<![CDATA[The Blankman List: Things to Do in NYC]]>https://www.blankmanlist.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSZ2!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8472865c-9544-4d03-b638-2bfa7c7eea55_986x986.pngThe Blankman List: Things to Do in NYChttps://www.blankmanlist.comSubstackMon, 27 Apr 2026 00:41:23 GMT<![CDATA[Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, May 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-may-2026-things-to-do-in-nychttps://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-may-2026-things-to-do-in-nycFri, 24 Apr 2026 12:14:50 GMT
The Brooklyn Book Bodega is an organization dedicated to increasing the number of 100+ book homes in NYC, and also a place where I occasionally get to shamelessly organize piles of books. Photo: Brooklyn Book Bodega

Living in New York City has long forced me to live with less.

I am of course at times annoyed by this. One of the hardest concessions for me has to do with books. As long as I can remember I’ve been surrounded by books. I was surrounded by children’s books and my parents’ books as a child, and by middle school, my bedroom shelves were filled wall-to-wall with books. At one point I marked every one across the top with my name in Sharpie.

I may not read many children’s books these days, but I still encounter them whenever I volunteer with the Brooklyn Book Bodega, an organization I recommend for anyone interested in increasing the number of 100+ book homes in NYC. In my May 2026 Blankman List, I include their May 3 book collection drive in Cobble Hill, and I direct interested readers to their website, which includes other events and ways to volunteer.

When it comes to books for adults, when assembling events each month, I’m struck by how often books can tie into anything. You don’t even have to be much of a reader to attend book events, like culinary events tied to cookbooks or art events paired with exhibition catalogues. The events below are all tied to books and literature in one way or another but strive to avoid assumptions about you as a reader. As always, many come from my full, unthemed May 2026 list.

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Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Book Sales and Collections

Between the discount carts surrounding The Strand and the displays in the New York Rare Book Gallery, NYC is a premiere city for book collectors and enthusiasts. May is an especially good time for the discerning collector, as the month begins with the 66th Annual International Antiquarian Book Fair, which includes a few related events like the Rare Book & Fine Press Fair, also called out below.

The work of 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet Rumi can be found throughout NYC, such as this book in The Met’s collection or a May 9 talk at Poets House. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Song and Poetry Writers

Writing is of course not limited to books, and NYC is home to all sorts of expression. As always, my full Blankman List includes many additional musical performances, but here I offer a few highlights of the songs and poetry happening around the city this month.

  • Wednesday, May 6: Chad Cannon & Hui Wu: Music for the Ocean

    • Concert for piano, violin, and harp, with animation and sound design intended to “conjure an entire ocean world,” followed by a science panel Q&A; 7 pm

    • $75–$125

    • Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space

    • 2537 Broadway (Upper West Side, Manhattan)

  • Wednesday, May 6: Passwords: Jawid Mojaddedi on Rumi

    • Talk by translator and Islamic studies professor Jawid Mojaddedi on the 13th-century poet Rumi’s unique narrative style; 7–9 pm

    • $10 suggested

    • Poets House, Kray Hall (also streamed online)

    • 10 River Terrace (Battery Park City, Manhattan)

  • Friday, May 8: Dylan Pham, Ian Santora & Kazuya

    • Concert of indie folk singer-songerwiters Dylan Pham, Ian Santora, and Kazuya in an intimate gallery/performance space; 7–11:30 pm

    • $15 advance / $20 doors

    • Unruly Collective

    • 200 Cooper St (Bushwick, Brooklyn)

  • Wednesday, May 27–Sunday, May 31: Miles Davis Centennial Celebration

    • Jazz quintet with members connected to Miles Davis’ career performing music in celebration of Davis’ 100th birthday; sets at 6, 8 & 10 pm

    • $25–$75 (dinner menu entrees are $30–$41)

    • Smoke Jazz & Supper Club

    • 2751 Broadway (Upper West Side, Manhattan)

Book Culture has a few locations throughout NYC, with its LIC location hosting a book club this May discussing John Williams’ 1965 novel Stoner. Photo: Google Maps

Book Discussions

For years I’ve meandered in and out of clubs and always felt (1) a sense of community in being around other people who have read the same book and (2) kind of weird talking about it. For me, there’s this mismatch between the solitude required to read a book and the sociability that comes with meeting about it. Book clubs always humble me, too. “You got that out of the book? I can’t even remember the damn character’s name.” But in the spirit of Community Week NYC happening this May, I highlight a few book discussions happening around the city, including one that’s part of the Community Week lineup.

Eleven men sitting on a steel beam high over a skyscraper.
The famed 1932 photograph of 30 Rock construction workers eating lunch atop a dizzyingly high construction beam is the subject of a book talk this May at the Skyscraper Museum. Photo: public domain

Book Talks

One of the beauties of a book for me is that the possibilities inside are truly endless. Puzzle books, cookbooks, art books, children’s books, textbooks, sheet music, instruction manuals. . . . I don’t mean to belabor the point, but just about anything can be the topic of a book talk, like the above photograph of construction workers eating lunch atop a skyscraper construction beam.

Dramatic Texts

For anyone looking to buy literal dramatic texts, I recommend checking out the Drama Book Shop on 39th Street in Manhattan. But of course dramatic texts are best performed, not simply read. In NYC, you kind of get to have it all, from racy Off-Broadway shows with titles like Get F***ed to showy revivals of Broadway staples like Cats.

  • Thursday, May 7–Saturday, May 16: The Big Bad

    • Workshop production of a play centered around a mental health crisis that “explores international trauma and the supernatural”; 7 pm; May 7–16

    • $37–$53

    • Abron Arts Center, Underground Theater

    • 466 Grand St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

  • Opens Thursday, May 14: El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego

    • New magical-realist opera from composer Gabriela Lena Frank about “Mexico’s painterly power couple” Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera; 7:30 pm

    • $33–$490

    • Metropolitan Opera House

    • 30 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

  • Thursday, May 21: Broadway on the Radio: CATS: The Jellicle Ball

    • Performances from CATS: The Jellicle Ball and a discussion moderated by journalist Alison Stewart on the musical’s current revival; 12 pm

    • $25–$50

    • The Greene Space

    • 44 Charlton St (Hudson Square, Manhattan)

  • Thursday, May 21–Sunday, May 24: Get F***ed

    • Off-Broadway play by writer and filmmaker Reese Carmen Villella about “sexually active 20-somethings”; 9:30 pm; May 21, 23 & 24

    • $23–$43

    • The Tank

    • 312 W 36th St (Midtown, Manhattan)

File:NYC Public Library Research Room Jan 2006-1- 3.jpg
The famed New York Public Library by Bryant Park (which is currently host to a “Treasures” exhibit) is just one of hundreds of libraries with events and exhibits throughout the city. Photo: Diliff

Library Events

The public library system of NYC (which includes the Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library, and the Manhattan Public Library spanning the remaining boroughs) collectively have expansive calendars of free events, but this city includes plenty of private libraries too with programming available to the public, like the Morgan Library & Museum or the Horological Society of New York’s research library.

]]><![CDATA[Things to Do in NYC, May 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-may-2026https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-may-2026Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:22:48 GMTThe Blankman List is a monthly curated list of things to do in New York City. It showcases the full range of what there is to do, for residents and tourists alike.

I especially seek out artistic and cultural events like concerts, plays, and art exhibits, along with anything that is high-quality, notable, and/or free. There is at least one event for every day of May 2026, and no borough or event type is off limits.

Creating this list is a lot of work for me! Seeing events past the first week requires a paid subscription. All subscribers receive a free highlights post.

Subscribe now

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Friday, May 1

  • Casa Mantequilla

    • Concert by the NYC-based musical collective Casa Mantequilla, mixing “West African, Latin, and American beats”; 7:30–9:30 pm

    • $18

    • Friends and Lovers

    • 641 Classon Ave (Crown Heights, Brooklyn)

Saturday, May 2

  • View Finding: Selections from The Walther Collection

    • Highlights from Artur Walther’s expansive collection of photographs donated to the Met Museum in 2025; 10 am–9 pm; through May 3

    • Free with museum admission, which is pay-what-you-wish for NYC residents and NY, NJ, CT students, otherwise $30 adult / $22 senior / $17 student

    • The Metropolitan Museum of Art Fifth Avenue, Gallery 851

    • 1000 5th Ave (Upper East Side, Manhattan)

  • The Less Popular Brooklyn Half Marathon

    • Half marathon running race hosted by Trimara Sports through Brooklyn, with waterfront views; 8–11:30 am

    • $75+ (price increases closer to race date)

    • American Veterans Memorial Pier

    • 6901 Shore Rd

Sunday, May 3

Monday, May 4

Tuesday, May 5

  • Cosmic Happy Hour: An Interactive Q&A

    • Moderated conversation and public Q&A with cosmology students and researchers at NYU; 8–9:30 pm

    • $17 (includes $8 off drink at bar)

    • Book Club Bar

    • 197 E 3rd St (East Village, Manhattan)

Wednesday, May 6

  • Passwords: Jawid Mojaddedi on Rumi

    • Talk by translator and Islamic studies professor Jawid Mojaddedi on the 13th-century poet Rumi’s unique narrative style; 7–9 pm

    • $10 suggested

    • Poets House, Kray Hall (also streamed online)

    • 10 River Terrace (Battery Park City, Manhattan)

Thursday, May 7

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, April 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nyc-april-2026https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nyc-april-2026Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:24:37 GMT
Jeanine Tesori (right, shown next to playwright David Lindsay-Abaire) speaks with Broadway and opera performers on April 13 about the connections between musical writers and performers. Photo © 2023 The Tony Awards

What drove me to start this project in the first place is my admiration for the cultural events that take place in New York City. The city’s stages and performance venues are arguably rare examples of “tourist traps” that aren’t in fact traps in any sense. The Lion King and Wicked are staple vacation itinerary items, and they are also breathtaking works of theater. I dare anyone to be unmoved by the piano rolls of wildebeests that turn into a stampede trampling Mufasa.

Below are a few highlights of what’s happening this month, many of which come from my larger April 2026 Blankman List. As always, I try to showcase the full range of what there is to do, from big shows like the April Broadway premiere of Schmigadoon! to more modest events, like public talks about rock geometry.

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Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Music

All my life I’ve been enchanted by the Composer, with a capital C. I idolized Rodgers but was indifferent to Hammerstein. I loved Elton John but pooh-poohed Bernie Taupin. Madama Butterfly’s plight be damned; I’m there for Puccini. Jeanine Tesori has long held a special place in my heart, having composed some of my favorite music on Broadway (Shrek, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Fun Home, Kimberly Akimbo . . .) and operas (Blue, Grounded . . .). I am practically giddy to share that this April, there’s a public conversation in the Lincoln Center NYPL between Tesori and performers she’s composed for, like Sutton Foster and Victoria Clark.

Dance & Theater

Given that NYC is home to all Broadway theaters, I generally have an embarrassment of riches to choose from each month. For these highlights, I call attention to the Broadway premier of Schmigadoon!, the stage adaptation of the TV show about a couple trapped in a land of musical theater (shown above). For anyone looking for a full Broadway round-up, I generally recommend the site B’way Rush. Other than that, I share below a couple of dance performances and an Off-Broadway play with a saucy title.

  • Thursday, April 2–Friday, April 10: Star Stone’s Cl*t Cult

    • Off-Broadway one-woman comedy play about writer/performer Star Stone’s time inside a sex cult called OneTaste

    • $23

    • Wild Project

    • 195 E 3rd St (East Village, Manhattan)

  • Previews begin Saturday, April 4: Schmigadoon! The Musical

    • Broadway musical based on the 2021–2023 TV series Schmigadoon! about a couple trapped in musical theater settings

    • $69–$349

    • Nederlander Theatre

    • 208 W 41st St (Times Square, Manhattan)

  • Opening Tuesday, April 21: New York City Ballet: All Balanchine III

    • Performance of ballet works choreographed by George Balanchine and with music composed by Georges Bizet and Igor Stravinsky; through May 3

    • $54–$240

    • David H. Koch Theater

    • 20 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

  • Sunday, April 26: Step Afrika!

    • Performance by the dance company Step Afrika! dedicated to the tradition of step dancing; 4 pm

    • $45–$83

    • Lehman Center for the Performing Arts

    • 250 Bedford Park Blvd W (Kingsbridge Heights, The Bronx)

British sculptor Anish Kapoor is known for large-scale, mesmerizing sculptures, like the ones shown here from a 2016 Mexico City exhibit. Some newer works are shown this month at Lisson Gallery in Chelsea. Photo: Gobierno CDMX

Art

The art scene in NYC is perennially a daunting one. I recommend the Showrunner app for anyone trying to find an exhaustive rundown of what can be found among the city’s many galleries and museums. For this month, I call attention to a couple legends of modern and contemporary art, with an Anish Kapoor exhibition closing and a Marcel Duchamp one opening, alongside a couple more off-the-beaten-path ways to engage with art in Brooklyn.

  • Monday, April 6: Handwriting the Constitution

    • Public social art project by artist Morgan O’Hara where participants handwrite the US Constitution and other documents that protect human rights; 6–9 pm

    • Free

    • Old Stone House of Brooklyn

    • 336 3rd St (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

  • Through Saturday, April 11: Anish Kapoor

    • Exhibition of sculptures by artist Anish Kapoor that reflect an “enduring investigation of spatial illusion”; 10 am–6 pm

    • Free

    • Lisson Gallery

    • 508 W 24th St (Chelsea, Manhattan)

  • Opening Sunday, April 12: Marcel Duchamp

    • Retrospective of influential French-American avant-garde artist Marcel Duchamp; 10:30 am–5:30 pm; exhibition opens Apr 12

    • $30 adult / $22 senior / $17 student

    • Museum of Modern Art [MoMA], 6th Floor

    • 11 W 53rd St (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Every Wednesday: Drink & Draw at the Living Gallery

    • Drawing session hosted by Coumbah Sidibe, with wine, art supplies, and a live model provided; 7–9 pm

    • $20

    • The Living Gallery

    • 1094 Broadway (Bushwick, Brooklyn)

Columns of pentagons and hexagons rise up from the Giant’s Causeway in the UK, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption and part of this month’s Math Encounters talk at the National Museum of Mathematics. Photo: code poet

Math & Science

These events are among my favorite to look for every month. I’m grateful to live in a city where there are regularly ways to hear from experts about math and science topics. I offer a special call-out to the National Museum of Mathematics, whose events—which include courses, public talks, and plenty of family-friendly series—now largely take place in the museum’s brand new location along Sixth Avenue.

The Orange Glou Wine Fair returns in 2026, where attendees can come taste orange wines from around the world. Photo © 2024 Nina Scholl

Food & Drink

Foodies, oenophiles, and gourmands of all stripes have plenty to look forward this April. A few special call-outs are the Queens Night Market, which starts up again on April 18, and the Orange Glou Wine Fair on April 19, an annual celebration of orange wines.

  • Saturday, April 18: Chef Alfredo Ravelo

    • Five-course tasting menu with beverage pairing from Mexican-born chef Alfredo Ravelo; 7–10 pm

    • $195

    • The One Manhattan Square Chef’s Kitchen

    • 225 Cherry St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

  • Every Saturday beginning April 18: Queens Night Market

    • Family-friendly open-air market with food and merchandise representing cultures around the world; 4 pm–12 am

    • Free entry

    • Behind the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park

    • 47-01 111th St (Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens)

  • Sunday, April 19: Orange Glou Wine Fair

    • Wine tasting event with orange wines from around the world; 11 am–7 pm

    • $45

    • Space LES

    • 155 Suffolk St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

  • Thursday, April 30: The Joy of Sake

    • World’s largest sake tasting outside of Japan, with sake-inspired appetizers; 6:30–9:30 pm

    • $140 (includes appetizers and unlimited sake)

    • Metropolitan Pavilion

    • 125 W 18th St (Chelsea, Manhattan)

One of the venues where the city’s Major League Soccer team NYC FC plays is Citi Field in Queens. Photo: SixThreeFour

Sports & Fitness

In thinking through this category of events, every month I try to cast a pretty wide net. I look for themed games, like kids day with the Brooklyn Nets, sports outside the Big Four, like NYC FC home games, and fitness events throughout the city. And while not listed below, April also marks the first full month of Major League Baseball, with plenty of home games for the Yankees and Mets.

  • Saturday, April 4: New York City FC vs. St. Louis City SC

    • Regular season MLS [Major League Soccer] game between New York City FC and St. Louis City SC; 7:30 pm

    • $22–$104+

    • Citi Field

    • 41 Seaver Way (Flushing, Queens)

  • Sunday, April 5: Brooklyn Nets vs. Washington Wizards

    • Family-friendly kids day at a regular season NBA [National Basketball Association] game between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards; 3:30 pm (2 pm doors)

    • $24–$182+

    • Barclays Center

    • 612 Atlantic Ave (Prospect Heights, Brooklyn)

  • Saturday, April 25: Run for the Wild 2026

    • 5-kilometer run and 3-kilometer family fun run/walk through the Bronx Zoo; 8 am (5K) / 9 am (3K)

    • $60 adult / $45 child / $50 senior

    • Bronx Zoo

    • 2300 Southern Blvd (Bronx Park, The Bronx)

  • Every Wednesday: Riverside Field House: Spring Yoga

    • Morning yoga class with Meg SantaMaria, suitable for all fitness levels; 9:30–10:30 am

    • Free

    • 102nd Street Field House

    • Riverside Park, W 101st St (Manhattan Valley, Manhattan)

]]><![CDATA[Things to Do in NYC, April 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-april-2026https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-april-2026Sat, 07 Mar 2026 13:43:34 GMTThe Blankman List is a monthly curated list of things to do in New York City. It showcases the full range of what there is to do, for residents and tourists alike.

I especially seek out artistic and cultural events like concerts, plays, and art exhibits, along with anything that is high-quality, notable, and/or free. There is at least one event for every day of April 2026, and no borough or event type is off limits.

Creating this list is a lot of work for me! Seeing events past the first week requires a paid subscription. All subscribers receive a free highlights post.

