnuttery, Dulcinea, Jars by Dani, and Mochidoki.

SEE ALSO

• Where to eat in Times Square at local and family owned restaurants and avoid the national chains
• Where to eat in Union Square and Flatiron
• Best traditional Jewish delis for overstuffed sandwiches
• Best NYC lobster restaurants
• Best NYC happy hours in Lower Manhattan
• Best outdoor beer gardens in NYC

Smorg Square is back at 76 Varick St. (at Canal St.) on the border of Soho, Tribeca, and Hudson Square, every Friday-Sunday through Christmas, with a rotating lineup of food vendors curated from the Brooklyn Smorgasburg markets, with 20+ vendors every weekend, and seating for 120.  Plus, 60 world-class vintage, furniture, and handmade vendors at Brooklyn Flea’s new year-round indoor location directly across the street, at 100 Avenue of the Americas (at Watts St.).

See you at the movies

Tribeca Drive-In – This is the final weekend of this year’s first-weekend of the month FREE outdoor film screenings on Oculus Plaza.  This weekend, it’s the Academy Award-winning classic Annie Hall on Friday, and Spider-Man on Saturday.

AMC Theatres $5 tickets every Tuesday in October

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival featuring films about climate change, saving endangered elephants and tigers, dolphins and whales, disappearing coral reefs, growth of plastics in the ocean, and more.  Each screening includes a panel with the filmakers   Oct. 20-26 at Cinema Village Theater.

New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center -The 55th annual New York Film Festival features more than two dozen films from around the globe, including award-winners at the recent Cannes Film Festival, through Oct. 15.

The Margaret Mead Film Festival – 50 outstanding non-fiction films plus panel discussions and performances that explore world cultures at this annual event.  Oct. 19-22 at the American Museum of Natural History.

Every Day or Weekends

Hallett Nature Sanctuary – This is an almost-secret hideaway spot in Central Park. Unlike past years with extremely limited days and hours, the gates to this locked-off sanctuary will be open daily this year for the first time, from 10AM to 30 minutes before sunset, with the caveat that it is closed occasionally due to inclement conditions. Wear sturdy closed shoes for the uneven walkways, and bring a camera. No dogs, bikes or strollers permitted.

• SEE ALSO Description of Hallett Nature Sanctuary
• SEE ALSO8 secrets of Central Park
• SEE ALSOBest spots in Central Park to have a picnic

DeKalb Market – The city’s newest food hall is open in downtown Brooklyn with local food vendors, including an outpost of famed Katz’s Deli from the Lower East Side, across the East River. See what else is to eat here

Hester Street Fair  – On the site of what was New York City’s largest pushcart market in the early 1900s, this street fair pays homage to it’s strong neighborhood roots by re-creating a bustling outdoor marketplace. There’s a different “theme” practically every weekend.  Corner of Hester and Essex, take the F J M Z to Delancey or the F to East Broadway.

LIC Flea & Food continues to grow, with favorite vendors returning and some new ones, too.  LIC Flea & Food is at 5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City,  at the corner of 5th Street and 46th Avenue, just one block behind the iconic Pepsi-Cola sign. It opens directly into the waterfront park with amazing Manhattan skyline views  Easily accessible from the 7, G, E, and M trains, or via the East River Ferry. FREE admission.

Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg is in different locations each weekend day. This year, Saturday Smorgasburg  remains at East River State Park in Williamsburg; Sunday Smorgsaburg remains at Prospect Park’s Breeze Hill.