Don’t you just love New York in the fall? So says Joe Fox, the fictional character played by Tom Hanks, in the 90’s classic “You’ve Got Mail.” And my answer is YES, a million times yes.
There’s really nothing better than New York City in the fall, the crisp air, the fabulous foliage that slowly changes into gorgeous gold, orange and red shades of leaves. There are so many seasonal events in NYC this fall that you can only enjoy every autumn season.
The city shows off during the fall and it’s a great time to visit the Big Apple, so today I’m sharing a roundup of events that you should check out in NYC this fall. These are great events to attend if you’re a local and looking for weekend plans, but also can make a unique activity if you’re just visiting NYC for a few days on vacation. And you just might see me there too!
Events in NYC This Fall
New York City transforms into a fall wonderland every year and I’m quickly reminded just how lucky I am to live here. The great weather during this season makes it the perfect time to host special events in the city.
Locals are back from summer vacations and it’s finally not swelteringly hot. By the time summer is winding down, my calendar is booking up for the season with all the things to do.
When Does Fall Start In NYC
As we know, the Autumn Equinox begins September 22, 2024 this year, however, it usually doesn’t “feel” like fall in NYC until October.
October brings the crisp air and the beginning of the fall foliage in Mid to late October which stretches well into November – we’re very lucky for this long foliage season. And that means you can still visit in late November and enjoy the colors and cool, but not cold, weather.
If you’re planning a trip to NYC and want to visit during the fall season, I would recommend later in October vs. late September or early October.
20+ Fall Events in NYC
The Feast of San Gennaro
During 10 days in September, the Little Italy neighborhood in NYC is taken over with the Feast of San Gennaro festivities. In between all the restaurants you’ll find tons of stands offering delicious Italian food. There’s a parade and live music too.
Dates: September 12 – 22, 2024
Where: Little Italy, NYC
Tickets: None needed
Oktoberfest in New York City
You can find Oktoberfest events in NYC over several weeks in September and October with authentic German beers, food and entertainment.
Here’s a few options:
Stone Street Oktoberfest
Every Saturday starting September 21st through October 26th they’ll be shutting down Stone Street for the free event. They’ll have free games, Stein holding competitions and more.
Radegast Hall & Biergarten
I love this beer garden in Brooklyn. It’s a fun spot to visit anytime of year, but especially festive during Oktoberfest season. You’ll find a live brass band, mug holding contest, ceremonial keg tapping and DJs.
Zum Schneider’s Oktoberfest
This event is well known for its Oktoberfest celebrations. They set up a large traditional Oktoberfest tent with a super energetic atmosphere and live music that gets everyone dancing. Plus they have exclusively imported Oktoberfest Bier!
Dates: Mid-September through October
Where: Various locations in the city
The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze
The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze is an immersive pumpkin trail lined with thousands of hand-carved jack o’lanterns. They are carved by local artisans and placed throughout the grounds of this 18th century estate.
As you walk along the trail you’ll get to enjoy an original soundtrack, special effects and synchronized lighting.
Now this event takes place slightly outside of the city, but you have two locations to choose from for your convenience. There is a Blaze in Hudson Valley and one in Long Island.
The Hudson Valley location is super accessible via the Metro-North. Just take it to the Croton-Harmon Station and either grab a taxi for a 5 min drive or just walk 10 minutes to the Blaze location.
Dates: September 13 – November 17, 2024
Where: Van Cortland Manor, Croton-on-Hudson, NY
Tickets: https://pumpkinblaze.org/blaze-hudson-valley.html
Morningside Lights
Morningside Lights is an annual outdoor lantern procession, featuring lanterns built by volunteers from Columbia University and surrounding neighborhoods. Each year has it’s own theme, and this year is IN RETROSPECT – 100 Years of New York Art.
The event follows a week of free public workshops that students, families and members of the community are all welcome to attend to help create the lanterns.
Dates: September 21, 2024 at 8 pm
Where: Morningside Park at 116th Street and Morningside Avenue at 8PM.
Tickets: None needed, but you do have to register for the workshops.
Brooklyn Book Festival
The 19th annual Brooklyn Book Festival kicks off on September 22. This event is NYC’s largest free literary festival with local, national and international authors and publishers.
There are events all week long that include bookends to kick-off and close the event, a Children’s Day and the Festival Day that includes a Literary Marketplace. You can hear from your favorite author in various sessions and meet them in book signings.
Dates: Sept 22-30, but the main Festival Day is Sept 29
Where: Brooklyn Borough Hall and surrounding venues in Downtown Brooklyn
Tickets: The event is free and more information can be found on their website.