Subscribe now

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Wednesday, April 1

  • Project Hail Mary

    • New sci-fi film where an astronaut (Ryan Gosling) wakes up from a coma alone in space; 11 am, 2:45 pm, 6:30 pm & 10:15 pm

    • $24–$27

    • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Brooklyn

    • 445 Albee Square W, 4th Floor (Downtown Brooklyn)

  • Quantonation: Frontiers of Physics Tech

    • Networking-focused event with panels and talks by scientists and entrepreneurs “pushing the boundaries of applied physics technology”; 10 am–2 pm; part of Deep Tech Week

    • Free

    • Building on Madison Avenue

    • 11 Madison Ave (Flatiron District, Manhattan)

Thursday, April 2

Friday, April 3

Saturday, April 4

  • Schmigadoon! The Musical

    • Broadway musical based on the 2021–2023 TV series Schmigadoon! about a couple trapped in musical theater settings; 8 pm; previews begin Apr 4

    • $109–$349

    • Nederlander Theatre

    • 208 W 41st St (Times Square, Manhattan)

  • New York City FC vs. St. Louis City SC

    • Regular season MLS [Major League Soccer] game between New York City FC and St. Louis City SC; 7:30 pm

    • $22–$104+

    • Citi Field

    • 41 Seaver Way (Flushing, Queens)

  • Star Stone’s Cl*t Cult

    • One-woman comedy play about writer/performer Star Stone’s time inside a sex cult called OneTaste; 12:20 pm; Apr 2–10

    • $23

    • Wild Project

    • 195 E 3rd St (East Village, Manhattan)

Sunday, April 5

  • Brooklyn Nets vs. Washington Wizards

    • Family-friendly kids day at a regular season NBA [National Basketball Association] game between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards; 3:30 pm (2 pm doors)

    • $24–$182+

    • Barclays Center

    • 612 Atlantic Ave (Prospect Heights, Brooklyn)

  • Assist Goalball with the New York Knights

    • Volunteer to help with setting up and running goalball for blind and low-vision athletes; 11:30 am–2 pm

    • Free

    • Chelsea Recreation Center

    • 430 W 25th St (Chelsea, Manhattan)

Monday, April 6

  • Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler in The Last Five Years

    • Concert staging of the two-person musical The Last Five Years, starring Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler; 8 pm; Apr 6 & 7

    • $66–$408+

    • Radio City Music Hall

    • 1260 6th Ave (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Handwriting the Constitution

    • Public social art project by artist Morgan O’Hara where participants handwrite the US Constitution and other documents that protect human rights; 6–9 pm

    • Free

    • Old Stone House of Brooklyn

    • 336 3rd St (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

Tuesday, April 7

  • Brooklyn Book Bodega Onsite Volunteering

    • Volunteer preparing and organizing book donations to help all children have access to books; 10 am–1 pm; additional days throughout month

    • Free

    • Brooklyn Navy Yard

    • 141 Flushing Ave (Wallabout, Brooklyn)

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, March 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-march-2026-things-to-do-in-nychttps://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-march-2026-things-to-do-in-nycSat, 14 Feb 2026 14:49:15 GMT
File:Julissa Reynoso en Uruguay (15855545820).jpg
Julissa Reynoso (right), ambassador to Uruguay in 2012–2014, co-wrote a play opening this March that tells her story as a lawyer and diplomat, starting with her immigrating from the Dominican Republic at age 7. Photo: US Embassy Montevideo

We are nation of immigrants. In fact, with the exception of parts of Africa, we are a world of immigrants. New York City is one of the best places in the country to hear their voices and see and engage with different cultures.

In these highlights, I share ways to see and experience snapshots of different cultures of the world without leaving New York City. As always, many of these come from my longer March 2026 Blankman List, which includes plenty of additional events and is not themed.

Subscribe now

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Go to the Theater

A Broadway show must open by late April in order to be eligible for the Tony Awards, making March a hot theater season as some shows come to a close and many more begin performances. I’m particularly excited about Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, an August Wilson play about migration and racial discrimination. It stars Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer and begins previews on March 30. I recommend the site B’Way Rush for a full Broadway-specific rundown and call out here a few Off-Broadway offerings that tell more stories about migration and cultural identity.

  • Through Sunday, March 1: Ai Yah Goy Vey! Adventures of a Dim Son in Search of His Wanton Father

    • One-person play that “shatters absurd assumptions” about the human race through the story of a Chinese food delivery driver in NYC; 3 pm on Mar 1

    • $45–$60

    • A.R.T./New York Mezzanine Theatre

    • 502 W 53rd St (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

  • Previews begin Friday, March 6: Mexodus

    • Off-Broadway return of a live-looped hip-hop musical about an “Underground Railroad story headed south” into Mexico

    • $79–$226

    • Daryl Roth Theatre

    • 101 E 15th St (Union Square, Manhattan)

  • Performances begin Thursday, March 12: Public Charge

    • Play about and co-written by Julissa Reynoso, an American diplomat who had immigrated to the US from the Dominican Republic at age 7

    • $99

    • The Public Theater, Newman Theater

    • 425 Lafayette St (NoHo, Manhattan)

  • Previews begin Monday, March 30: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

    • Broadway revival of the 1984 August Wilson play about identity, migration, and racial discrimination in early 20th century Pittsburgh

    • $84–$301

    • The Barrymore Theatre

    • 243 W 47th St (Times Square, Manhattan)

File:Lower East Side (6467552265).jpg
Big Onion Walking Tours offers a monthly Immigrant New York tour through the Lower East Side. Photo: Scarlet Sappho

Learn About Immigration History

Here I share a few opportunities to hear from experts about how immigration has shaped this city, country, and world.

  • Wednesday, March 4: This Week Live Podcast with Tyler Anbinder

    • Live podcast recording of HISTORY This Week with guest historian Tyler Anbinder who discusses Famine-Era Irish immigrants; 6:30–8:30 pm

    • $25 (includes book)

    • Tenement Museum

    • 103 Orchard St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

  • Friday, March 13: Immigrant New York Walking Tour

    • Guided walking tour on the experiences of immigrant and ethnic populations residing in the Lower East Side; 1–3 pm; monthly

    • $30 general / $20 student/senior

    • Chinatown, Little Italy, and other parts of Lower East Side

    • Meet at Broadway and Chambers St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

File:Lucie Pohl (47949782058).jpg
German-American actress Lucie Pohl hosts Immigrant Jam, a monthly comedy show that features immigrant and first-generation comics. Photo: Gage Skidmore

Hear Stories and Songs

As people move to new places, their stories, music, and sensibilities invariably come with them. One of New York City’s greatest strengths is the diversity of stories one can hear.

  • Friday, March 6: Lucie Pohl’s Immigrant Jam Comedy

    • Comedy show featuring immigrant and first generation comics “guaranteed not to have stolen any of your jobs”; 7 pm; monthly

    • $15–$25

    • Caveat

    • 21A Clinton St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

  • Friday, March 6: Stories from Latine Artists: Dream Roles from Latine Artists

    • Intimate cabaret with Latine artists performing songs that capture their perspective “through the lens of musical theater”; 9:30 pm

    • $27–$57

    • The Green Room 42 (in YOTEL New York)

    • 570 10th Ave (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

  • Friday, March 20: The Moth Mainstage in New York

    • Five seasoned storytellers tell stories “that dig deep into the idea of the American Dream,” presented by The Moth; 7:30 pm

    • $53–$68

    • NYU Skirball Center

    • 566 LaGuardia Pl (Washington Square Park, Manhattan)

  • Thursday, March 26: Italian Abroad: Culture in Translation

    • Solo performance by Italian pianist and performer Ivan Dalia with stories about the “art of cultural exchange”; 7 pm; last Thursday of every month

    • $23–$28

    • Under St Marks

    • 94 St Marks Pl (East Village, Manhattan)

See Art and Objects

In truth I could just list exhibits at The Met here, which throughout March includes Finnish paintings, Japanese ceramics, Hindu prints, and Chinese calligraphy, to give a sense of the museum’s scope. Instead, I look elsewhere around Manhattan and feature a few exhibitions focused on immigration and ethnic enclaves, such as the New York Public Library’s exhibition on Middle Eastern and North African immigration to NYC.

  • Through Sunday, March 8: Niyū Yūrk: Middle Eastern and North African Lives in the City

    • Exhibition of documents and objects showing the history of Middle Eastern and North African immigration to NYC

    • Free

    • New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

    • 476 5th Ave (Bryant Park, Manhattan)

  • Wednesday, March 11: Gallery Tour: Stirring the Melting Pot

    • Guided tour of photographs and objects that document how immigrants transformed New York City; 11:30 am–12:30 pm

    • $29 general / $25 senior

    • The New York Historical

    • 170 Central Park W (Upper West Side, Manhattan)

  • Through Friday, March 20: They Always Appear, Ibrahim El-Salahi

    • Retrospective of works by Sudanese painter Ibrahim El-Salahi that show the “cultural depth of the Arab, Islamic, and African worlds”

    • Free

    • Institute of Arab and Islamic Art

    • 22 Christopher St (West Village, Manhattan)

  • Through Sunday, March 22: Storefronts as Sites of Cultural Resistance

    • Exhibition of art and objects that explore community support from Chinatown NYC to Chinatown San Francisco; 10 am–10 pm

    • Free

    • Abrons Arts Center

    • 466 Grand St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

File:St. Patrick's Day Parade NYC 2016 (25849564286).jpg
This March marks the 265th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland and of the Archdiocese of New York. Photo: Richie S

Celebrate Different Cultures

Here is where New York City shines like no other. The food, games, and celebrations of this city reflect a global melting pot. I present a few ways here to experience—and especially eat and drink—all that this city has to offer.

  • Sunday, March 1: Lunar New Year Extravaganza

    • Annual Pearl River Mart celebration of the Lunar New Year with food and drink, activities, and mahjong; 11:30 am–5 pm

    • Free

    • Chelsea Market

    • 75 9th Ave (Chelsea, Manhattan)

  • Sunday, March 8: Celebrate Purim with ABCirque at Cirque du Purim

    • Family-friendly celebration of the Jewish holiday Purim with acrobatics, storytelling, dancing, and more; 2 pm

    • $48 adult / $30 child

    • Crown Hill Theatre

    • 750 Nostrand Ave (Crown Heights, Brooklyn)

  • Tuesday, March 17: The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade

    • The 265th annual parade in honor of St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland and of the Archdiocese of New York; 11 am

    • Free

    • Along 5th Avenue

    • 5th Ave between 44th St and 79th St (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Friday, March 20: AAPI Food & Wine at Atoboy

    • Multi-course menu provided by Asian American and Pacific Islander culinary talent with wine pairings that invite guests to “experience wine through a broader cultural lens”; 5–9 pm; part of AAPI Food & Wine Fest

    • $225

    • Atoboy

    • 43 E 28th St (NoMad, Manhattan)

File:ASL family.jpg
Anyone looking to learn American Sign Language (ASL) can take a free class every Monday and Wednesday at a library in Corona, Queens. Photo: David Fulmer

A Multilingual World

One of my favorite things about English is that it’s nothing special. It’s the global lingua franca because of historical happenstance and the current power of the people who speak it, not because of anything intrinsic to the language. It can express complex thoughts and be filled with exceptions and idiosyncrasies just as much any other currently spoken language out there, a fact I’m reminded of practically every time I get on the subway.

  • Tuesday, March 10: The Robert A. and Elizabeth R. Jeffe Distinguished Lecture in Urban History: Language City

    • Moderated talk with linguist Ross Perlin on his latest book Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York; 6:30 pm

    • $30

    • Museum of the City of New York

    • 1220 5th Ave (East Harlem, Manhattan)

  • Friday, March 13: Espanglish In NYC By Santi Espinosa

    • Comedy tour stop from multilingual stand-up comedian Santi Espinosa; 9 pm

    • $28, plus two drink minimum

    • The Broadway Comedy Club, Red Room

    • 318 W 53rd St (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

  • Saturday, March 28: SpeakEasier Language Exchange

    • Meet-up for intermediate-to-advanced target speakers of Arabic, French, Farsi, and Spanish to practice their speaking skills and “foster multilingualism”; 3–5 pm; fourth Saturday of every month

    • Pay what you wish

    • Culture Lab LIC

    • 5-25 46th Ave (Long Island City, Queens)

  • Mondays and Wednesdays: American Sign Language for Beginners

    • Class on finger spelling, beginning conversations, and the basics of American Sign Language; 1:30–2:30 pm

    • Free

    • Queens Public Library Langston Hughes

    • 100-01 Northern Blvd (Corona, Queens)

]]><![CDATA[Things to Do in NYC, March 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-march-2026https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-march-2026Sat, 07 Feb 2026 14:29:25 GMTThe Blankman List is a monthly curated list of things to do in New York City. It showcases the full range of what there is to do, for residents and tourists alike.

I especially seek out artistic and cultural events like concerts, plays, and art exhibits, along with anything that is high-quality, notable, and/or free. There is at least one event for every day of March 2026, and no borough or event type is off limits.

Creating this list is a lot of work for me! Seeing events past the first week requires a paid subscription. All subscribers receive a free highlights post.

Subscribe now

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Sunday, March 1

Monday, March 2

  • Assemble and Pack Food Bags

    • Volunteer to help assemble and pack food boxes with fresh and shelf stable food; 9–11:30 am

    • Free

    • West Side Campaign Against Hunger

    • 263 W 86th St (Upper West Side, Manhattan)

Tuesday, March 3

Wednesday, March 4

Thursday, March 5

Friday, March 6

  • Lucie Pohl’s Immigrant Jam Comedy

    • Comedy show featuring immigrant and first generation comics “guaranteed not to have stolen any of your jobs”; 7 pm; monthly

    • $15–$25

    • Caveat

    • 21A Clinton St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

  • Houdini Speaks to the Living

    • “Historically-based, largely verbatim” play about Harry Houdini’s crusade against spiritualism; 7 pm

    • Free

    • NY Public Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium

    • 40 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

Saturday, March 7

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]]><![CDATA[Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, February 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/february-2026-free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nychttps://www.blankmanlist.com/p/february-2026-free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nycWed, 21 Jan 2026 13:17:23 GMT
File:Graffiti Jean-Michel Basquiat Eme Freethinker Pen Chill Mauerpark Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg.jpg
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988) is included among the February 7 tour of Black visionaries interred at Green-Wood Cemetery. Photo: Singlespeedfahrer

I have now been persisting with the Blankman List for so long that there are two specific months that I look forward to every year. In June, I theme these highlights around pride month. (Here was last June’s post.) And in February, I theme them around Black History Month. They’ve become some of my favorite lists to curate, and I think they perhaps best showcase what this city has to offer.

For this month’s highlights I share ways to learn about Black history, see and hear Black artists, and go to Black-owned businesses. As always, there is a longer February 2026 Blankman List that includes many additional events. And while many of those events share no patent connection to Black history, I offer a gentle reminder that if you go far enough back, that distinction is meaningless. Black history is American history.

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Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Learn About Black History

Black-Owned Businesses

The list below barely scratches the surface. I recommend in particular the partially city-funded Shop Black NYC resource, which lists thousands of Black-owned businesses across every borough. But whether you’re looking for a meditative sound bath or a lively happy hour, you can find what you’re looking for in this city while supporting Black entrepreneurs along the way.

  • Sunday, February 22: Sunday Sound Bath

    • 90-minute meditative sound bath using crystal singing bowls and sound healing instruments; 12–1:30 pm

    • $30

    • Life Wellness Center

    • 376 Tompkins Ave (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn)

  • Sundays and Fridays: BYOB Intro to Pottery Wheel

    • BYOB class at a Black-owned pottery studio on the basic techniques of creating pottery using a wheel; 4:30 pm (Sundays) & 6:30 pm (Fridays)

    • $85, plus $15 glazing and firing fee per piece kept

    • BCI Studio

    • 63 Flushing Ave (Navy Yard, Brooklyn)

  • Mondays: Chess Club & Live Jazz at Filthy Diamond

    • Casual chess tournament for players of all skill levels, with live jazz music; 8 pm tournament (7 pm sign-ups start)

    • $5 entry fee

    • Filthy Diamond

    • 679 Knickerbocker Ave (Bushwick, Brooklyn)

  • Mondays, Thursdays & Fridays: Koko Hour at Kokomo NYC

    • Happy hour at a Black-owned Caribbean restaurant with specials on drinks and small plates; 5–7 pm

    • Food and drinks on Koko Hour menu are $7–$15

    • Kokomo NYC

    • 65 Kent Ave (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

File:NYPL Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.jpg
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem has plenty of events honoring Black History Month, including an author talk and chamber music concert on this list. Photo: Beyond My Ken

Black Writers and Creatives

While Black representation on stage is important (and to some extent, even thriving), the story changes when you go behind the scenes. As of this writing, only two Broadway musicals include Black composers, for instance: MJ and Hell’s Kitchen. And while too not until March, I’m excited for the Broadway revival of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, a play (not musical) by the brilliant August Wilson and starring Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer that chronicles the early twentieth-century African American experience. Below I share a few writers, composers, and creatives who are helping to not only act out the stories, but craft them, too.

File:Mavis Staples, Cambridge Festivals 2001-2014 (64601551).jpg
Despite being in her 80s, R&B legend Mavis Staples continues to perform, including a February 28 concert with Allison Russell. Photo: Bryan Ledgard

Black Artists and Musicians

One of the hardest decisions for me in this category was an internal debate of new vs. old. MSG Entertainment—the parent company for Madison Square Garden and other major city venues—has two concerts I was debating between promoting: Mariah the Scientist’s February 27 show at Radio City Music Hall and Mavis Staples’ February 28 show at Beacon Theatre. Perhaps it was Staples’ opening act Allison Russell that led to me choosing that one to list below. Never pass on a great banjoist.

Famed writer and activist Langston Hughes is sometimes given his own day within Black History Month, like the Queens Public Library’s celebration on February 8. Image: Winold Reiss, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo: Rhododendrites

Celebrate Black History

Countless organizations, like the Queens Public Library or Lincoln Center offer ways to celebrate Black History Month around the city, ranging from child-friendly games to serious lectures. I encourage readers to look even beyond the events below to organizations’ larger calendars (here’s Lincoln Center’s, for example), which offer plenty of activities and performances to elevate Black voices around the city.

]]><![CDATA[Things to Do in NYC, February 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-february-2026https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-february-2026Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:04:07 GMTThe Blankman List is a monthly curated list of things to do in New York City. It showcases the full range of what there is to do, for residents and tourists alike.

