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11 NYC Food and Drink Festivals to Help You Toast to the Fall

By Nicole Levy | September 16, 2016 10:06am
 The Lower East Side Pickle Day will take place on Oct. 19, 2014 from noon to 5 p.m. on Orchard Street at between Houston and Delancey streets.
The Lower East Side Pickle Day will take place on Oct. 19, 2014 from noon to 5 p.m. on Orchard Street at between Houston and Delancey streets.
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Lower East Side Business Improvement District

Now that the summer's gone, it's time to tuck into some delicious fall food to prepare for winter.

Luckily there's a bevy of food and drink festivals scheduled for the next couple of months to help you out.

Dive heartily into the cornucopia at one of the events — some family-friendly, others adult-only — that we've rounded up for your gustatory pleasure below:

► New York Oyster Week

Where: Venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn
When: Sept. 16 to Oct. 1

In its fifth year, this festival for "oyster aficionados and the bivalve curious," as the website puts it, celebrates the New York region's oyster growers, distributors and chefs. Among the events on the mollusk-themed lineup are a regatta bash on Governor's Island with a full oyster bar, and a party at Brooklyn Bridge Park where oysters will be shucked live. If you're looking for the most affordable option, we recommend ShuckEasy, a night of oysters and craft cocktails that will cost you $75.

Farm Fresh Festival for Kids

Where: Fulton and Front St., South Street Seaport
When: Sept. 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This free event aims to teach children where food comes from, how it grows, and how it can be produced sustainably. Expect arts and crafts stations, cooking demonstrations, and a farmer's market. Admission is limited, so we recommend reserving a ticket here

 OktoberFest

Where: Watermark, 78 South St., South Street Seaport
When: Sept. 17 to Oct. 2

For three weekends this fall, Pier 15 will transport visitors to Munich, with all the beer, food, music and games you'd expect to see at Oktoberfest. Tickets are free, but menu items — including pints of Hofbrau and Radeberger, brats, and pretzels — will cost $8. If you opt for a one-liter stein, that will set you back $16. You can check out more Oktoberfest options here.

The Great Big Bacon Picnic

Where: The Old Pfizer Factory, 630 Flushing Ave., Williamsburg
When: Sept. 24 to 25

Stuff yourself to your snout at this gourmet bacon festival offering ticket-holders as much bacon and booze as they can consume. We're most tempted by the "Bacon Bar," which according to the event website, will feature "piles of the luscious stuff in at least 10 succulent varieties to be visited again and again!" The Brooklyn-based High & Mighty Brass Band will serenade diners. Tickets cost between $79 and $249. 

► NYC Dumpling Festival

Where: Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Lower East Side
When: Sept. 24, noon to 5 p.m.

Make your own dumplings stuffed with yummy ingredients like kimchi and buffalo chicken, at this event, proceeds from which will go to the Food Bank for New York City. And, if you think you can hold your own among professional competitive eaters, sign up for the dumpling eating competition. (The men's champion last year ate 86 dumplings in two minutes, the women's champion 93 dumplings.) Admission is free, but tasting tickets and contest registration are $20.

Pickle Day

Where: Orchard Street between Delancey and East Houston Streets, Lower East Side
When: Sept. 25, noon to 5 p.m.

pickle day

Lower East Side BID

Connoisseurs of briny vegetables can step back in time at this pickle bazaar where vendors like Pickle Me Pete and The Pickle Guys — but also The Meatball Shop, Wafels & Dinges, and Red Hook Lobster Pound — will be hawking their wares. Show off your own pickled goods, be they half sour, garlic or dill-flavored, at a home-pickling contest.

NYC Craft Coffee Festival

Where: Villain, 50 North Third St., Williamsburg
When: Oct. 1, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Coffee addicts who can actually tell the difference between single origin and blend coffees will want to check out this event, presenting them the opportunity to sample brew from roasters and coffee shops like Cafe Grumpy and Sweetleaf. The venue is a hip space converted from a former textile factory. Tickets are priced no higher than $49.

New York City Wine and Food Festival

Where: More than 40 venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn
When: Oct. 13 to 16

This festival is four days of tastings, classes, parties and intimate dinners with chefs, culinary personalities and entertainers the likes of Dominque Ansel, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Whoopi Goldberg. It's a splurge at $185, but the grand tasting event Saturday and Sunday afternoon offers the widest variety of foods and spirits to try from local restaurants and suppliers.

 Queens Beer Festival

Where: 5-25 46th Ave., Long Island City
When: Oct. 15 to 16

Taste beers from Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island breweries like Big Alice Brewing, Rockaway Brewing, and Greenpoint Beer & Ale Co at this 2-day event at the lot that usually hosts the LIC Flea. Tickets range in price from $29 for general admission to $68 for the "beer enthusiast" package that includes a book of tickets for 30 beers at 30 Queens bars. 

Edible Escape

Where: Angel Orensanz Foundation, 172 Norfolk St., Lower East Side
When: Oct. 20, 6 to 9 p.m.

Let your tastebuds take you around the globe at this one-night tasting event organized by the magazine Edible Brooklyn. Featured vendors include Orwashers Bakery, Brooklyn Brewery and SoCo, a Southern fusion restaurant. Early bird tickets cost $45, but if you want to snag a subscription with admission, you'll owe $75.

► Cider Week New York City

Where: Venues and restaurants around Manhattan and Brooklyn
When: Oct. 21 to 30

cider

Cider Week

Partake in tastings, dinners and classes during this week-long festival drawing attention to craft beer's overlooked sibling. Among the restaurants and businesses committed to proving cider is more than juice are Murray's Cheese Bar, Gramercy Tavern and The Queens Kickshaw. Ticketed events cost between $50 and $250.