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival is a celebration of cinema. It is a non-competitive film festival and there are no awards, instead they offer a slate of films, from fresh new directors to those long celebrated. You can view exclusive screenings and hear from the directors, cast and crew. They also offer Talks, which are in-depth conversations with filmmakers, critics, and more.
Dates: September 27 – October 14, 2024
Where: Lincoln Center and throughout NYC
Tickets: https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff62-ticket-information/
New York Botanical Garden Fall-O-Ween and The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail
Fall-O-Ween is one of the most beautiful times of the year to visit the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) as the fall foliage changes and with all of the entertainment they offer. You’ll get to see the beautiful botanical garden and SO MANY PUMPKINs. Plus, they offer special events throughout these weeks like a beer sampling event, pumpkin carving classes and contests, costume events and more.
New this year will be the Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail. These kick off late September and the NBC Light Trail continues through November 30 so you have plenty of time to make the visit!
The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail event brings your favorite Halloween movie alive against the backdrop of the botanical garden. You’ll follow along with Jack Skellington, Sally and Zero through various immersive scenes, songs and more.
Dates: Sept 27 – Oct 27
The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail continues through November 30
Where: New York Botanical Garden 2900 Southern Blvd Bronx, NY 10458
Tickets: https://www.nybg.org/event/fall-o-ween/
Global Citizen Festival
The Global Citizen Festival is such a fun event! It’s a massive all-day concert held in Central Park that is free to attend. You earn your tickets through volunteer activities and more in their app.
It’s typically pretty easy to earn tickets through the lottery this way, but you can also purchase tickets. I prefer going the free route!
The lineup always varies with new, popular acts, some K-pop, and some popular bands or performers from the 2000s for the older group. I’ve seen Billie Eilish, J.Lo, Shawn Mendes, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more.
Dates: Sept 28, 2024
Where: The Great Lawn, Central Park, NYC
Tickets: Tickets are free, but earned through digital volunteer activities or you can purchase a guaranteed general admission or VIP ticket.
New York Comic Con
The NYCC is a fan convention all about comics and pop culture. Whether you’re most into comics, TV, movies, toys, video games, cosplay, anime, or manga, they’ve got you covered.
There is an Artist’s Alley where you can peruse work from comics, writers and other artists. There are often pop-ups from big name brands. Plus, panels and screenings of cool new shows. And the people watching is really fun with all the cosplayers!
Dates: October 17, 2024 – October 20, 2024
Where: Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center
Tickets: https://www.newyorkcomiccon.com
New York City Wine and Food Festival
A yummy wine food festival – there’s nothing better. The NYCWFF has 80 events over 4 days in October so you’re bound to find something you enjoy no matter your food preferences.
You have the chance to see over 500 famous chefs and culinary stars that you likely know from TV as they mingle and demo food recipes, cocktails and more.
The events are in various locations throughout the city, including ASPIRE at the top of One World Observatory which has amazing views. And all the food and fun is for a good cause as they donate to NYC neighbors in need.
Dates: Oct 17-20
Where: Brooklyn Terminal Union
Tickets: nycwff.org
Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade
See hundreds of adorable dogs in even more adorable costumes. The Tompkins Square Dog Run is always full of cutie pups and for Halloween they celebrate with a parade.
It’s grown exponentially over recent years so expect crowds and plan ahead to arrive early. The date has not yet been confirmed for this year – they almost canceled last year so here’s hoping they’ll be able to host the event again in 2024 as it’s so beloved!
Dates: To be confirmed
Where: Tompkins Square Dog Run
Tickets: None needed, the event is free. Here’s the Facebook page.
Pumpkin Flotilla
Enjoy the Harlem Meer lit up with floating pumpkins! This event runs from 4-7 pm in Central Park, typically in late October – though dates have not been confirmed yet this year. You can add your own pumpkin to the pumpkin parade, hear spooky stories from the New York Public Library, enjoy the DJ and more. The entertainment varies by year, but it’s typically all very family friendly and I’m sure this year s festivities will be just as fun.
Dates: Late October
Where: Harlem Meer in Central Park
Tickets: Event is free, find more information here
Village Halloween Parade
The Village Halloween Parade is a must-do at least once for every New Yorker. It’s always planned for actual Halloween on October 31st, no matter what day of the week that is and starts at 7 pm.
It is a free event and anyone can actually participate and march in the parade. The requirement is that you must participate in the festivities with a Halloween costume. You’ll have to wait in line at the starting point, which could easily be over an hour waiting, or you can purchase a skip the line ticket.
Even if you don’t march in the parade it is a joy to watch and a must-do event in the fall in NYC!