I especially seek out artistic and cultural events like concerts, plays, and art exhibits, along with anything that is high-quality, notable, and/or free. There is at least one event for every day of February 2026, and no borough or event type is off limits.

Creating this list is a lot of work for me! Seeing events past the first week requires a paid subscription. All subscribers receive a free highlights post.

Subscribe now

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Sunday, February 1

  • Liberation

    • Final performance of Liberation, a Broadway play set in 1970s Ohio about “what it means to be free, and to be a woman”; 3 pm; through Feb 1

    • $58–$321

    • James Earl Jones Theatre

    • 138 W 48th St (Times Square, Manhattan)

  • 9/11 Memorial & Museum: New York First Sundays

    • Free evening admission for New York residents to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum; 4–7 pm; first Sunday of every month

    • Free

    • National September 11 Memorial & Museum

    • 180 Greenwich St (Lower Manhattan)

  • Brunch and Art: The Invisible Dog Around a Delicious Meal

    • Vegetarian Sunday brunch surrounded by works of The Invisible Dog’s art collection; service at 10:30 am, 12 pm & 1:30 pm

    • $60

    • La Salle à Manger

    • Address sent upon registration (Boerum Hill, Brooklyn)

Monday, February 2

  • Sort and Distribute Winter Clothes

    • Volunteer to help set up, sort, and distribute free winter clothing for people who need it; 9:30 am–12:30 pm

    • Free

    • Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries

    • 410 W 40th St (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Yizhen Chen, Piano

    • Piano recital from Chinese-born Juilliard student Yizhen Chen; 5:30 pm

    • Free

    • The Juilliard School, Morse Hall

    • 155 W 65th St (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

Tuesday, February 3

  • Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers

    • Regular season NBA [National Basketball Association] game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers; 7:30 pm (6 pm doors)

    • $226–$500+

    • Barclays Center

    • 620 Atlantic Ave (Prospect Heights, Brooklyn)

Wednesday, February 4

Thursday, February 5

Friday, February 6

  • Lounge Act / Paper Lanterns / Take Warning / Rawmones

    • Cover bands performing songs by grunge and punk acts Nirvana, Rancid, the Ramones, and others; 7:30 pm

    • $15

    • Lucky 13 Saloon

    • 644 Sackett St (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

  • Witnessing Humanity: The Art of John Wilson

    • Retrospective of artworks by John Wilson, who “put the experiences of Black Americans at the center”; 10 am–9 pm; through Feb 8

    • Free with museum admission, which is pay-what-you-wish for NYC residents and NY, NJ, CT students, otherwise $30 adult / $22 senior / $17 student

    • The Metropolitan Museum of Art Fifth Avenue, Galleries 691–693

    • 1000 5th Ave (Upper East Side, Manhattan)

Saturday, February 7

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Paper Memories: My Event Programs of 2025]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/paper-memories-my-event-programshttps://www.blankmanlist.com/p/paper-memories-my-event-programsWed, 24 Dec 2025 16:09:52 GMT
Over the course of 2025, I saved and protected 34 event programs, shown here. Photo © 2025 Richard Blankman

I’ve written before about my idolatry of the event program.

The best I’m able to explain it is this: It feels like a thing that I’m allowed to simply keep and enjoy for the rest of my life. I second-guess the environmental impact and understand it is a want, not a need. And I fully understand that I can’t take it with me.

But that, I think, is precisely why I value the event program so much. I can’t take it with me, so I enjoy it now. And I do. On days where I’m lazily milling about my apartment, I often find myself randomly opening a binder from years ago and reliving what’s inside.

I hang on to event programs and organize them into binders for me to leaf through any time I’m feeling nostalgic. Photo © 2025 Richard Blankman

Over time I’ve gotten more careful about actually protecting the programs. The archivist in me believes I’m doing the right thing, although the environmentalist in me wants the archivist to STFU. Programs are encased in sealed plastic sleeves, sometimes kept flat with acid free cardstock, and given a sticker where I write the date, time, people I was with, and sometimes other information. The image at the top of this post shows my 2025 archives. The stickers are usually on the back, but one of them is visible on the small Arsenic & Old Lace program in the second row on the left.

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A Look at the Data

All said, I saved 34 programs—just shy of three per month. Here’s the full comma-separated list, arranged chronologically in the order I attended them:

Sunset Blvd., A Guide for the Homesick, Gypsy, Oh Mary!, Moby-Dick, Death Becomes Her, Arsenic & Old Lace, Operation Mincemeat, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum [Map], Buena Vista Social Club, Salome, All the Beauty in the World, The Last Five Years, Antony and Cleopatra, Cabaret, Swan Lake, Woolf Works, Sylvia, Boop! The Musical, The Metropolitan Museum of Art [Map], Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Storm King Art Center [Map & Information], Heathers The Musical, Legally Blonde, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Turandot, Mexodus, La Fille du Régiment, Romy & Michele The Musical, The Metropolitan Museum of Art [Map], Arabella, The Queen of Versailles, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Chisholm Trail Music Academy Piano Recital

There’s a clear sample bias. For the 11 Broadway shows and 7 operas, a Playbill was shoved into my hand as I went to my seat. That’s over half of my programs.

The “other half,” however, form a semi-random sampling of art exhibits and non-Broadway shows, including a few outside of the state of New York altogether. Perhaps because of the attachment I feel to these little booklets, if there’s just an open box of programs to take from, I’m less likely to take it these days. I have enough stuff. But then sometimes they show up unexpectedly in a shopping bag or are handed to me by a friendly guide or ugh I just really, really liked the show and wanted a memento. When that happens, I stick to a rule that I made myself all the way back in high school: If it comes home with me, I keep it.

A few high-level percentages across the data:

  • 13 of the programs (38%) were via lottery or rush options. Note another baked-in bias here: Shows with lottery or rush options almost always have programs given to you as you’re seated.

  • 8 of the programs (24%) were for events that I went to alone. This is a slight increase from my numbers in 2023, although that data accounted for all events, even ones without programs.

  • 29 of the 34 programs (85%) were for events in Manhattan. Two were in Brooklyn (Arsenic & Old Lace, Legally Blonde), and three were outside NYC (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Storm King Art Center, Chisholm Trail Music Academy Piano Recital).

  • 12 of the programs (35%) were from the Metropolitan Opera House, which is by far the most represented venue and where I saw operas and ballets in 2025. The only other venues where I saw even two shows were Broadway’s St. James Theatre (Sunset Blvd., The Queen of Versailles) and the Off-Broadway DR2 Theatre (A Guide for the Homesick, All the Beauty in the World). I also saw two shows at New World Stages, but they were for different theaters inside the larger venue.

  • 14 of the programs (41%) were for musical theater. That tracks.

My Favorites

In assembling this post I got to relive a year’s worth of events. Some of the programs made my heart skip a beat. These were the shows for which I’m grateful to have a physical relic:

  • Woolf Works: I’ve written about this ballet before in the context of the music’s composer Max Richter. This was now my second time seeing it, and I was so grateful that my friend A. and I had seats right up against pit with the score melting us in place.

  • The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: My first exposure to this show was in the pit band playing the keyboard part in a 2010 regional production. The music has since gotten all tangled up in my DNA with hooks randomly playing in the decade and a half since and when I least expect it. The pitch-perfect current Off-Broadway production is still one of my top theater recommendations at the moment.

  • The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: I have written about opera many times, including a recent reflection of events that commented on this Met Opera production in particular. I first fell in love with the novel that the work was based on. Seeing a version of it performed live felt cathartic.

  • Chisholm Trail Music Academy Piano Recital: The “oddball” programs will forever be my favorites. There are scant other examples of this handout in existence, as my brother only made about a half dozen copies for the attendees of a cheekily-named concert of piano music at his and his wife’s home.

Looking Through the Programs

Seeing and touching the programs is more than remembering the actors or singers. Sometimes I’m thrust back to memories of whom I was with and what was happening around me. I get the same feelings looking through programs from previous years, too, although I lose faith in the accuracy of my memories the further back I go.

  • Arsenic & Old Lace: This show was a Brooklyn College performance of the 1939 play by Joseph Kesselring, famed for its 1944 film adaptation. I spotted Shaina Taub in the audience. I felt starstruck and didn’t want to bother her!

  • Casa Susanna: For museums and art exhibits, the “program” is usually a map or information guide and may not indicate many specific exhibits or artworks. I definitely remember one exhibit from one of The Met visits, however: Casa Susanna, a collection of photos found in a 2004 flea market that showed cross-dressers who met in NYC and the Catskill Mountains through the 1960s. I fantasized about being at that flea market.

  • Arabella: When I go to a show—like, do all the things: shower, shave, put on a nice outfit, drink a coffee early enough so I’m fully awake but not so late that I spend all of Act 1 waiting to pee, I am in it. I am in it for good. At that point, Act 1 of a show might be cringe, but hey, maybe Act 2 will reveal a shimmer of genius. And Arabella was truly, truly beautiful and yes for sure genius but after Act 1 and a 30-minute intermission and then Act 2 of the century-old German language lyric comedy opera and then during another 30-minute intermission, while I was waiting for Act 3 to start, I realized what I really wanted was an empanada and to go home, so I did that.

  • Boop! The Musical: I had been waiting for a lottery win to see Boop! for a while, and then a closing date was announced and time was running out. So full price, here we come. I ended up seeing the show’s penultimate performance. I loved the show and wished it had lasted longer.

Artist Anastasia Inciardi sets up Mini Print Vending Machines where customers can get trading card-size prints for one dollar. During a trip this year to the Parrish Art Museum in Long Island, I got this Oyster card. Photo © 2025 Richard Blankman

Missing Programs

Not every event has a program. (Or sometimes it does, but I don’t come home with one.) In fact, considering the wide range of what might count as an event, most events don’t have a program. When a friend invites me over for game night, I don’t expect to be greeted with professionally printed pamphlet listing the order of events for the evening.1

When there’s no program, I take solace in the environmental win. I experienced the event, and it lives on in my memory. Nothing more. There’s a little bit of a loss to be grieved too, I think. Twenty years from now, God willing that I’m still around to browse old binders of event programs and with the space to house them, not every event will be there.

These 3-D printed monsters on skateboards caught my eye enough to snap this “business card” photo, but alas, I didn’t get any programs (or art) from the Blue Star Arts Complex in San Antonio, Texas. Photo © 2025 Richard Blankman

Most art exhibits that I’ve been to don’t have physical programs. This year I loved my time at the Blue Star Arts Complex in San Antonio, Texas, for instance, but didn’t take home any program commemorating the visit. Yet as with many paperless events, my phone camera provided documentation. I ended up snapping a photo of an artist’s site wunmor.win, whose imaginative Jhonen Vasquez-esque pictures and sculptures almost had me coming home with a 3-D printed monster riding a skateboard. I would also be remiss in not mentioning my brother’s photography, which was on display elsewhere in the complex.

A few additional 2025 trips and memories that may one day slip through the cracks:

  • During an overnight jaunt through Long Island, my husband and I went to the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York. I did take home paper ephemera, funny enough. They had an Inciardi Prints vending machine, and I pulled the Oyster, shown earlier in the post.

  • On a cold December afternoon, my friend N. and I visited a Destiny Mata photography exhibit (continuing through January 4 and included in my January 2026 Blankman List). We spotted complimentary programs, but I chose to have one less thing in my home.

  • This year I volunteered with the Prospect Park Alliance and the Brooklyn Book Bodega, and while I have no programs to show for it, I did sometimes take home a book or two while volunteering for the latter organization. (With their blessing!)

  • I was admittedly bummed that the Off-Broadway performance of Jaime Allan’s Amaze didn’t have a program. Nor did the other magic show I saw in 2025, Hayden Childress’ Urban Illusions, although that one came with a souvenir Polaroid.

  • I saw my favorite baseball team the Baltimore Orioles play twice this year, once in Baltimore and once in New York. I came back with zero programs, zero tickets, and total memories of one win. (Given their below-500 performance last season, I’ll take it.)

Measure a Year in Playbills

One of my favorite statistics about my 2025 event programs is that 4 of them (12%) were for events where I spent time with someone who was traveling from outside of NYC to visit me: Woolf Works, Cabaret, Operation Mincemeat, and Swan Lake. All said, not counting my husband, who was by far my most frequent companion, these programs represent time spent with 13 friends and family members, plus occasionally their friends and family members. I am grateful to have that many people in my life who will share their time with me.

As I get older, this program hoarding can start to look like a life progress bar. I don’t actually need space for a million binders with climate controlled storage units and an itemized database. I need space for, let’s say, 80 binders and we’re doing real good? My 2025 binder is complete. Nothing else will ever get added to it, and the next binder begins.

For me, while I’m still around to enjoy it, these binders are a lifetime of family, friendships, life-changing works of art, hot messes to which I bore witness, and of course—my favorite part—worlds where people regularly broke out in song and dance.

1

Though credit belongs where credit is due, and my brother did exactly that for an informal home concert among friends.

]]><![CDATA[Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, January 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nyc-1b2https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nyc-1b2Wed, 17 Dec 2025 13:17:18 GMT
File:Luxemburgo+ Yuja Wang09 (51354474100) (cropped).jpg
Piano virtuoso Yuja Wang performs at Lincoln Center alongside conductor and composer Thomas Adès on January 22–24. Photo: Quincena Musical

I began this project in 2023 and did not expect it to continue into 2026.

In some ways the persistence makes sense. I love list making, and I love this city. The culture is what drew me here, and it’s what keeps me here. I will never take for granted proximity to world-class museums, opera houses, black box theaters, avant-garde concert spaces, hole-in-the-wall dim sum joints next to dirt-cheap gray market cannabis dispensaries, or the chance to hear in cafes and subways not only hundreds of major world languages, but also plenty of “oral, minority, and endangered languages, sometimes from different branches of the Indo-European family, if not other language families altogether.”1

The Blankman List remains a labor of love, but let it be known: Labor. This is a human generated list. I don’t use ChatGPT to write so much as two consecutive words on this site and truthfully find it a little gross when I see clearly AI-generated text and images in the wild. I’m aware it lurks within some of the links below, which I simply accept with a harrumph. Not everyone feels the same. But I have cut plenty of events because the AI slop on the event’s website was more than I could stomach.

I think a lot about the people who have purchased an annual subscription. This remains a one-man operation. The reality that people have paid $50 for a year’s worth of content feels daunting at times, but it has helped me persevere through doubts. And for those who have “bought me a coffee” and subscribed for even one month, I appreciate you, too. Coffee shop baristas around my apartment can attest to your generosity working.

So I end the year with gratitude for people who have been willing to pay for a subscription—whether for a month, several months, or a whole year. You are the reason I remain committed to writing at least one “official” list (here’s the January 2026 Blankman List) and one free highlights post (like this) through at minimum all of 2026.

Subscribe now

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Music

One tough choice for me was deciding what video to embed above. It was either Kota the Friend’s mesmerizing “No Rap on Sunday” in honor of his two sets at Blue Note Jazz Club (which I went with) or a video of pianist Yuja Wang (shown at the top of this post). Wang is a veritable rock star of the classical piano world, but unfortunately I can’t find a video of her playing Rautavaara’s rock star-worthy Piano Concerto No. 1, the highlight of her concert at Lincoln Center later this month. YouTube is filled with other Yuja Wang videos, however. Here she is playing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

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Actor Keanu Reeves, alongside Alex Winter and other cast members and understudies, finish their run of Waiting for Godot on January 4. Photo: Daniel Benavides

Dance & Theater

I don’t proclaim to be the be-all and end-all for theater in NYC. Broadway World might be a better site to get a comprehensive round-up of what’s happening on stages around the city, and I especially recommend B’way Rush (as I have many times before!) if you’re specifically looking for a round-up of Broadway shows. Here I group theater and dance performances and call attention to a few highlights that have caught my eye for January. NYC Ballet’s New Combinations shows might be my pick for the performance I’m most excited about, although I urge ballet fans to check out the company’s full calendar, which goes through May.

  • Sunday, January 4: Waiting for Godot

    • Broadway closing night of Samuel Beckett’s 1952 tragicomedy play Waiting for Godot, starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter; 2 & 8 pm

    • $66–$447

    • Hudson Theatre

    • 141 W 44th St (Times Square, Manhattan)

  • Opens Thursday, January 8: The Disappear

    • A new comedy about a power couple whose picture-perfect life goes “gloriously off script” written and directed by playwright Erica Schmidt; through Feb 15

    • $45–$120

    • Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre

    • 18 Minetta Ln (West Village, Manhattan)

  • Opening Tuesday, January 27: Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca

    • Flamenco dance performance from the Spanish troupe Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca; through Feb 8

    • $32–$82

    • Joyce Theater, The Tino & Rajika Puri Auditorium

    • 175 8th Ave (Chelsea, Manhattan)

  • Opening Thursday, January 29: NYC Ballet New Combinations

    • Program of diverse ballet works including the latest ballet from resident choreographer Justin Peck; through Feb 7

    • $54–$297

    • David H. Koch Theater

    • 20 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

Food Events

The general consensus is that NYC Restaurant Week isn’t quite the drop-everything-and-make-a-reservation event that it once was, but it has become a bit of a wintertime (and summertime) tradition and is still a chance to try many of the city’s high-end restaurants at a discount. I recommend the FoodNYC Subreddit as a good source for questions and recommendations. See, for instance, threads from last summer on menu reviews and Michelin starred options.

File:Octavia and Lamenting Luis.jpg
Artist Kandy G Lopez is best known for her fiber portraits, like these ones hanging at ACA Galleries in 2023. Her current exhibit is up through January 17. Photo: Brandonm305

Art Events

This is always a tough category for me. The options are as overwhelming as they are for music or theater, but they rarely require as much advance planning. Anyone can simply walk around the Chelsea art galleries or bop in and out of the wide-ranging exhibits at The Met without having any specific works in mind. I see my role here as less curator and more nudger. “Not sure what to see? Here, start walking this way.” Kandy G Lopez’s fiber portraits (shown above) are stunning, but less than a block away are, say, a couple of shows both opening on January 15, neither of which are listed below: Gabriel Kuri’s exhibition on chance and Alexis Rockman’s paintings representing ecological disruption.

