All Weekend
► The Value of Food: Sustaining a Green Planet
Where: The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 112th Street, Upper West Side
When: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This multimedia art exhibition features more than 30 artists' take on issues regarding food security, health, farming and “the cultural and spiritual meaning of food.” The pieces are spread throughout the cathedral’s bays and in its gardens. Entrance to the exhibit and the cathedral is free, but a $10 donation is appreciated.
Where: Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, 421 East 61st St., Upper East Side
When: Friday and Saturday, 6:15 and 7:30 p.m. on both days
An unidentified skeleton has been found at the Mount Vernon Hotel on East 61st Street. Collect clues by candlelight to solve the case. The story is loosely based on a true story. Adults and children 8 and older are welcome to play. Price is $25 for adults and $10 for children. RSVP by calling (212) 838-6878.
Friday, Oct. 23
Where: Brookfield Place, 230 Vesey St., Financial District
When: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and 8 to 9 p.m.
60×60 Dance pairs 60 dance ensembles with 60 composers for 60, one-minute performances synchronized with a clock. The one-hour dance performance presents a slice of what is happening in the contemporary music scene and the world of modern dance.
Saturday, Oct. 24
Where: Perdition, 692 10th Ave., Hell's Kitchen
When: 4 p.m. until late
Local cooks will duke it out in hopes of creating the most gourmet, creative and delicious meal possible using only ingredients found in one of four participating Hell’s Kitchen bodegas. $5 tickets earn you the right to taste all the creations and vote in the people’s choice selection, and there’s still time to sign up to be a cook. Tons of local restaurants and business have donate raffle prizes and all proceeds will be given to a local food pantry.
Where: East 43rd Street and Second Avenue, Midtown East
When: 10 a.m.
As part of the ongoing citywide tree census, volunteers will be fanning out across East Midtown to count trees in the neighborhood.
Where: The Urban Farm at Randall’s Island
When: Noon to 4 p.m.
A free, family-friendly outdoor party in the park. Enjoy a tour of the Urban Farm, which grows tomatoes, corns, leafy greens, and houses baby chicks. Children will be able to have their face painted, pick pumpkins, and drink apple cider.
Where: Randall’s Island
When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A scenic waterfront course to raise money to protect the East River's waterways, wetlands and recreation areas. There will be a fun run for children, cash prizes and a post-race party. The race is $40 for individuals.
► “Rock the Block” Fall Festival
Where: Yorkville Community School, P.S. 151 on East 88th Street, between York and First avenues, Upper East Side
When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Kids can enjoy bouncy castles, an “urban corn maze,” carnival games and crafts and face painting while adults can participate in a raffle and get a bite of grilled food and baked goods. Proceeds go toward the school.
► Watch the Rugby World Cup Semifinals and Eat #MeatyBoy Sandwiches
Where: The Musket Room, 265 Elizabeth St., Nolita
When: #MeatyBoy opens at 10 a.m., kickoff is at 11 a.m.
Watch the New Zealand All Blacks face-off against longtime rival South Africa in the Rugby World Cup semifinals. Musket Room’s Chef Matt Lambert launched his sandwich pop-up #meatyboy this summer specifically for his New Zealand team’s World Cup matches. Lambert started the sandwich venture as a more casual project than his Michelin-starred restaurant’s complicated high-end dishes. Pick up #ThePig, a concoction of pork belly, apple slaw, chicharron and chipotle mayo, or #TheCow, thin-sliced rump cooked rare and served on a cheddar bun with horseradish cream. Sandwiches range from $11 to $13.
► Third Annual Elizabeth Street Garden Harvest Festival
Where: Elizabeth Street just south of Spring Street, Nolita
When: Noon to 4 p.m. (Rain date is Sunday)
The city is determined to raze the Elizabeth Street Garden to build affordable housing, but the volunteers who nurtured it and continue to run it aren’t giving up. If it’s anything like it was in previous years, the festival will include activities for all ages, live music, and snacks and drinks donated by local businesses including Black Seed, Cafe Habana and Tacombi. Visitors are encouraged to bring canned goods to donate to the nearby Bowery Mission for their yearly free Thanksgiving Meal for the city’s poor and homeless. Special activities for grownups include an edible garden tour with a holistic physician and herbalist, a cooking demonstration by swanky restaurant PUBLIC chef Alan Wise using the garden’s harvest and designing greeting cards with pressed leaves. Kids can enjoy a Ghastly Garden of Ghouls party hosted by McNally Jackson books with Halloween art from an Argentine cartoonist and children’s book author, pumpkin decorating, garden exploring and digging in the dirt, and face painting.
► West Village Eats Food Festival
Where: Grove Street between Hudson and Bedford streets, West Village
When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Local public school P.S. 3 is hosting its first-ever food festival, featuring bites and drinks from neighborhood businesses including dell’anima, Keste Pizza, Li-Lac Chocolates, Little Owl, The Meatball Shop, Doma, Henrietta Hudson, Quality Eats, Red Farm and Untitled at the Whitney, to name just a few. Ticketed visitors can tour the West Village Eats Cocktail trail with drinks from Daddy O’s, Doma, and Henrietta Hudson, among other local favorites. “Cooking in the Grove,” a dedicated area just for kids, offers cookie-decorating with Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery, farm-to-table salad-making with the school’s edible garden, face-painting, and hairstyling by Doodle Doos. Tickets, available online or in person at PS3 490 Hudson Street, will get you five “tastes," and cost $35 for one, $60 for two if purchased in advance, or $40 for one, $70 for two the day of the event. Family Packs of four tickets can be purchased for $125 and are worth 20 “tastes.”
Where: La Plaza Cultural Community Garden, East 9th Street and Avenue C, Lower East Side
When: Noon to 4 p.m.
Kids can carve pumpkins for free on a first come, first serve basis while sipping on hot apple cider.
► Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade
Where: Tompkins Square Park Dog Run, East 9th Street and Avenue B, Lower East Side
When: Noon to 3 p.m.
Watch as hundreds of dogs parade in Halloween getups as they compete for thousands of dollars in prizes. Proud fur-parents can also enter the contest for a suggested $5 at the door.
Sunday, Oct. 25
► Halloween Parade & Pumpkin Flotilla
Where: Central Park, the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center at 110th Street, East Harlem
When: 7 p.m.
Enjoy live music, scary stories, pumpkin carving demonstrations and at twilight, the Central Park Conservancy will set off a pumpkin flotilla across the Harlem Meer.
► Washington Market Park Halloween Parade and Party
Where: Greenwich and Beach Streets, Washington Market Park
When: 1 to 3 p.m.
The annual TriBeCa Halloween fest features a parade that's open to all families — just head to the park by 12:45 p.m. to get in line. Along with the costumed march, there are numerous free activities in the park, including a "Bone Dig" in a sandbox and a maze of hay set up in the lawn.
These listings were compiled by DNAinfo's Manhattan reporters Lisha Arino, Irene Plagianos, Shaye Weaver, Danielle Tcholakian, Emily Frost, Gustavo Solis, Gwynne Hogan and Noah Hurowitz.