Date: Thursday, October 31, 2024 at 7 pm EST
Where: The Parade starts at Canal St. and 6th Avenue and goes up 6th Avenue to 15th Street via 6th Avenue the entire route. You can watch the parade on both sides of the street.
Tickets: This event is free, however, they do have VIP options at a cost.
The New York City Marathon
Even if you’re not a runner, it’s so exciting watching the NYC Marathon. I especially love enjoying it on the Upper East Side – the neighborhood feels so alive on this day. Catching it in Central Park is also fun and it just makes the perfect fall day.
There are lots of restaurants and bars that will have special celebrations along the route where you can hang out with a group or just gather along the race path. It’s inspiring watching the runners and you’ll be tempted to sign up for a marathon yourself.
Dates: November 3, 2024
Where: All 5 boroughs of NYC
Tickets: None needed as a spectator
New York Comedy Festival
I love the NY Comedy Festival! We try to get tickets each year. We’ve seen Conan O’Brien with Stephen Colbert and Dave Attell with a bunch of up and coming comics. In addition to very popular names in comedy like Judd Apatow and Jimmy O. Yang, you can also catch live sessions of popular podcasts. This is a great fall festival.
Dates: November 8 – 17, 2024
Where: Venues throughout New York City
Tickets: https://nycomedyfestival.com/
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation
This is a fun event that locals have been enjoying for years. Even if you don’t want to wake up early to catch the parade, you can still see the floats and behind-the-scenes of the event by visiting this event the day before Thanksgiving.
You’ll see the floats being inflated! It gets crowded, so again, arrive early and be patient. Everyone is just as excited as you are! The event starts at 12 pm but you can arrive early and wait in line.
Dates: November 27, 2024,
Where: Enter the event at 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue
Tickets: None needed
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Thanksgiving Day Parade is such an iconic NYC experience. It truly should be on everyone’s bucket list whether you’re visiting or living here.
I’m so glad we did it when we lived on the Upper East Side because you will want to arrive early like 6-7 am to have a good spot. Dress warm, wear comfy, thick shoes and sip on a pumpkin spice latte to stay toasty.
You’ll be able to take in all the floats, enjoy the marching bands, and the celebrities and special guests participating. The energy is really fun and joyful. And it’s so fun seeing Santa at the end of the parade.
Dates: November 28, 2024
Where: Starts at Central Park West & 77th Street, heading down Central Park West, turning east at Columbus Circle onto Central Park South, then down 6th Avenue, turning west at 34 Street and finishing at Macy’s Herald Square
Tickets: None needed, though you can find VIP viewing areas through certain hotel packages!
What to do in NYC in the Fall
In addition to all these fun fall events, here are some other fall-themed activities you can partake in in NYC or nearby.
- Apple Picking, Pumpkin Picking and Corn Maze, some of which can be found at the Cityside Pumpkin Patch in Long Island City, Queens
- Fall Foliage Cruise
- Visit the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden in Staten Island
- See the Foliage in Central Park: It’s so nice to see autumn leaves in Central Park, New York!
- Try a pizza crawl or dessert crawl
- Visit Industry City in Brooklyn and play petanque
- Check out the Pumpkin Arch at Pier 17
- Indulge in fall beers at Loreley Beer Garden
Take a Weekend Getaway to a Fall Destination
Consider a weekend getaway or day trip from NYC! I loved visiting Washington DC and Newport, Rhode Island via Amtrak.
You could also take the train to: Beacon, NY, Storm Art King, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Philadelphia, Cold Spring, New Haven, Sleepy Hollow, Mystic, CT for a day or weekend trip.
If you have a car, consider going to the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival from Sept 28-29.
Autumn in NYC Travel Tips
If you’re visiting NYC in Autumn, here’s a few travel tips:
Pack layers
The weather can change so much during fall, even in one day so pack t-shirts, sweaters and a light jacket or two depending on the time of your visit.
Wear your comfiest shoes
There’s so much to see during the autumn season in NYC with lots of walking so wear your comfiest shoes. Good things sneakers are in here. Pack a pair along with your favorite fall boots.
Plan for crowds
It’s always busy in NYC, but I usually don’t notice the crowds as much as I do during the fall and holiday events. So plan and prepare yourself for crowds. This might mean arriving early, waiting in long lines and just expecting crowds at most popular events or tourist destinations.
This post was all about events in NYC this fall. I hope you find something to enjoy!
Some more NYC travel inspiration:
- Watching SNL in Person
- 125+ Actually Cute NYC Instagram Captions
- 9 Best Night Tours in NYC
- 15 Best Celeb Restaurants in NYC
- What to Wear in NYC Winter
For more fall fun, consider visiting:
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