  • Through Saturday, January 10: Love Series / Megan Berk

    • Exhibition of paintings by Megan Berk, whose work “translates private impulses into formal explorations of shape, light, and color”

    • Free

    • The Scion Project

    • 288 Smith St (Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn)

  • Through Saturday, January 17: Kandy G Lopez: Textile Truths: Faces of Resilience

    • Solo exhibition of fiber portraits by multimedia Afro-Caribbean artist Kandy G Lopez; 11 am–6 pm

    • Free

    • ACA Galleries

    • 173 10th Ave (Chelsea, Manhattan)

  • Through Tuesday, January 20: Baseball Cards from the Collection of Jefferson R. Burdick

    • Current rotation of rare and early baseball cards from between 1895 and 1956 from the Jefferson R. Burdick collection of ephemera at The Met

    • Free with museum admission, which is pay-what-you-wish for NYC residents and NY, NJ, CT students, otherwise $30 adult / $22 senior / $17 student

    • The Metropolitan Museum of Art Fifth Avenue, Gallery 774A

    • 1000 5th Ave (Upper East Side, Manhattan)

  • Friday, January 23: Red Horizon: Art. Heritage. New Energy

    • Opening reception for a group exhibition featuring Asian art in celebration of the Lunar New Year; 6–8 pm (6:30 pm tea ceremony); exhibition through Mar 1

    • Free

    • Flushing Town Hall

    • 137-35 Northern Blvd (Flushing, Queens)

Social Events

I encourage all readers to let me know if there’s a specific type of event you come here for, as that has influenced many of my choices over the years. The events that make my lists aren’t all events I’d necessarily go to myself. I’m just one person, for heaven’s sake! Hearing from you is how I catch blind spots and is the reason I currently seek (to scratch the surface) food events, child-friendly events, and—as evidenced below—various meetups and mixers.

  • Wednesday, January 7: The Feels NY, Edition 63

    • Singles mixer event developed to promote more “thoughtful dating”; 6:30–9:30 pm

    • $102–$112 (includes drinks + light bites; use promo code “blankman” for 20% off)

    • Loft in Tribeca

    • 120 Walker St, 5th floor (Lower Manhattan)

  • Four Wednesdays: January 7, 14, 21 & 28: PubClub: Winter Season

    • Four-week “season” of small-group meet-ups with facilitated discussion about philosophy, technology, and culture; 7:30–8:30 pm

    • $40 (season) / $15 (drop-in session)

    • Bars and coffee shops in Hell’s Kitchen

    • Address given upon registration (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

  • Wednesday, January 14: Drink ’N Draft: Creative Writing Workshop

    • Monthly laptop-free writing workshop for writers of all genres and experience levels with visual prompts and time to share writings; 8–9:30 pm

    • $22 (includes $8 drink voucher)

    • Book Club Bar

    • 197 E 3rd St (East Village, Manhattan)

  • Thursday, January 29: NYC Tech Mixer 2026

    • Networking event focused on tech, startups, and entrepreneurship; 6–9 pm

    • $20–$48 entry, plus cash bar

    • Arlo Williamsburg

    • 96 Wythe Ave (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Joint Base McGuire - Dix - Lakehurst Air Force Honor Guard performs at Professional Bull Rider's Association at Madison Square Garden
Bull riding can be found every year in Manhattan, with an annual exhibition at Madison Square Garden. Here, Air Force Honor Guard members present the colors at the start of a previous year’s exhibition. Photo: Staff Sgt. Christopher Muncy

Sports

Once upon I time I ate it all up. For at least one solid summer in my twenties I could get unironically excited about live golf. These days, most of my sports watching happens during Orioles season, the baseball team of my childhood hometown of Baltimore.2 Large play spaces can be a little hard to come by in this city, but we’ve still got some gigantic stadiums and arenas, along with places like Chelsea Piers or organizations like NYCRUNS (listed below), which allow for athletic participation all year round.

  • Friday, January 9–Sunday, January 11: PBR: Buck Off at the Garden

    • Annual exhibition of Professional Bull Riders [PBR] athletes competing

    • $57–$430+

    • Madison Square Garden

    • 4 Pennsylvania Plaza (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Saturday, January 10: Subriel Matías vs. Dalton Smith

    • Boxing match between Puerto Rican boxer Subriel Matías and English boxer Dalton Smith; 7 pm

    • $97–$414+

    • Barclays Center

    • 620 Atlantic Ave (Prospect Heights, Brooklyn)

  • Friday, January 16: NYU vs. University of Rochester Men’s Basketball

    • NCAA Division III men’s basketball game between the NYU Violets and the University of Rochester Yellowjackets; 5:30 pm

    • $12 adult / $9 student

    • John A. Paulson Center

    • 181 Mercer St (Greenwich Village, Manhattan)

  • Saturday, January 17: NYCRUNS Frozen Pigeon 5K

    • Casual 5-kilometer running race through Prospect Park organized by NYCRUNS; 9 am (7 am arrival)

    • $60–$75 (includes medal and refreshments)

    • Prospect Park

    • Start at Well House Dr & West Dr (Prospect Park, Brooklyn)

1

Perlin, Ross. (2024.) Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York. New York: Grove Press, p. 59.

2

Sigh . . . which doesn’t often include an Orioles postseason.

]]><![CDATA[Things to Do in NYC, January 2026]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-january-2026https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-january-2026Sat, 13 Dec 2025 13:11:28 GMTThe Blankman List is a monthly curated list of things to do in New York City. It showcases the full range of what there is to do, for residents and tourists alike.

I especially seek out artistic and cultural events like concerts, plays, and art exhibits, along with anything that is high-quality, notable, and/or free. There is at least one event for every day of January 2026, and no borough or event type is off limits.

Creating this list is a lot of work for me! Seeing events past the first week requires a paid subscription. All subscribers, however, receive a free highlights post.

Subscribe now

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Thursday, January 1

Friday, January 2

  • Adam Elbaum: Heartfelt Deceptions

    • Magic show with Adam Elbaum, who specializes in card tricks, levitations, and mentalism; 7:15 & 9:30 pm; Jan 2 & 3

    • $136–$218

    • 69 Atlantic

    • 69 Atlantic Ave (Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn)

  • 54 Tells Trans Stories

    • Off-Broadway cabaret show featuring musical theater songs that tell stories about people who are queer and transgender; 9:30 pm (9 pm doors)

    • $30–$74, plus $25 food and beverage minimum

    • 54 Below

    • 254 W 54th St, Cellar (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Crochet Club @ The Gregory Jackson Center

    • Social crochet club meeting for crocheters of all skill levels; 12–2 pm

    • Free

    • The Gregory Jackson Center of Brownsville

    • 519 Rockaway Ave (Brownsville, Brooklyn)

Saturday, January 3

Sunday, January 4

  • Waiting for Godot

    • Broadway closing night of Samuel Beckett’s 1952 tragicomedy play Waiting for Godot, starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter; 2 & 8 pm

    • $66–$447

    • Hudson Theatre

    • 141 W 44th St (Times Square, Manhattan)

Monday, January 5

  • The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess

    • Metropolitan Opera performance of George and Ira Gershwin’s famed 1935 music theater work Porgy and Bess; 8 pm; Dec 2–Jan 24

    • $33–$455

    • Metropolitan Opera House

    • 30 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

Tuesday, January 6

  • World Food Photography Awards Showcase

    • Showcase of photos curated by the World Food Photography Awards accompanying the Museum of Food and Drink’s exhibit on street food; all day; through Jan 11

    • Free

    • Throughout the lobby of Empire Stores

    • 55 Water St (Dumbo, Brooklyn)

  • 90s Simpsons Trivia

    • Bar trivia about the golden years of The Simpsons; 7–9 pm; first Tuesday of each month

    • Free

    • The Spare Room, The Gutter

    • 200 N 14th St (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Wednesday, January 7

  • The Feels NY, Edition 63

    • Singles mixer event developed to promote more “thoughtful dating”; 6:30–9:30 pm

    • $102–$112 (includes drinks + light bites; use promo code “blankman” for 20% off)

    • Loft in Tribeca

    • 120 Walker St, 5th floor (Lower Manhattan)

  • The Moth StorySLAM: New Leaf

    • Open-mic 5-minute storytelling competition about “bold beginnings, fresh starts, or falling in love”; 8 pm (7 pm doors)

    • $20

    • The Bell House

    • 149 7th St (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

  • Chanel Winter Sale 2026

    • 40% off sale on eligible categories on in-store purchases only; Jan 7–11

    • Free entry

    • Chanel flagship boutiques and select department stores

    • Throughout the city but concentrated along 5th Ave (Midtown, Manhattan)

Read more

]]><![CDATA[A Citywide Tour of Cards, Games, and MTG in NYC]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/magic-the-gathering-and-new-york-city-mtg-in-nychttps://www.blankmanlist.com/p/magic-the-gathering-and-new-york-city-mtg-in-nycFri, 05 Dec 2025 14:40:11 GMT
File:Brian Kibler (USA) vs Daniel Antoniou (Cyprus).jpg
Brian Kibler (left) won his first Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour in 1996 in New York. He is among the thousands of Magic players who have passed through the city. Photo: EuropeanTalent

To start, this post is admittedly niche, similar to a post I wrote in 2023 on the history of skateboarding in NYC.

A feature of this Substack platform is that this post will be both an email and a webpage. So to the email subscribers: If the history of cards, games, and specifically the strategy card game Magic: The Gathering vis à vis New York City is in fact of interest to you—and I say that closing my eyes, wincing, and looking away—you will have to view this as a webpage to see the whole thing.

For those daring to proceed, I have loosely organized this article around sites that could theoretically be turned into a citywide tour. Fair warning: This tour is probably better read than traveled. Doing so would require hours on the subway, hundreds of dollars in taxis, and/or over a half marathon of walking:

The sites listed span all of Manhattan and a part of Brooklyn—far more than most people would want to cover in a single day’s tour. Photo: Google Maps

As the map shows, a few of them could reasonably be covered in one day. Site 1: Washington Square Park and Site 6: 30 Rock might be the best bang-for-your-buck spots for tourists to check out in general, with this article adding some context. Site 2: The Met Cloisters is the best option for pairing with a museum visit, and Site 3: Ebbets Field is a pilgrimage for sports fans to consider. (I recommend the stretch of Franklin Avenue between Eastern Parkway and Atlantic Avenue for some stellar food options afterward.) For Magic players truly looking to see places of historical interest to the game, I’d stick with Site 4: Neutral Ground and Site 5: Puck Building, both of which have plenty of places to shop and eat nearby. No matter your goals, in assembling these sites, I share some of the stories of cards, games, and especially the trading card game Magic: The Gathering within the city’s boundaries.

My History with Magic

One night about a year ago, I was telling my friend N. about this idea for a post I was working on about the history of NYC and Magic. “Tell them about your own history,” he said. He should know; he was there.

A hobby is never just about the hobby. Even the most insular of activities are defined too by the community surrounding them. My personal experience playing Magic started when I was a kid and then returned as an adult. The game at times consumed me and created both friendships and factions.

It began in elementary school with friends in the early 1990s. I had a box of cards divided by color. Our fidelity to the rules was shaky at best, but we all tried with whatever cards we owned. Even now, decades later, I’ll feel an unexpected rush of nostalgia over a specific image or design that brings me back to that era. I don’t know where any of my original cards are, and I never owned any of the cards that could nowadays be a down payment on a house.

File:Dana Fischer playing at Grand Prix Los Angeles.png
Dana F. made gaming headlines in 2017 for being a six-year-old tournament Magic player. Dana’s father is a former pro Magic player himself and touts the game’s educational benefits (Rosenberg, 2017). Photo: Hannah Blum

For many years I stopped playing Magic, although I continued to play other games and collect other cards. Then in 2013, on a whim, I purchased a box of Magic cards on eBay. My friend D. told me he played too, so I invited him to come over, and we spent the day building decks and battling them against each other. I felt ten again! We became Magic evangelists to friends and friends-of-friends, resulting in a playgroup of a few dozen people that miraculously persisted for years. Highlights include games in the back of a bus, on the floor of a Cape Cod beach house, and once in my apartment where K. and I agreed to read the all the evocative “flavor text” printed at the bottom of each card before playing it.

Some rivalries started in Magic battlefields but leaked into the real world, and eventually Magic gave way to other games, with different games calling different people. Nearly all of us moved, some out of the city altogether. All good things must come to an end, but it was a special time in my life with people I still cherish. Finding friends in adulthood is hard, and I had managed to make dozens over the course of a few months, thanks to a common love for Magic.

I continued to play long after the playgroup dissolved. I played in small tournaments at Twenty Sided in Williamsburg and The Uncommons in the East Village and once traveled out of state for a larger tournament. For years I kept up with nearly every set online, and only recently did I finally prune my collection down to just my favorite cards.

File:Magic l'assemblée jeu.jpg
For anyone who has never played Magic, game tabletops look something like this, with opposing players setting up “battlefields” of cards. Photo: zizou man

What Is Magic: The Gathering?

Lest I get ahead of myself, you needn’t have ever played the game to make sense of this post, at least that’s my intention. In fact, I spend some time generally going into the histories of games and cards before Magic even comes into the picture.

But for the neophytes, Magic is a strategy game played with cards that players buy and trade for. There are many variants and house rules, but in essence, before the game even begins, all players privately assemble a unique deck of cards from what they’ve collected. The cards are a mix of creatures that can attack opponents, spells with a variety of effects, and lands that permit players to “cast” the creatures and spells. All players start with 20 life points. They shuffle their decks, draw the top seven cards, and then take turns drawing a new card and deciding what creatures and spells to cast. Players win by knocking their opponent(s) down to 0, often accomplished by attacking with creatures.

I’ve heard Magic lumped together many times with the fantasy roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons, so I think it’s worth making a distinction. The art printed on the cards is fantasy art, and there are writers who develop the lore behind the cards’ characters. However, unlike D&D, the game of Magic is fundamentally not a roleplaying game.

In terms of the broad gameplay mechanics and complexity, I’d say Magic is comparable to bridge or gin rummy, where players draw cards from a shuffled deck and then try to make optimal decisions based on the cards in their hand. I’ve heard the game explained as a mash-up of poker and chess. Granted, the card names are a little less “three of spades” and a little more “Phyrexian Obliterator.” Another big difference between D&D and Magic is the time investment. A game of Magic sometimes lasts just a few minutes, whereas D&D campaigns can last hours at a time and continue across years.

In terms of history, however, and not gameplay, the games are far more closely connected. In fact, the whole idea behind Magic was to have something quick that D&D players could play while waiting between games. Peter Adkison, one of Magic’s original creators, noticed that people who played in the D&D convention circuit were often hanging out in lobbies between games, and he yearned for a quick, fantasy-themed, portable game. “The nerd universe would change for all time” after Adkison heard a fateful idea from game designer Richard Garfield:

[Garfield] described a card game of dueling wizards, spells fueled by mana, and perhaps most significantly, cards that would be sold in randomized booster packs. Like baseball cards, you never knew what you might get in a given pack, and some cards would be rarer than others. . . . Adkison wrote of that moment: “This game was the single most awesome gaming idea I had heard of. . . . This wasn’t just a new game, it was a new gaming form.” (Riggs, 2002)

Magic is not the first kinda complicated game where players compete with shuffled decks of cards. The biggest innovation has to do with the cards themselves. Before Magic, cards fell into one of the two categories. Most commonly they were for playing, as in cards with suits and numbers for games like bridge or poker, or game pieces from any game with cards like Uno or Monopoly. The other category of cards were those for trading, like baseball cards or themed cards that came with packs of cigarettes or gum. These cards are close in purpose to art; all form, no function.

Pokémon cards have eclipsed Magic cards in popularity, but the cards’ design originated with Magic. Painting and photo © 2021 Richard Blankman

Magic is both categories. Players buy the cards in “booster packs,” which are sealed packs containing a random selection of cards from a larger set—the gaming equivalent to buying a pack of baseball cards. There is usually a chance to open a card that’s valuable in the secondary market. Players then build decks with cards they’ve opened and play games with them. Magic served as the original design behind the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Pokémon has far eclipsed Magic in popularity, but both have grown to include plenty of merchandise and are “not just a toy or a game but a universe that exists in a variety of media” (Brougère, 2004).

The hobby of Magic: The Gathering is therefore part of two lineages, really: cards and games. Both go back centuries and have long been entangled. The idea of opening cards in booster packs came later, but even that isn’t a terribly modern invention. In fact, the first booster packs were printed right here in New York City, but I’m getting ahead of myself. . . .

Once, I (green cards) met up with my friend and gaming streamer Nick (blue cards) at The Uncommons in the East Village to play Magic chess, a truly chaotic idea I found in a 90s-era gaming magazine. Photo © 2025 Nick Green

Site 1: Washington Square Park

Zero in on a hobby, and at some point the history runs through the densely populated streets of New York City. One of the most noticeably played games across NYC is not a card game, but rather the centuries-old board game chess. “A strong spine of chess runs through New York City: from the Chess Forum north a few blocks to Washington Square Park, from the Marshall Chess Club in Union Square Park, where they play on old office chairs and upturned milk crates” (Roeder, 2022).

The 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer dramatizes the story of chess prodigy Joshua Waitzkin who grew up near the park and was fascinated by the players there. They are cutthroat and passionate about chess and inhabit one of the most famous gaming spots in the country. “The chess tables in Washington Square Park have their own musical score: click, thwack, click, thwack. . . . Bobby Fischer played here as a kid. Stanley Kubrick was a regular” (Roeder, 2022). As an adult, Waitzkin recalls the formative experience:

I grew up in New York City Downtown Manhattan. I started playing chess when I was six years old, and I discovered chess walking through Washington Square Park with my mom. And I remember watching a day or two, and then at one point I broke away from her—I was going to play on monkey bars—and I ran over and I asked an old man if I could play. And he said yes, and my mom was surprised, and we started playing. I played my first game of chess. (Huberman, 2025)

Walking into the nearby Chess Forum is to enter a time portal. It opened in the 1990s but feels like a club that’s been around for centuries. Imad Khachan, the owner of Chess Forum, hopes “that we have provided a place where, when no other place will welcome you, you have a seat” (Brass & Tyler, 2018).

SPIN magazine covered Magic in 1997, equating Magic cards with chess pieces to convey the game’s idea to a lay audience. Modern players might giggle at Shivan Dragon being equated to a king. Image: SPIN Media LLC via Google Books

Across the street is The Uncommons, “Manhattan’s first board game café” (2025), where anyone can pay by the hour to play from their expansive game library—and order a sandwich and latte while they’re at it. The Uncommons is one of the many spots around the city that sells Magic cards and hosts Magic events.

In terms of NYC gaming, chess and Magic are just the tip of the iceberg. Serious and casual players alike of backgammon, dominoes, mahjong, Scrabble, and bridge (and I’m just getting started) can all be found around the city. New York City is supremely accessible with trains, buses, hotels, airports, and meeting spaces, and the sheer volume of residents means that there is a built-in community for nearly anything. “The Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center, and the Empire State Building were afterthoughts” to the players who commute in (Roeder, 2022). “Probabilities instead filled their heads.”

Gamers of all stripes who discover and enjoy Magic can find places around the city to play, and Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of the game, takes advantage of the many gaming and pop culture events that take place in NYC, such as announcing a recent partnership with Marvel at the annual New York Comic Con (Zupke, 2024).

Site 2: The Met Cloisters

Part of the appeal of Magic is that it is not just a game, it is also cards. Some collectors never even learn how to play, and practically no players use all of the cards they have. Thus, tracing the history of the Magic card requires reckoning with a deceptively difficult question: What is a card? I have seen all of the following sold at card trading shows (not necessarily ones devoted to Magic) and sometimes for eye-popping amounts:

  • Cigar wrappers

  • Event tickets

  • Custom-made cards by artists and fans

  • Poster-sized cards

  • Miniature cards

  • Cut-outs from other printed materials, like cereal boxes or magazines

  • Stamps and coins that are marketed and sold as cards

  • Business cards

  • Postcards

It’s hard to say what they all have in common. They’re mostly flat, they’re mostly small, and they mostly feature a single subject on one side. They’re mostly ephemera that often wind up in the trash. One significant similarity is that they all represent artistic expression in some way. There is, for starters, the physical design of the card. Every card is a limited-edition print with some combination of photographers, designers, and artists behind it.

Magic took the art on each card seriously from the very first set. “The original art director for the game, Jesper Myrfors, told the artists that he wanted the images to [be] simple and iconic,” explains Magic writer Greg Fenton (2015). “He wanted them to be easily identifiable and to be able to be read from across a room.” After all, the cards are fundamentally game pieces. They are tradable, and they can be valuable, but their entire raison d’être is to be shuffled up in a deck and played with. Ideally, players can differentiate two cards as easily as a chess player can tell a pawn from a queen.

Playing cards themselves go back centuries—as far back as wooden “cards” made in ninth-century China—and can be found around the globe (Wilkinson, 1895). The Met Cloisters is a medieval art museum located in northern Manhattan, above 190th Street. There, visitors can find one of the most striking decks of playing cards on display in the city: the Cloisters Playing Cards. They are among the oldest known set of playing cards and the “only known complete deck of illuminated ordinary playing cards” from the fifteenth century (The Met, 2016).

The Cloisters Playing Cards, Paper (four layers of pasteboard) with pen and ink, opaque paint, glazes, and applied silver and gold, South Netherlandish
Games have been around since ancient humans. The collection of NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art includes many ancient gaming artifacts, including this complete deck of fifteenth-century playing cards. Photo: The Met

Despite the centuries between them, there are some similarities between the Cloisters cards and Magic. The hunting horns, dog collars, and images mocking court fashions at the time add flavor but aren’t central to gameplay—the same sort of aesthetic vs. gameplay balance found on Magic cards. And the fact that they are in such good condition means they were likely collected and meant to be shown off. Some modern-day Magic collectors go so far as to get their cards graded, meaning that the cards are professionally encased in airtight plastic holders with their condition assessed on the holder, making the card ideal for display but effectively unplayable.

If you travel south to the more expansive Metropolitan Museum of Art (“The Met”) on Fifth Avenue (which governs the Met Cloisters), you may also get to see some of the Jefferson R. Burdick Collection on display. Burdick was a voracious collector of baseball cards, postcards, and other ephemera, and donated his expansive collection to The Met. The collection includes thousands of artifacts of playing card history, including the famed “T206” Honus Wagner card. A copy of that early twentieth-century piece of cardboard, albeit one in better condition that The Met’s, sold in 2022 for $7.25 million (Randhawa, 2022).

Burdick’s collection includes many of the earliest examples of the trading card. Trading cards don’t contain suits or numbers; rather, they’re meant to collected, shown off, and as the name implies, traded. Much like any other artistic medium, trading cards can contain virtually any subject imaginable. In the case of Magic, the subjects are predominantly fantasy characters and settings, but across the larger genre of trading cards, sports figures are especially well represented, as exemplified by the ubiquitous baseball cards. In my opinion, this is what makes cards so incredibly collectible. Do you like a specific baseball team or soccer player? Politician? Historical era? Video game? Musician? Animal? Location? There’s a card for that. And your whole collection will fit in a shoebox.

Part of what launched the popularity of baseball in the US was Northern soldiers spreading the game to Southern states during the Civil War. When Northern soldier Andrew Peck returned to his NYC home after the war ended, he opened a sporting goods store with business partner W. Irvin Snyder and profited off the growing interest in the sport. “During the 1869 baseball season, Peck & Snyder produced a small advertising card, measuring just three-and-a-quarter inches by four-and-a-half inches and bearing a glue-mounted photograph depicting the ten members of the first explicitly professional baseball team—the Red Stocking Base Ball Club of Cincinnati” (Jamieson, 2010). These cards were sold in their store at 124–128 Nassau Street in the Financial District, a location currently split between Pace University and a doggy daycare.

These Peck & Snyder cards are generally considered the first true baseball cards and were followed by trading cards featuring not only baseball players but also actors, boxers, politicians—even playing cards. These cards came with packs of cigarettes (and later, gum) and advertised the brand on the back. In the decades that followed, many trading cards were printed around the country, generally designed simply and advertising the cigarette or gum they came with.

Ebbets Field in Crown Heights, where the Brooklyn Dodgers once played, is now an apartment complex with a handful of the original parts of the field still remaining. Photo: Wally Gobetz

Site 3: Ebbets Field

The era of the modern baseball card began in NYC as well and can be traced to 1950s Brooklyn. Sy Berger was an employee of the Brooklyn-based candy company Topps. While working there, Berger “conceived the prototype for the modern baseball card, supplanting the unimaginative, smallish and often black-and-white offerings of the existing card companies” (Goldstein, 2014). With his vision, cards became flashier. Pop art, even.

The kinds of cards originating from Peck & Snyder were little bonuses inside packages of cigarettes or gum. The modern era is when the roles reversed, and gum became the occasional added bonus inside a pack of cards. As of this writing, Topps—now a cards and collectibles company and no longer a candy company—continues to operate out of New York City, having relocated its headquarters in 1994 from Industry City in Brooklyn to One Whitehall Street in Lower Manhattan.

The collectibles company Topps’ headquarters is currently at One Whitehall Street—a mixed-use high-rise that blends in with many of the surrounding buildings. Photo: Google Maps

As Berger was rethinking the baseball card, New York Yankees center fielder Mickey Mantle was beginning his career. The first set of Topps baseball cards was released in 1951, and mint condition copies of Mantle’s iconic 1952 Topps rookie card have, like the older Honus Wagner card, sold for millions of dollars. It is “the most important baseball card in the entire industry,” according to sports card company PSA (2025). “The card is more pop culture art than mere baseball card at this point.”

The collecting world is vast, and there is plenty of overlap between baseball card collectors and Magic card collectors. Over the years, Magic card designs have taken cues from the heavily collected sports card world. Early in Magic’s development, cards were printed in standard and iridescent foil printings. More recently, Magic cards have been printed with alternate art, 3-D effects, cross-brand collaborations, and serialized short print runs, all with precedent in baseball cards.

In terms of seeing some of this history in person, there are places in every borough that play a part in the history of sports cards, including Topps’ headquarters—both its former location at 237 37th Street in Brooklyn and its current Manhattan one—or either of the city’s Major League Baseball Stadiums, Citi Field in Queens for the Mets or Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for the Yankees. If you wanted to see where Mickey Mantle played in the 1950s, you would need to visit where the original Yankee Stadium used to be before it was demolished in 2010, now Heritage Field a block south of the current stadium.

In terms of prestige, whatever your feelings on the New York Yankees (and I am a proud fan of their division rival the Baltimore Orioles), they are a behemoth in the world of baseball and by far the most valuable team in the league. The second most valuable team right now is the Los Angeles Dodgers, which have their origins in NYC, too. They were founded in Brooklyn in 1883 and stayed there until 1958.

The Brooklyn Dodgers play an especially important role in the history of baseball. It was in Crown Heights, Brooklyn (a part considered Flatbush at the time) where Jackie Robinson made history by breaking the baseball color line in 1947. Robinson and the Dodgers played on another now-demolished baseball stadium, Ebbets Field. It is here that I recommend sports fans make a pilgrimage if they wish to see a part of baseball history. The stadium is now an apartment complex, but around the area are murals, a few commemorative sites and objects, and even a marker for the original home plate in honor of Jackie Robinson. A flagpole from center field is also on public display at Barclays Center, a few subway stops away.

A mural commemorating Jackie Robinson can be found at the now-defunct Rite Aid by the also now-defunct Ebbets Field. Photo © 2025 Richard Blankman

Site 4: Neutral Ground (122 W 26th St)

During my most fervent Magic playing years, there were a handful of places to play around the city, a number that has increased into the dozens as of this writing. But this wasn’t always the case. There is one store that for many years was singularly to thank for NYC having a Magic scene at all: Neutral Ground. The original location has, unfortunately, closed down and is currently an event space that doubles as a vintage shop.

But in terms of NYC’s Magic history, its location is borderline sacred. More than bringing Magic to the city, the store, which opened in 1995, “quickly became a nerve center for Magic not just in Manhattan, but the East Coast in general” (Symon, 2022). It was arguably the most famous Magic store in the country and had thousands of square feet of playing space—something hard to come by in Manhattan.

The former home of Neutral Ground at 122 West 26th Street is, as of this writing, the site of Garage Sale Vintage, a vintage store/bar/event space. (Only in NYC.) Photo: Google Maps

The store also reflects the vast amounts of capital suddenly available to Wizards of the Coast, who were previously accustomed to more modest sales. “The game was a stunning success, a virtual license to print money” (Riggs, 2022). Opening a store in New York City seemed like a natural next step and fundamentally changed where many players went to play the game:

New York City, “Gotham” to some, is the international center of finance, commerce, and anything that has to do with money. Considering the intimate relationship between money and Magic, one may be surprised to learn that for years New York was a mere outpost in the world of Magic, where mages often met only by accident and where rare spells of power were almost unknown. [In 1996] however, New York is in a position to claim a place as one of the major centers of the Magic universe. One of the big reasons for this change is one of the finest gaming arenas in the world: Neutral Ground. (Hahn, 1996)

The one-minute video below gives a sense of what it was like playing in the store a few years after it opened.

This was an early era of Magic. Current players might be surprised to see cards being played without sleeves. The internet existed, but with slow connections and no social media. Former professional Magic player Patrick Chapin recounts what it was like to communicate with his Magic cohorts: “My good friend . . . had just received that era’s equivalent of a text message. A tiny IRC window opened (an odd sort of text message you had to be logged onto your computer to receive), relaying a message by way of a crude sort of Internet connection” (2014).

Despite the space and cost limitations of New York City, it became the nexus for a burgeoning tournament scene. “NYC events,” explains Brian David-Marshall (2005), “were shared among Usenet groups and had an extremely limited number of seats available.” The result was New York City became a necessary pit stop to any Magic player looking to take the game seriously.

David-Marshall was one of the store’s owners and strived to “provide a safe place for these young guys who tend to be really smart but not necessarily slick or very together” (Steinke, 1997). Games at Neutral Ground became the “training grounds of Hall of Famers Zvi Mowshowitz, Steven O’Mahoney-Schwartz, Jon Finkel, and many other notable contemporary players” (Chapin, 2014), turning the store into a virtual theory factory.

File:Puck Building (51660567363).jpg
The Puck Building in SoHo was the site of Magic’s first competitive Pro Tour in 1996. Photo: Ajay Suresh

Site 5: Puck Building

The ability to dissect Magic like the Neutral Ground players was baked into the game’s original design. Magic was meant to work as a game that could be studied carefully and played with high stakes, along the lines of chess or poker. “All this precision invested in the design of the rules and cards made Magic a surprisingly good game to play seriously,” writes original designer Richard Garfield (2005).

Only a few years into the game’s development, Wizards of the Coast wanted a major, flagship tournament, comparable to the World Chess Championship or basketball’s NBA Finals. The game’s creators encouraged competitive play early on and recognized its potential to attract new players. “I subscribed fully to the concept of a Pro Tour,” writes Garfield (2005). “The NBA helped make basketball popular and didn’t keep the game from being played casually as well.”

Once again, New York City was the logical option. In addition to the Neutral Ground storefront, the city was a convenient hub for much of the country. “In searching for a host city where the excitement could live up to the magnitude of the event, it’s no surprise that Magic’s first Pro Tour was conceived in New York City” (Kornhauser & Holt, 2017). A tournament of this size would not fit in Neutral Ground, however, and required Wizards of Coast to look for a larger space. In 1996, the first Pro Tour took place in Lower Manhattan’s Puck Building, marking another NYC location as pivotal to Magic’s history. In the Pro Tour’s first year, 239 players participated, including winner Michael Loconto, who commuted from Massachusetts.

In addition to the Pro Tour, more casual events became common around the city, and Wizards of the Coast regularly rented space for events that would have stretched the limits of what Neutral Ground could accommodate. New Magic sets are premiered now with casual “pre-release” tournaments that give players an early first look at the cards. The first pre-release, called “The Gathering 1,” was for the 1995 Homelands set, spanned two floors of an NYC hotel, and included side events and artist booths. (Schvartzman, 2004)

Tournaments on a smaller scale continued to happen at Neutral Ground and paid out cash prizes. In the pre-social media days, the Magic decks that people tried out at that store influenced the decks that people played around the world. “The store’s constant high level of competition,” writes Patrick Chapin, “produced many strong decks with rogue origins” (2014). The store’s influence extends to how people organized tournaments everywhere. “Neutral Ground . . . helped standardize the matches to how we know them today” (Symon, 2022).

The game’s first major tournament had the effect of leaving behind a dedicated and connected player base after the tournament ended and entrants returned home. “I think the first Pro Tour in New York really legitimized the New York Magic scene,” reflects pro player Steve O’Mahoney-Schwartz. “After the first Pro Tour, we started to realize you needed to develop a team of people around you who was serious about playing Magic, serious about testing” (Kornhauser & Holt, 2017).

Neutral Ground’s heyday was over by the early 2000s when it changed ownership, and it ultimately closed in 2008. By this time, tournaments were held in places with more space, and game shops around the country stocked Magic cards. Neutral Ground had served its purpose of connecting serious players around the globe, and the store itself was no longer financially viable. One Magic forum user laments in 2009:

Are you guys telling me that Manhattan, the heart of New York City, the biggest and arguably most cosmopolitan city in the United States, the country that is the birthplace of MTG, is devoid of any MTG stores? My mind is boggled. How did this situation come to happen, that even small towns in Middle America and cities on the other side of the world have more MTG than NYC? (TempoTempo, 2009)

Neutral Ground left behind a legacy that represents a specific place and time, but the game grew. A few years after Neutral Ground’s closing, Magic became easy enough to find again in the city. Twenty Sided opened in Brooklyn in 2011, becoming the “hallmark destination for Brooklyn’s Magic scene” (Dillard, 2016). There are now stores with Magic events in every borough. Here are a few that, as of this writing, include MTG in their event calendars:

Eleven men sitting on a steel beam high over a skyscraper.
Famed 1932 photograph of 30 Rock construction workers eating lunch atop a dizzyingly high construction beam. Photo: public domain

Site 6: 30 Rock (30 Rockefeller Plaza)

This past October, a new Magic: The Gathering card was revealed: “Heroes in a Half Shell.” It features the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, veering wildly outside the Magic “multiverse” canon and into New York City’s subway system. Some fans weren’t happy about mixing the fantasy worlds so freely: “NYC already thinks it’s the center of the world, now it’s the center of the multiverse!” (Scottv2, 2025)

While I can’t speak for what NYC “thinks,” it’s certainly not the center of the “multiverse,” referring to the fictional planes in which the canonical stories of Magic take place. This claim stems from a string of small “Universes Beyond” sets, where Magic cards borrow from other pop culture canons. In 2024 and 2025, Wizards of the Coast published cards that inhabited the universes of Ghostbusters, Spider-Man, and as I mentioned, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, all of which take place in New York City. (“Universes Beyond” also included—and continues to include—dozens of non-NYC universes.) However, for most of the game’s history, the city was barely represented in the game’s lore at all.

This is, to be clear, in no way a given. Outside of Magic, New York City can be found across many games. Tammany Hall is a well-known board game set among the corrupt political power in the era of Boss Tweed, and Ticket to Ride and Age of Steam both have NYC-specific versions. A comprehensive list of video games that take place in NYC is staggering, which includes the 1983 Mario Bros. arcade game that is set in the city’s sewers. Grand Theft Auto or any game involving Batman show that fictional cities can be clearly NYC-inspired, not to mention the countless other games that involve the worlds of King Kong, Futurama, Men in Black, and so on.

Apart from “Universes Beyond,” Magic takes place in a variety of fantasy settings that aren’t on Earth, let alone in New York City. Yet the settings are still often based on real cultural locales around the world. Andrei Zanescu, who wrote a doctoral thesis on the topic (2023) lists some examples: “the Middle East (Arabian Nights, 1993), Japan (Kamigawa, 2004; 2022), India (Kaladesh, 2016) [. . .] Ancient Egypt (Amonkhet, 2017) and Archaic Greece (Theros, 2013, 2014, 2014, 2020).”

A canonical location being modeled after NYC didn’t truly occur until 2022 with a card set titled Streets of New Capenna, which was designed after urban gangster movies. One card in particular, “Riveteers Ascendancy,” makes an unambiguous city reference. “Back in 1932, a famous black and white photograph was taken that showcased 11 construction workers eating on top of a construction beam high up above New York City,” writes Jerrad Wyche (2022). “Riveteers Ascendency is a multi-color enchantment in Streets of New Capenna that’s practically a one-for-one copy of that iconic photograph. It is likely meant to evoke [pride for blue-collar workers] in the world of MTG.”

The 2022 card Riveteers Ascendancy clearly references the iconic 1932 “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” photograph shown earlier. Photo © 2025 Richard Blankman; card image © 2022 Wizards of the Coast

The photo came from a series of photographs done for publicity, clarifies Time in one video (Cauláin, 2016). The construction workers didn’t typically eat while dangling for their lives. But their work is unquestionably death-defying, and even the bravery to take the photo is obvious. (Less immediately obvious is the bravery of the photographer.) Perhaps there’s a parallel too between this magical game that created a fortune upon the fledgling company Wizards of the Coast and this magical building of Rockefeller Center that created a fortune’s worth of “economic opportunity for a population struggling through the Great Depression” (Hudes & The Center Magazine Staff, 2023).

Given that image’s unique history within the history of Magic card art, I selected 30 Rock as a site to visit, but since the Universes Beyond sets, the options have grown, although the Magic connection becomes more tenuous:

  • The Firehouse, Hook & Ladder Company 8 fire station in Tribeca is famous for its appearance in Ghostbusters.

  • There is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles manhole cover near the reptile house at the Bronx Zoo.

  • The campuses, exhibitions, and events of Columbia University, which is mostly in Morningside Heights, or NYU, which is basically everywhere but concentrated in Lower Manhattan, are collectively the inspiration for Empire State University, the fictional college that Peter Parker attends (when not moonlighting as Spider-Man).

A Magical Community

In preparing this article, at times I felt like I was excavating recesses of the internet trying to find Magic history. Thank the almighty Wizards of the Coast for digitally archiving all issues of the Duelist, a magazine dedicated to trading card games printed throughout the 90s. Sometimes I was also achingly reminded of what happens when you let teenagers loose on the internet. I was thrust back to Crackgate in 2014, where a Magic tournament attendee gained internet notoriety for photographing himself alongside visible butt cracks of unsuspecting players.

Complicated games with cards and dice attract a lot of nerdy gamers. I say that from experience and with love. Nerds are great. I was (am?) definitely one. I’d argue that people who put careful thought into improving their Magic play are, whether they like it or not, learning how to improve in virtually anything. Children who play the game can find complex problems that they’re motivated to solve. Adults who play the game can find a community outside work and family.

Sadly, some Magic playing spaces coalesce into insider clubs high on testosterone, low on hygiene, and where everyone can somehow afford loose packs of cards. Ethnographers studying toxic masculinity describe a board game café that hosted Magic events in 2021 (Falcão, Macedo, & Kurtz): “This space . . . was often frequented by women, but they rarely developed any relation with Magic. It was as if this store held two distinct universes in the same communal space: in one, people ate, drank, and had fun; in the other, the energy was heavy and conflict was palpable.” The decades-old video of Neutral Ground earlier in the post is fascinating to watch, but the demographics aren’t lost on me.

The designers of Magic deserve credit for their efforts at inclusivity and have published cards and official canon featuring characters of different races, genders, and sexual orientations. They have also looked to right past wrongs. In 2020, cards with problematic art and themes that were printed in the 90s were no longer allowed to be played. “When the Black Lives Matter movement was again making institutional racism visible, Wizards of the Coast . . . banned seven cards with ‘racist or culturally offensive’ images in all sanctioned tournament play” (Stenros & Montola, 2024). Stores in NYC are usually quick to nip sexism, racism, and transphobia in the bud, and I can attest to great community that can be found among this city’s Magic players.

I want to end this article on a positive note, however. A Magic card is just a small piece of cardboard, but despite its West Coast origins, it is also a relic of NYC history when you look closely enough. Hidden behind it are Medieval-era card collectors, revolutionary baseball players, and nerdy kids who went on to become icons in gaming history. In my time playing Magic in this city, I’ve come across some of the kindest, smartest people I’ve ever met. And for those few years where I belonged to a playgroup filled with neighbors, friends, and like-minded geeks around the city, I felt like part of a community that was simply magical.

Works Cited

Brass, Molly, and Stephen Tyler, dirs. 2018. The Last Chess Shop in New York City. Produced by The Atlantic, Molly Brass, Stephen Tyler, Anne Hollowday, and Fisayo Olajide. Lonelyleap. 06:55. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh8U6SLvNgs.

Brougère, Gilles. 2004. “How Much Is a Pokémon Worth? Pokémon in France.” In Pikachu’s Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon, edited by Joseph Tobin. Duke University Press.

Cauláin, Éamonn Ó, dir. 2016. Lunch Atop A Skyscraper: The Story Behind The 1932 Photo. Produced by Kira Pollack, Paul Moakley, Tara Johnson, Red Border Films, and Time. 100 Photos. Time Inc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QCYDzsQ_yM.

Chapin, Patrick. 2014. Next Level Deckbuilding: The Ultimate Magic: The Gathering Deckbuilding Resource. Next Level Unlimited.

David-Marshall, Brian. 2005. “Saviors of Kamigawa Prerelease Primer.” MagicTheGathering.Com > Columns, May 16. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom%2Ffeature%2F265.

Dillard, Todd. 2016. “The Phases: Love, Loss, and Magic the Gathering.” Literary Nonprofit. Electric Literature, July 20. https://electricliterature.com/the-phases-love-loss-and-magic-the-gathering/.

Falcão, Thiago, Tarcizio Macedo, and Gabriela Kurtz. 2021. “Conservadorismo e Masculinidade Tóxica Na Cultura Gamer: Uma Aproximação a Magic: The Gathering.” MATRIZes 15 (2): 251–77. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1982-8160.v15i2p251-277.

Fenton, Greg. 2015. “Reviewing the Art of Alpha.” Vintage Magic, November 2. https://www.vintagemagic.com/blog/greg-fenton-reviewing-the-art-of-alpha/.

Garfield, Richard. 2005. “The Design Evolution of Magic: The Gathering.” In The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology, edited by Katie Salen Tekinbas and Eric Zimmerman. The MIT Press.

Goldstein, Richard. 2014. “Sy Berger, Who Turned Baseball Heroes Into Brilliant Rectangles, Dies at 91.” A. The New York Times (New York, NY), December 15.

Hahn, Rob. 1996. “Spotlight On: Neutral Ground.” The Duelist, September.

Huberman, Andrew. 2025. Josh Waitzkin: The Art of Learning & Living Life. Episode 213. Huberman Lab. January 27.

Hudes, Karen and The Center Magazine Staff. 2023. “The History of the ‘Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’ Photo at Rockefeller Center.” The Center Magazine, November 21. https://www.rockefellercenter.com/magazine/arts-culture/lunch-atop-skyscraper-irish-immigrants/.

Jamieson, Dave. 2010. Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession. Atlantic Monthly Press.

Kornhauser, Shawn, and Nathan Holt, dirs. 2017. Enter the Battlefield: Neutral Ground. Produced by Greg Collins and Wizards of the Coast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XKeNWiqFws.

Professional Sports Authenticator [PSA]. 2025. “1952 Topps Mickey Mantle.” PSA Cardfacts. www.psacard.com/cardfacts/baseball-cards/1952-topps/mickey-mantle-311/23330.

Randhawa, Manny. 2022. “Honus Wagner T206 Card Sells for Record $7.25 Million.” MLB.com, August 4. https://www.mlb.com/news/rare-t206-honus-wagner-baseball-card-sold-for-7-25-million.

Riggs, Ben. 2022. Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons. St. Martin’s Press.

Roeder, Oliver. 2022. Seven Games: A Human History. W.W. Norton & Company.

Rosenberg, Adam. 2017. “Dana Fischer Is an Amazing (and Adorable) 6-Year-Old ‘Magic’ Pro.” Entertainment. Mashable, July 10. https://mashable.com/article/magic-gathering-dana-fischer-6-year-old.

Scottyv2. 2025. “You know it’s rough when even Jim Davis can’t do it anymore.” r/magicTCG, October 11. https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/1o3zjqg/you_know_its_rough_when_even_jim_davis_cant_do_it/.

Shvartsman, Alex. 2004. “GP Madrid in the Books.” MagicTheGathering.Com > Columns, February 26. http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom%2Fdaily%2Fash3.

Steinke, Darcey. 1997. “Masters of Their Domain.” Spin, August.

Stenros, Jaakko, and Markus Montola. 2024. The Rule Book: The Building Blocks of Games. Playful Thinking. The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/14730.001.0001.

Symon, Evan. 2022. “Remembering Neutral Ground: One of the Most Important Magic Stores in MTG History.” Magic Untapped, October 3. https://magicuntapped.com/index.php/articles/remembering-neutral-ground-one-of-the-most-important-magic-stores-in-mtg-history.

TempoTempo. 2009. “Magic in NYC.” MTG Salvation, April 2. https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-general/319287-magic-in-nyc.

The Met [The Metropolitan Museum of Art]. 2016. “The Cloisters Playing Cards.” The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/475513.

The Uncommons. 2025. “The Uncommons.” The Uncommons [Homepage]. https://uncommonsnyc.com/. Accessed November 9, 2025.

Wilkinson, W. H. 1895. “Chinese Origin of Playing Cards.” American Anthropologist 8 (1): 61–78.

Wyche, Jerrad. 2022. “8 Pop Culture References You Missed in MTG’s Streets of New Capenna.” The Gamer, May 3. https://www.thegamer.com/magic-the-gathering-mtg-streets-of-new-capenna-pop-culture-references/.

Zanescu, Andrei. 2023. “Blockbuster Resonance in Games: How Assassin’s Creed and Magic: The Gathering Simulate Classical Antiquity.” Doctor of Philosophy, Concordia University.

Zupke, Andy. 2024. “First Look at the Marvel and Magic: The Gathering Crossover at NYCC.” Commander’s Herald, September 20. https://commandersherald.com/first-look-at-the-marvel-and-magic-the-gathering-crossover-at-nycc/.

]]><![CDATA[Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, December 2025]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/december-2025-free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nychttps://www.blankmanlist.com/p/december-2025-free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nycMon, 17 Nov 2025 13:54:18 GMT
The 2012 Rockefeller Center tree lighting included CeeLo Green performing with the Muppets. The annual celebration is broadcast live this year on December 3, and then anyone can then see the tree through mid-January. Photo: Anthony Quintano

People do not all take vacations in the same way. There are, of course, many who simply don’t. The expense is too great or the time away too untenable. Among those who are lucky enough to have one once in a while, some are already out exploring by breakfast and others roll out of a hotel bed at noon, looking to sunbathe alongside a margarita.1 Some people seek out new foods, others arts and museums. Some seek wild parties, others quiet spaces.

I know where I fit among this (don’t wake me up too early), and some of my most successful vacations were with people who travel with similar goals in mind. But I respect all philosophies towards stepping away from the familiar for a little bit. In this highlights I lean into the reality that December is a heavy tourist month in this city and consider the full spectrum of what different tourists might want.

As usual, this is part of the more expansive December 2025 Blankman List, which includes many more things to do this December in NYC and without all this annoying commentary, to boot. To the people who have purchased a paid subscription, even for just a month, thank you. You are the reason that I am able to continue this project.

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Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

The Hallmark Movie

I learned early on that this list finds purpose among both residents and tourists, and December is—unsurprisingly—peak tourist season around here, during which this city welcomes over 3 million tourists every day. So for those of you among them, I begin with a short list of the traditional. If you’re visiting, please note that (1) the actual Rockefeller tree lighting is not open to the public (I think), (2) the Home Alone screening listed below is not in Manhattan, and (3) I absolutely do not recommend watching the ball drop live on New Year’s Eve, a famously insufferable experience. If you want to do that, here’s a link and godspeed.

  • After Wednesday, December 3: Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

    • Elaborately decorated 75-foot Christmas tree that is ceremoniously lit and broadcast on TV (Dec 3, 7–10 pm), then left on display through mid-January

    • Free

    • Rockefeller Center

    • 30 Rockefeller Plaza (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Friday, December 12: A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin: Home Alone 35th Anniversary

    • 35th anniversary screening of the 1990 film Home Alone, followed by a moderated interview with actor Macaulay Culkin; 7:30 pm (6:30 pm doors)

    • $68–$314

    • Kings Theatre

    • 1027 Flatbush Ave (Flatbush, Brooklyn)

  • Various days in December: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker

    • New York City Ballet company performance of The Nutcracker with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreography by George Balanchine; Nov 28–Jan 3

    • $90–$372

    • David H. Koch Theater

    • 20 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

  • Every day in December: Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes

    • Annual musical holiday stage show; multiple times each day, ranging from 9 am to 10 pm

    • $54–$500+

    • Radio City Music Hall

    • 1260 6th Ave (Midtown, Manhattan)

Thespian Holidays

I realize not everyone cares much for theater (“yet,” I would cheekily add if you admitted this to me in person), but NYC is one of its premiere world destinations. Browse the r/Broadway subreddit, and you will find people around the world who travel here for only that. For those looking to see a Broadway show but don’t know where to start, my top recommendation is the impeccably designed B’way Rush website, which lists all shows playing in a Broadway theater, along with information about showtimes and discount options. From this list I call attention to the December premiere of Bug, a 1996 play about two people being driven insane by conspiracy theories. Proceed with caution, but Off- and Off-Off-Broadway always has excellent work getting produced, too. I feel confident the world would be a better place if everyone got to hear the “I Love You Song” trio from William Finn’s (1952–2025) zany The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (playing Off-Broadway right now) at least once in their lives.

  • Thursday, December 4–Sunday, December 21: Killing Mrs. Claus

    • One-act Off-Off-Broadway “ridiculously inappropriate” play written and directed by Peter Zachari; Thu, Fri & Sat at 8 pm; Sun at 3 pm

    • $20 general / $15 student/senior

    • Theater for the New City, Community Space

    • 155 1st Ave (East Village, Manhattan)

  • Through Sunday, December 7: Practice

    • Nazareth Hassan’s new Off-Broadway play about power, surrender, and what it takes to be a genius

    • $64–$104

    • Playwrights Horizons, Judith O. Rubin Theater

    • 416 W 42nd St (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

  • Previews begin Tuesday, December 16: Bug

    • Broadway premiere of the psychological thriller Bug by playwright Tracy Letts about two people being driven insane by conspiracy theories

    • $99–$422

    • Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

    • 261 W 47th St (Times Square, Manhattan)

  • Throughout December: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

    • Off-Broadway revival of William Finn’s 2005 musical about six adolescents competing in a fictional spelling bee

    • $58–$194

    • New World Stages

    • 340 W 50th St (Midtown, Manhattan)

These light sculptures were from a 2025 visit to the Noguchi Museum in Queens, a peaceful destination that offers a guided meditation session on December 13. Photo: Heartleafphilodendron

Quiet Among the Chaos

Even during its quietest months, parts of New York City remain overwhelming. A cold, rainy March evening can still have you elbowing your way through giant Elmos on your way home from a Broadway show. Christmastime in Times Square specifically is perhaps better left to the movies. To the introverted, reflective, and shy among you: Quiet activities and low-key affairs are available in this city, too.

  • Wednesday, December 10: PAUSE Sound Bath with Sara Auster & Alex Falk

    • Guided meditative sound bath from practitioners Sara Auster and Alex Falk intended for reflection and renewal; 6:30 pm

    • $35

    • Tibet House US

    • 22 W 15th St (Union Square, Manhattan)

  • Saturday, December 13: Poets House 30th Showcase Exhibition Opening

    • Opening with readings and reception for an exhibition of poetry publications from 2024 and 2025 that documented key changes in the art form; 4–6 pm

    • Free

    • Poets House

    • 10 River Terrace (Battery Park City, Manhattan)

  • Saturday, December 13: Mindfulness in the Noguchi Museum Galleries

    • Guided meditation and mindfulness exercise in the Noguchi Museum before it’s open to the public; 10–11:30 am

    • $16 (includes museum admission)

    • The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum

    • 9-01 33rd Rd (Long Island City, Queens)

  • Tuesday, December 16: Death Cafe

    • Informal, group-directed discussion of death with the purpose of increasing “awareness of death to help people make the most of their lives”; 6:30–8 pm

    • Free

    • Green-Wood Cemetery, Modern Chapel

    • 500 25th St (Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn)

A less tourist-centric event to go to this December could be one of the practical, real-world classes taught at Lifeshop, such as the December 1 workshop on how to have better conversations. Photo: Xenia Viragh

Off the Beaten Path

This is probably my favorite type of event type to discover: something away from Radio City Music Hall and Broadway and without celebrities or deep marketing budgets. Events like workshops, lectures, social meet-ups, the avant-garde. Events potentially far from where most tourists are staying. Learning about the full range of what NYC can offer is a big part of what makes the list so enjoyable for me to craft every month.

Les’ Fuggin’ Go!

I think many NYC residents would agree that the “city that never sleeps” seems to have gotten a bit more shuteye ever since Covid. Fewer places are open late, and parts of the city feel calmer. But hey, if you’re into loud music, late nights, and a little bit of chaos, this city’s still got you covered.2

File:Church of St. Luke in the Fields 01.JPG
Along with concerts, like the December 4 “Baroque Christmas in Rome,” the West Village’s Church of St. Luke in the Fields opens its gardens to the public through dusk on most days. Photo: Elisa Rolle

Religious Traditions

Christmas is obviously the big one, but Hanukkah begins December 15, Kwanzaa begins December 26, and on the whole, this melting pot of a city has holidays and festivities throughout the month (or year, for that matter). In developing these lists each month, I often check the calendars of different religious spaces. I look primarily for events geared to people of all faiths, like talks, concerts, and art exhibitions. This month, along with a few other religiously-themed events, I call attention to a heavenly—in all senses of the word—Baroque music performance happening at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields in the West Village.

  • Thursday, December 4: A Baroque Christmas in Rome

    • Concert with Baroque period instruments that “might have been heard on Christmas Eve in the basilica,” with pre-concert lecture; 7:30 pm (6:30 pm lecture)

    • $45

    • Church of St. Luke in the Fields

    • 487 Hudson St (West Village, Manhattan)

  • Monday, December 15: 54 Celebrates Hanukkah: A Festival of Writers

    • Fifth annual cabaret concert of new, original Hanukkah songs written by Jewish musical theater writers; 7 & 9:30 pm

    • $35–$74+, plus $25 food and beverage minimum

    • 54 Below

    • 254 W 54th St, Cellar (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Tuesday, December 26–Saturday, December 30: Celebrate Kwanzaa at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum

    • Annual mix of repeating and unique programs designed for all ages that celebrate the traditions of Kwanzaa; 10 am–5 pm

    • $15

    • Brooklyn Children’s Museum

    • 145 Brooklyn Ave (Crown Heights, Brooklyn)

  • Through Saturday, December 27: Jewish Worlds Illuminated: A Treasury of Hebrew Manuscripts

    • Exhibition of books and manuscripts from the Jewish Theological Seminary library showcasing the different lands in which Jews resided; 10 am–5 pm

    • Free

    • The Grolier Club

    • 47 E 60th St (Upper East Side, Manhattan)

Union Square Cafe has a “Feast of the Seven Fishes” four-course dinner available on Christmas Eve. Photo: Americasroof

Holiday Feasts

Okay, one of these events is less a feast and more a, well, soy sauce sampling in a department store. But (1) it seemed absurd to only list things that require dressing up and dropping a few Benjamins, and (2) enjoying the food that NYC has to offer includes much more than indulgent multi-course meals. As a bonus list of sorts (this is the first time I’ve provided seven categories here!) here are a few ideas for eating your way through NYC in December.

1

And they marry each other.

2

Even in a list of events specifically dedicated to people who wanna go nuts around Christmas time, I still refuse to formally list SantaCon.

]]><![CDATA[Things to Do in NYC, December 2025]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-december-2025https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-december-2025Sun, 09 Nov 2025 16:09:08 GMTThe Blankman List is a monthly curated list of things to do in New York City. It showcases the full range of what there is to do, for residents and tourists alike.

I especially seek out artistic and cultural events like concerts, plays, and art exhibits, along with anything that is high-quality, notable, and/or free. There is at least one event for every day of December 2025, and no borough or event type is off limits.

Creating this list is a lot of work for me! Seeing events past the first week requires a paid subscription. All subscribers, however, receive a free highlights post.

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Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Monday, December 1

Tuesday, December 2

Wednesday, December 3

Thursday, December 4

  • Practice

    • Nazareth Hassan’s new Off-Broadway play about power, surrender, and what it takes to be a genius; 7:30 pm; through Dec 7

    • $64–$104

    • Playwrights Horizons, Judith O. Rubin Theater

    • 416 W 42nd St (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

  • KONTUSION, Satanic Magick, Shatter, Heretic Bodyhammer

    • Concert featuring death metal band KONTUSION, NYC-based thrash metal band Satanic Magick, and others; 7 pm

    • $16

    • TV Eye, The Ballroom

    • 1647 Weirfield St (Ridgewood, Queens)

  • A Baroque Christmas in Rome

    • Concert of Baroque-era music with period instruments that “might have been heard on Christmas Eve in the basilica,” with pre-concert lecture; 7:30 pm (6:30 pm lecture)

    • $45

    • Church of St. Luke in the Fields

    • 487 Hudson St (West Village, Manhattan)

Friday, December 5

  • How to Listen to Theremin with the NY Theremin Society

    • Guided workshop from the NY Theremin Society on how to play the theremin, with no experience required; 2–3 pm

    • Free with museum admission, which is pay-what-you-wish for NYC residents and NY, NJ, CT students, otherwise $30 adult / $22 senior / $17 student

    • The Metropolitan Museum of Art Fifth Avenue, Gallery 681

    • 1000 5th Ave (Upper East Side, Manhattan)

  • Reflections on the Moon

    • Conversation between NASA’s Denise Hill, astrophysicist Adrian Bayer, and sociologist Tracy Scott on the moon’s role across science and culture, followed by reception; 6–8 pm (5:30 pm doors)

    • Free

    • Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium

    • 160 5th Ave (Flatiron District, Manhattan)

  • Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

    • Elaborately decorated 75-foot Christmas tree that is ceremoniously lit and broadcast on TV (Dec 3, 7–10 pm), then left on display through mid-January

    • Free

    • Rockefeller Center

    • 30 Rockefeller Plaza (Midtown, Manhattan)

Saturday, December 6

  • String Quartet No. 3 OCTET

    • Experimental multimedia musical work by composer Paul Pinto that’s a “marriage of sonic slowness and visual anticipation”; 7 & 9 pm; Dec 5 & 6

    • $25 general / $15 student/senior

    • CultureHub NYC

    • 47 Great Jones St, 3rd Floor (NoHo, Manhattan)

  • NYCRuns Cocoa Classic 5K

    • Casual 5-kilometer running race through Prospect Park; 9 am (7 am arrival)

    • $60 (includes medal and refreshments)

    • Prospect Park

    • Start at Well House Dr & West Dr (Prospect Park, Brooklyn)

Sunday, December 7

  • The New Yorker in Dog Years

    • Exhibition of 100 years of dogs on the cover of The New Yorker on loan from a private collection; 11 am–6 pm; through Dec 7

    • $5–$15 entry

    • American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog

    • 101 Park Ave (Midtown East, Manhattan)

  • Sylvie Courvoisier with Mary Halvorson and Wadada Leo Smith

    • Experimental classical pianist-composer Sylvie Courvoisier performs duos with guitarist Mary Halvorson and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith; 8 pm (7 pm doors)

    • $25 advance / $30 doors / $20 student/senior

    • Roulette

    • 509 Atlantic Ave (Boerum Hill, Brooklyn)

Read more

]]><![CDATA[On FOMO and Recent Events]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/on-fomo-and-recent-eventshttps://www.blankmanlist.com/p/on-fomo-and-recent-eventsMon, 27 Oct 2025 12:44:35 GMT
Jaime Allan’s Amaze is a stage magic show that takes place at an Off-Broadway theater and includes people levitating, motorcycles appearing, and other tricks. Photo: © 2025 Richard Blankman

To be clear, “recent events” isn’t coded language for something that happened in the news; it literally refers to events I’ve been to recently. Apologies for being clickbaity.

Try as I might to be above FOMO, when I scroll through Instafacestack or whatever, I see events I wished I’d attended and places I wished I’d gone. I’ve turned event research into a monetized hobby, so it’s hard not to feel a little bit regretful. Even if I’ve no qualms about missing the event, I might be upset that I omitted it from my monthly list.

So to hell with that. Here are the places that I DID go over these past few weeks.

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TV Studio Audience

Years ago I wrote a post on where to see free and cheap events in NYC. It continues to get some traffic, and one day I noticed that the most clicked link is to 1ota.com—a site where you can sign up for free tickets to be in live TV audiences and attend other film-related events. (They also have events in Los Angeles.)

I’ve used the site a couple times before. In 2015, I remember being in a studio audience and getting to see James Taylor sing “La Marseillaise” shortly after the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris. A while back I entered my name for tickets to a series of Jimmy Kimmel Live in Brooklyn tapings. Long after I’d completely forgotten about it, I got an email asking to confirm!

The guests ended up being quite high profile: Spike Lee and Tom Hanks, with a cameo from Matt Damon. It felt surreal for a second to be on live TV, but it also felt a little quaint. Do people still watch TV? It’s been many years since I cut that cable, and I’ve only seen Jimmy Kimmel clips myself via YouTube and Instagram feeds. I felt more like an extra in a lavishly funded social media post.

A few weeks back, I got to be in the studio audience for a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Photo: Didi Beck, Neon Tommy

Stage Magic Shows

Magic has been on my mind a lot lately, and I’ve written about it in lists as recent as this past August and September. I saw two shows recently, Hayden Childress’ Urban Illusions, and Jamie Allan’s Amaze. To some extent, they represent opposite ends of a magic spectrum. Urban Illusions is an intimate, close-up magic show tucked away in an East Village basement, whereas Amaze is a more explosive show on an Off-Broadway stage, with people levitating and motorcycles appearing.

I am grateful to live in a city where magic is so accessible. It’s something I’ve loved reading about all my life. One of my favorite books as a kid was Expert Card Technique: Close-Up Table Magic, a decades-old book on how to perform card magic tricks. The thing was though, I couldn’t do the tricks. I just liked reading the behind-the-scenes techniques of how they were done. I felt in awe of both Childress and Allan, like I was bearing witness to people who could actually do those tricks and have clearly persisted with the craft all their lives.

I’ve since read plenty of other magic-related books, although generally ones way less dry and technical as Expert Card Technique. I was practically giddy when one of the books assigned to me in a college history class was Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man. My personal favorite so far is probably Jim Steinmeyer’s Hiding the Elephant.

I recently read Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and it changed me. In this case it’s fiction, but the protagonist is an amateur magician and co-creates a comic book about a magician superhero. The story takes place largely in World War II–era New York City, with striking, beautiful prose along the way. I picked it up specifically because the Metropolitan Opera was premiering a new work based on the novel, but I soon felt myself inhabiting Chabon’s dark world, looking forward to each chapter, and dreading it being over. All said, I’d never done that before: read a book, followed by seeing the opera it’s based off of.

The Metropolitan Opera

I’m always happy when it’s opera season. This year, Kavalier & Clay was top of mind for me, but there is nary a show I’d say no to.1 One of my favorite things to do is to try and rush the operas. It requires clicking a button at noon (for most performances) on the dot and, even then sometimes getting a little bit lucky. Part of the fun is no doubt the savings. Each ticket is 25 dollars, and I’ve gotten some excellent seats, some amounting to over 90 percent off.

Another part of the fun for me, however, is the gamble. I wake up not knowing how my night will end. Will I stay at home, cooking dinner and playing with my cat? Or will I finish my workday then head over to Lincoln Center for three and a half hours of resplendent sung drama in Italian? On a recent Thursday evening, Turandot was playing, so I logged on to the rush site a few minutes before noon, monitored the time down to the second, clicked the button at 12 o’clock exactly, and my coin flipped up opera.

The story is pure insanity and deeply problematic, but oh lordy the music. I’ll share here the same video I did on a previous article I wrote about going to the opera in New York City:

I repeated the ritual a week later for La Fille du Régiment, another Italian opera, although this one sung in French and with several non-singing roles. (An opéra-comique.) Sandra Oh played the rich, eccentric mother of the groom in a fraught marriage. It’s a role that has historically gone to many celebrities, including Bea Arthur, Kathleen Turner, and famously in 2016, US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It’s the most champagne-guzzling pinkies-out laughter you’ll ever hear, but I do appreciate a little goofiness on an opera stage.

I’m less likely to go the rush route for contemporary operas, which I don’t even want to risk missing! This is the music that’s more than beautiful to me, it’s current. It’s relevant. Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Turandot, etc. all have breathtaking scores, but the classical canon has been done to death and, more troubling for me, falls into this centuries-long Western tradition that is shockingly devoid of women and people of color.2

The 2025–26 Met Opera season has three contemporary operas:

As I mentioned, I was fortunate enough to see Kavalier & Clay already, and I thought librettist Gene Scheer did masterful work trimming the gigantic book down to the essentials needed for an opera. The material is so heavy that I was actually relieved by some parts of the novel that were left out of the opera. The real hero for me was Mason Bates. He composed the work and is known for incorporating electronics into his music. I loved how well the score melded superhero adventures with military marches.

Requisite Playbill shot to prove I was in fact at The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Photo © 2025 Richard Blankman

Musical Theater

Musical theater, opera’s microphone-laden cousin, is another art form I’ve gabbed on about plenty of times. Last year, I wrote about having seen every musical playing at the time on Broadway. Drama with music will always feel natural to me, and similar to the Met Opera’s rush program, over the years I’ve made liberal use of Broadway rushes, lotteries, and other discounts.

A show that’s been on my radar for a while (and was in last September’s Blankman List) is Mexodus. It’s a two-person show where all of the music (and sound effects!) are created live on stage using looping tools. The story takes place during nineteenth-century Texas, where a person who had been enslaved found freedom by escaping to Mexico.

I thought it was a stunning, original show, and it made for an interesting comparison with the other show I’ve seen recently, Heathers. Both shows played Off-Broadway, where the smaller scale (and lower mounting costs) can allow for more experimentation than Broadway. Mexodus was trying something very new: a story that hadn’t been told much, original music in a style rarely seen in theater, and orchestration that emerged as the show unfolded. Heathers, on the other hand, was straightforward musical theater writing, based on a film that came out nearly 40 years ago.

That said, the decades-old plot still feels fresh to me. Without spoiling too much, both shows involve a murder. Both murders are arguably rooted in justice. Yet in Mexodus, the murder is understandable and necessary, whereas in Heathers, it was committed by an irreverent teenager and completely avoidable. I left Mexodus contemplating immigration and slavery. I left Heathers humming the tune to “Dead Gay Son.”

I don’t mean to dismiss Heathers. It’s a show I’ve long wanted to see after it gained a fervent cult following its previous Off-Broadway run in 2014. High school is fertile breeding ground for all sorts of drama, and Heathers turns the dial to 11. The jocks are homophobic idiots and sexual predators. The popular girls have eating disorders and are mercilessly cruel. I sympathize with anyone who passes because of the show’s many triggers. But to those who believe there is no line in comedy, the writing is sharp. The original cast (which I saw) includes many actors I’ve been longtime fans of, too. I’ve written before about Olivia Hardy’s singing in the context of a Beyoncé cabaret, and just last August, I promoted Casey Likes’ cabaret. I suppose I like a good cabaret.

But in the end, it’s always, always, always about the music for me. I’ll forgive any plot if the music slaps. Before seeing Heathers, I’d already gone entire weeks where the chorus of “Seventeen” played on an endless loop in my brain, infecting it deeply and making it impossible sometimes to fall asleep or concentrate on what another person was saying because all I could hear was, “Can’t we be seventeeeeeen? That’s all I want to dooooo.”

FOMO and JOMO

To combat FOMO, I’ve seen people singing the praises of JOMO—the joy of missing out. The idea is not to lament missing out but rather to celebrate what you do spend your time on. There’s a lot to be said about passing an occasional night gorging on Oreos and watching comfort TV.

Working on an NYC events list month in and month out means that I’ve long stopped feeling overwhelmed by what I’m missing out on. There’s just too much. On any given night, I could be at the greatest party I’ve ever experienced, but there are still hundreds of other parties happening that I’m missing out on. Such is life.

But it’s not quite JOMO for me either. I don’t revel in missing events. I suppose I just don’t care. I go to the things that I can, and I don’t go to the things that I can’t. The reason can be as plain as “I don’t want to.” One of my favorite ways to go to the opera is alone. It becomes meditative. I know my time on this Earth is limited, and the older I get, the more aware of it I feel. But when I hear music, I’m happy to be alive.

1

Er, I’ve said no multiple times. I love the art form, but I have lukewarm feelings about commuting home from Lincoln Center at, like, midnight on a Tuesday.

2

This remains a problem, no doubt, but I’m aware the Metropolitan Opera understands the value and need for diversity among creatives. Grounded, by composer Jeanine Tesori, opened last season, and in this season, both Innocence and El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego are also composed by women—Kaija Saariaho (1952–2023) and Gabriela Lena Frank, respectively.

]]><![CDATA[Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, November 2025]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nyc-november-2025https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nyc-november-2025Sat, 11 Oct 2025 19:29:34 GMT
Galerie Lelong, an art gallery in Chelsea, once showcased this installation by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. (Through November, the gallery is exhibiting works by Botswana-born artist Pamela Phatsino Sunstrum.) Photo: istolethetv

In practice this is a terrible idea, but in theory you can take an “NYC from A to Z” tour specifically on November 9, when you could observe the Sun with the Amateur Astronomers Association, take the B train to Chinatown, head over to Delancey-Essex, take the F train towards Greenwich, pass the now Insolvent (sadly) Juku as you walk through Lower Manhattan and NOho, get a Pain Quotidien Rosé or Serafina Tribeca Ubah, then Vigorously Walk by the BrainXcape Escape Room to Your destination: Zizi Wine Bar by the Z train for a Zardetto, Zenato, or if you’re bold, Zuccardi.

The tour starts by solar observing with the Amateur Astronomers Association, ends at Zizi Wine Bar, and takes you through an absurd, contrived alphabetical tour in between (see above). Photo: Google Maps

I don’t actually recommend this extremely contrived tour, or even a “Pain Quotidien Rosé” for that matter, but for this month, I offer a better curated tour of NYC, from Alphabet City to to the JMZ. Most of events below come from the more expansive (and orthographically agnostic) November 2025 Blankman List.

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Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

A is for Astronomy

  • Tuesday, November 18: Astronomy Live: Grand Tour of the Universe

    • Guided planetarium “tour” of the observable universe using visualization software; 7:30 pm (6 pm in Spanish)

    • $20

    • Hayden Planetarium Space Theater, American Museum of Natural History

    • 200 Central Park W (Upper West Side, Manhattan)

B is for Broadway

  • Previews begin Saturday, November 1: Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York

    • New two-person Broadway musical rom-com originally from England about two people attending a wedding

    • $59–$299

    • Longacre Theatre

    • 220 W 48th St (Times Square, Manhattan)

C is for Chess

  • Wednesday, November 12: Free Chess Night at Alphaville

    • Social, casual chess open play and tournament for players of all skill levels; 8:30 pm tournament (7 pm doors)

    • Free open play / $5 tournament buy-in with cash prizes

    • Alphaville

    • 140 Wilson Ave (Bushwick, Brooklyn)

D is for the Declaration of Independence

Anthony Braxton on Eb sopranino saxophone
The performance venue Roulette is featuring works by experimental composer Anthony Braxton (shown above) all year long, including a concert on November 19 of works for two pianos. Photo © 1976 Tom Marcello

E is for Experimental Piano Music

F is for Fashion

  • Wednesday, November 12–Saturday, November 15: Fashion for Action 2025

    • Fundraising benefit with apparel and accessories sold at a discount to benefit Housing Works’ services for New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS

    • $40–$500+ for Nov 12 opening night / free entry Nov 13–15

    • Housing Works Chelsea Thrift Shop

    • 143 W 17th St (Chelsea, Manhattan)

G is for Genetics

H is for Hank Williams

  • Friday, November 28: Hanksgiving at The Owl Music Parlor

    • Sixth annual, and final, Hanksgiving, honoring the music and 100th birthday of Hank Williams; 8 pm (7:30 pm)

    • Ticket info coming (includes pumpkin pie)

    • The Owl Music Parlor

    • 497 Rogers Ave (Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn)

I is for Indonesian Jazz

  • Wednesday, November 12–Sunday, November 16: Joey Alexander & Friends

    • Jazz trio performance led by Indonesian-born pianist Joey Alexander

    • $25–$65, plus 1 entree minimum (or $20 minimum for 10:30 shows)

    • Smoke Jazz & Supper Club

    • 2751 Broadway (Manhattan Valley, Manhattan)

Japanese psychedelic rock musician Shintaro Sakamoto (right) is performing at Queens’ Knockdown Center on November 4. Photo: Riny van Eijk

J is for Japanese Rock

K is for the Knicks

  • Monday, November 24: Brooklyn Nets vs. New York Knicks

    • Regular season NBA [National Basketball Association] game between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks; 7:30 pm (6 pm doors)

    • $106–$558+

    • Barclays Arena

    • 620 Atlantic Ave (Prospect Heights, Brooklyn)

L is for Labubu

  • Friday, November 7: Labubu Rave

    • Late-night Labubu-themed rave with vendors, giveaways, and KPOP/EDM music; 11 pm

    • $25–$41

    • Webster Hall

    • 125 E 11th St (East Village, Manhattan)

M is for Money

  • Monday, November 17: The Hidden Economic Beliefs That Cost You Money

    • Lecture by economist Howard Yaruss about myths surrounding government taxes and spending, and how they connect to the stories we tell ourselves about money; 6:30–8:30 pm

    • $35 (use code “Blankman” for 15% off)

    • Fabrik NYC

    • 12-16 Vestry St, 4th Floor (Lower Manhattan)

Clara and The Nutcracker
The NYC Ballet company performs George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker every year, with performances this year beginning on November 8. Photo: Gabriel Saldana

N is for The Nutcracker

  • Performances begin Friday, November 28: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker

    • New York City Ballet company performance of The Nutcracker with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreography by George Balanchine; through Jan 3

    • $142–$392

    • David H. Koch Theater

    • 20 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

O is for Opera

  • Various days through Wednesday, November 12: La Fille du Régiment

    • Classic nineteenth-century opéra comique by composer Gaetano Donizetti about an orphan raised by a regiment of French soldiers; Oct 17–Nov 12

    • $35–$470

    • Metropolitan Opera House

    • 30 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

P is for Pancakes

Andean Bear at Queens Zoo
NYC has several zoos besides the large one in the Bronx, such as the Queens Zoo, which features the Andean bear shown above and a family-friendly Día de los Muertos celebration on November 2. Photo: BronxZooFan

Q is for Queens Zoo

  • Sunday, November 2: Día de los Muertos at Queens Zoo

    • Family-friendly Day of the Dead celebration, with animal meet-and-greets and activities focused on Latin American cultures; 11 am–4 pm; Nov 1 & 2

    • Included with zoo admission, which is $11 adult / $9 senior / $8 child

    • Queens Zoo

    • 53-51 111th St (Corona, Queens)

R is for Rap

S is for Stand-Up Comedy

  • Tuesdays, November 11, 18 & 25: Chris’s Comedy Cash Mic at Q.E.D.

    • 5-minute stand-up comedy set competition with voting and prizes

    • $5, plus one item minimum

    • Q.E.D.

    • 27-16 23rd Ave (Astoria, Queens)

T is for Thanksgiving

  • Thursday, November 27: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

    • 99th annual New York City parade in celebration of Thanksgiving; 8:30 am–12 pm

    • Free

    • Begins at 59th St & Central Park W; ends at Macy’s on 6th Ave & 34th St

    • Upper East Side and Midtown, Manhattan

Paintings and other works by Uruguayan artist José Gurvich are on view through November 1 at Hutchinson Modern & Contemporary Gallery in the Upper East Side. Photo: Iliazd

U is for Uruguayan Art

  • Through Saturday, November 1: José Gurvich: Sense of Place

    • Exhibition of paintings and other works by Uruguayan artist José Gurvich; 11 am–5 pm

    • Free

    • Hutchinson Modern & Contemporary

    • 47 E 64th St (Upper East Side, Manhattan)

V is for Vintage

W is for Witches

X is for Xanadu

Y is for Yoga

  • Every Monday: Yoga at Park Slope Library

    • One-hour yoga class designed to be accessible for all skill levels; 4–5 pm

    • Free

    • Park Slope Library, auditorium

    • 431 6th Ave (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

Z is for Zombies

  • Sunday, November 2: Romero & Juliet

    • Concert premiere of the rock musical Romero & Juliet about zombies who resent filmmaker George Romero for revealing their existence; 7 pm (6 pm doors)

    • $48

    • The Cutting Room

    • 44 E 32nd St (Murray Hill, Manhattan)

]]><![CDATA[Things to Do in NYC, November 2025]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-november-2025https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-november-2025Mon, 06 Oct 2025 12:23:22 GMTThe Blankman List is a monthly curated list of things to do in New York City. It showcases the full range of what there is to do, for residents and tourists alike.

I especially seek out artistic and cultural events like concerts, plays, and art exhibits, along with anything that is high-quality, notable, and/or free. There is at least one event for every day of November 2025, and no borough or event type is off limits.

Creating this list is a lot of work for me! Thus, seeing events past the first week requires a paid subscription. All subscribers, however, will receive a free highlights post.

Subscribe now

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Saturday, November 1

Sunday, November 2

  • Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York

    • New two-person Broadway musical rom-com originally from England about two people attending a wedding; 7 pm; previews begin Nov 1

    • $59–$109

    • Longacre Theatre

    • 220 W 48th St (Times Square, Manhattan)

  • Día de los Muertos at Queens Zoo

    • Family-friendly Day of the Dead celebration, with animal meet-and-greets and activities focused on Latin American cultures; 11 am–4 pm; Nov 1 & 2

    • Included with zoo admission, which is $11 adult / $9 senior / $8 child

    • Queens Zoo

    • 53-51 111th St (Corona, Queens)

  • Romero & Juliet

    • Concert premiere of the rock musical Romero & Juliet about zombies who resent filmmaker George Romero for revealing their existence; 7 pm (6 pm doors)

    • $48

    • The Cutting Room

    • 44 E 32nd St (Murray Hill, Manhattan)

Monday, November 3

  • La Fille du Régiment

    • Classic nineteenth-century opéra comique by composer Gaetano Donizetti about an orphan raised by a regiment of French soldiers; Oct 17–Nov 12

    • $33–$455

    • Metropolitan Opera House

    • 30 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

Tuesday, November 4

Wednesday, November 5

Thursday, November 6

  • Fashion Under Fascism

    • Book talk at the Museum at FIT by fashion scholar Eugenia Paulicelli about everyday dress in 1930s-era Italy, followed by book signing; 5:30 pm

    • Free

    • Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center, Katie Murphy Amphitheatre

    • 227 W 27th St (Chelsea, Manhattan)

  • Canciones de Mis Ancestros, a Tribute to the Ranchera Legacy

    • Concert of Doris Anahí Muñoz performing ranchera music, accompanied by Mariachi Real de México de Ramón Ponce; 7 pm (6 pm doors)

    • $42, plus 2 drink or 1 food item minimum

    • Joe’s Pub

    • 425 Lafayette St (NoHo, Manhattan)

Friday, November 7

  • Surreal America

    • Group exhibition of American surrealist art from the 1920s through the 1970s; 10 am–6 pm; through Nov 8

    • Free

    • Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

    • 100 11th Ave (Chelsea, Manhattan)

  • Seeing in the Dark

    • Talk between filmmaker Jessica Harrop and biologist Edie Widder on a recent documentary about Widder’s work on deep sea bioluminescence; 6–8 pm

    • Free

    • Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium

    • 160 5th Ave (Flatiron District, Manhattan)

  • Labubu Rave

    • Late-night Labubu-themed rave with vendors, giveaways, and KPOP/EDM music; 11 pm

    • $25–$41

    • Webster Hall

    • 125 E 11th St (East Village, Manhattan)

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]]><![CDATA[Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, October 2025]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nyc-750https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/free-highlights-things-to-do-in-nyc-750Thu, 18 Sep 2025 12:15:26 GMT
File:2019 Village Halloween Parade - 49376052626.jpg
Anyone is welcome to participate in the annual NYC Halloween Parade through Greenwich Village. Photo: Steven Pisano

Personally, my childhood Halloween memories are laughably plain. I didn’t like dressing up. I didn’t always have a trick-or-treating friend group. But I still looked forward to the holiday. I loved to carve pumpkins and see the costumes. Some of my all-time favorite books and movies are horror, and even as a full-grown adult I will not turn away free candy.

I’ll add, too: As I get older, I appreciate more and more honoring death. I realize kids in zombie costumes is a far cry from honor, but for a little while, we are recounted ghost stories, played scary movies, and told everywhere to embrace the macabre. It feels rare to admit our ultimate fates so frankly. The month of October can be a chance to embrace magic, allow surprise, and confront death.

For October’s highlights, I skip the haunted houses, go light on the costume contests, and offer many ways to embrace the spirit of Halloween in ways that can still be found year-round.

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Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

One place to experience the paranormal this October is at the Metropolitan Opera House, as Don Giovanni ends with an encounter with a supernatural statue providing Giovanni’s comeuppance. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Paranormal and Supernatural

Wherever you stand on ghosts, aliens, zombies, and the like, Halloween is a chance to dress up and suspend disbelief. I recommend the Drawing Center in SoHo in many of my lists for its free, high-quality art shows. Their latest exhibit on the art of UFOs and paranormal phenomena opens on October 17.

  • Thursday, October 9–Sunday, October 12: Stories for Future Ancestors Part II: Other Worlds

    • Theater work inspired by real and fictional events in outer space presented by aerial performance-based collective Constellation Moving Company

    • $20 general / $15 student/senior

    • Theater for the New City

    • 155 1st Ave (East Village, Manhattan)

  • Thursday, October 16–Saturday, October 25: Zabrecky Supernatural Soirée

    • Performance by magician and performer Robert Zabrecky who specializes in mentalism; sets at 7:15 & 9:30 pm

    • $136–$218 (includes wine)

    • 69 Atlantic

    • 69 Atlantic Ave (Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn)

  • Opens Friday, October 17: Voice of Space: UFOs and Paranormal Phenomena

    • Exhibition of contemporary and historical drawings and works that trace artistic responses to UFOs and paranormal phenomena

    • Free

    • The Drawing Center

    • 35 Wooster St (SoHo, Manhattan)

  • Various days throughout October: Don Giovanni

    • Performance of Mozart’s classic 1787 opera Don Giovanni about an arrogant nobleman who encounters justice in the form of a supernatural statue; 7:30 pm; Sep 24–Nov 22

    • $33–$455

    • Metropolitan Opera House

    • 30 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

Deceive Oneself

Magic shows are a “brand of illusion,” writes Michael Chabon in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, whose success depends on the audiences’ “keen awareness that, in spite of all the vigilance they could bring to bear, they were being deceived.” I recently got to witness Hayden Childress in action in his East Village basement show called “Urban Illusions.” The show began with the audience being stopped cold by a VHS tape recorded the previous night of Childress predicting the future, followed by dozens of feats with cards, photographs, postcards, and more, including the taped thumbs trick he performed on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, shown above. This month I wholeheartedly recommend his show, and from mask making to sci-fi films, leave you with a few additional ways to be deceived and surprised.

  • Fridays & Saturdays: Urban Illusions

    • 75-minute close-up, interactive magic show tucked away in an East Village basement featuring Hayden Childress; 8 pm

    • $95–$145

    • Urban Illusions

    • 95 E 7th St (East Village, Manhattan)

  • Monday, October 6–Sunday, October 12: Japanese Sci-Fi Night

    • Selection of short Japanese science fiction films, part of Brooklyn Sci-Fi Film Festival; 7 pm (6:45 pm doors)

    • $11–$21

    • Stuart Cinema & Cafe

    • 79 West St (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)

  • Friday, October 10: The Legacy of Pura Belpré: Puppet Making Workshop

    • Adult storytelling puppet making workshop and guided tour of a Puerto Rican folklore exhibit; 4–6 pm

    • Free

    • Bronx Library Center

    • 310 E Kingsbridge Rd (Kingsbridge Heights, The Bronx)

  • Thursday, October 16: Leila and the Wolves

    • Screening and panel discussion of the 1984 time-traveling film Leila and the Wolves about a Lebanese woman in London; 6:30 pm; part of Censored Film Series

    • Free

    • Columbia University, Maison Française

    • 515 W 116th St (Morningside Heights, Manhattan)

Lost in the Maze

A puzzle can be a diversion anytime during the year. But as Halloween approaches, mazes, puzzles, riddles, and the like can take on a more sinister edge. Consider the hedge maze in The Shining, the “games” that players are given in Saw, or the literary labyrinth that is Mark Z. Danielewski’s 2000 novel, House of Leaves. Alas, fear not; the events I recommend aren’t in the least horrific, although they can still invite a little mystery into your October.

  • Saturday, October 4 & Saturday, October 18: Jigsaw Puzzle Club

    • Social club with new and vintage puzzles for jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts, with encouraged puzzle exchanges; 11 am–3 pm

    • Free

    • Hudson Park Library

    • 66 Leroy St (West Village, Manhattan)

  • Wednesday, October 8 & Wednesday, October 22: Jeopardy! Interactive

    • Interactive Jeopardy! style trivia game played on your phone against other Alamo Drafthouse patrons; 7 pm; every other Wednesday

    • $17

    • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Staten Island

    • 2636 Hylan Blvd Unit 34 (New Dorp Beach, Staten Island)

  • Thursday, October 9: Matching Minds with Sondheim: The Puzzles and Games of the Broadway Legend

    • Talk, signing, and podcast recording with author Barry Joseph on his book about composer Stephen Sondheim’s lifelong fascination with puzzles and games; 7:30–8:30 pm

    • Purchase of $35 book required for entry

    • Drama Book Shop

    • 266 W 39th St (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Through Sunday, October 26: The Amazing Maize Maze

    • Family-friendly three-acre maze through a corn field, with clues and associated puzzles; 11 am–4 pm; Saturdays, Sundays, and select Mondays

    • $16 adult / $10 child

    • Queens County Farm Museum

    • 73-50 Little Neck Parkway (Floral Park, Queens)

For those with constitutions strong enough for the sideshow antics of Selena Surreal, she’s represented twice along those events: both as part of a Rocky Horror shadow cast and as a guest for horror-themed drag trivia. Photo: Angel Rivera

Pushing Boundaries

There are a few lines I stick to when it comes to recommending events. I largely avoid events related to religion, sex, and politics, for instance, and I try to be judicious even recommending events that contain nudity. I also hesitate with anything that makes me personally squeamish. I found it hard just to look unflinchingly at the photo above! For one month, I say to hell with these rules and offer a few events that are a bit more, uh, shall we say scandalous?

Pink Metal’s monthly drag trivia with Pacha is horror-themed this October and features special guest Selena Surreal (shown earlier in the article). Photo: Heidi Rodewald

Death and Horror

In Danse Macabre, Stephen King writes, “We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.” For those who do a lot of coping through horror films, perhaps you can try your hand this month at a horror-themed drag trivia happening in Bushwick. There are some calmer ways to confront death head-on this October, too, such as walking tours of Victorian women’s graves or concerts performed on burial grounds.

  • Wednesday, October 8–Friday, October 10: Death of Classical: Relics & Martyrs

    • New cantata by composer Doug Balliett performed in a cathedral crypt, part of Death of Classical, a concert series of classical music performed at burial grounds

    • $5–$20

    • St. John the Divine cathedral crypt

    • 1047 Amsterdam Ave (Morningside Heights, Manhattan)

  • Sunday, October 26: Fame, Fortune & the Forgotten: The Untold Stories of Victorian Women

    • Guided walking tour of tombs and gravesites of Victorian-era women interred at Green-Wood Cemetery; 3–5 pm

    • $30

    • Check in at the Gothic arch at 5th Ave & 25th St

    • 500 25th St (Greenwood Heights, Manhattan)

  • Tuesday, October 28: National Theatre Live: Frankenstein

    • Film screening of the 2011 National Theatre stage production of Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller; 7:30 pm

    • $25 general / $24 senior

    • Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space

    • 2537 Broadway (Upper West Side, Manhattan)

File:NYC taxi dog costume, 2012 (8106439391).jpg
One classic NYC parade every year is the costumed Dog Halloween in Washington Square Park, this year taking place on October 25. Photo: Petful

Parties and Costume Contests

While I sought many ways to celebrate the spirit of Halloween, this city is still a premiere place to be traditional, donning a costume and going to a party. Frankly this could be a list in its own right, and I recommend sources like Eventbrite and Fever if you’re looking for an exhaustive list of Halloween-themed parties and events. This month I call attention to a few highlights, notably the NYC Village Halloween Parade and its official after-party in Industry City.

  • Saturday, October 25: Washington Square Park Dog Halloween

    • Annual pet dog parade and costume contest presented by The Farmer’s Dog; 12 pm parade followed by costume contest

    • Free

    • Washington Square Park

    • Around 5th Ave & 4th St (Washington Square Park, Manhattan)

  • Tuesday, October 28: An Unhinged AF Halloween Extravaganza

    • Booze-free “unhinged cocktail party” costume-themed Halloween party with performances, prizes, snacks, and non-alcoholic drinks

    • $35–$45 (includes drink and gift bag)

    • The Parkside Lounge

    • 317 E Houston St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

  • Friday, October 31: New York City’s 52nd Annual Village Halloween Parade

    • Annual public participatory Halloween parade with costumes and music, with the 2025 theme of “Potluck”; 7 pm

    • Free

    • Throughout Greenwich Village (map of parade route)

    • Along 6th Ave from King St to W 15th St (Greenwich Village, Manhattan)

  • Friday, October 31: The Vampire Ball: Halloween Festival

    • Official all-night after-party of the Village Halloween Parade with music and themed performances and experiences; 9 pm–5 am

    • $35–$55+

    • Throughout Industry City

    • 220 36th St (Industry City, Brooklyn)

]]><![CDATA[Things to Do in NYC, October 2025]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-october-2025https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-october-2025Wed, 10 Sep 2025 12:20:34 GMTThe Blankman List is a monthly curated list of things to do in New York City. It showcases the full range of what there is to do, for residents and tourists alike.

I especially seek out artistic and cultural events like concerts, plays, and art exhibits, along with anything that is high-quality, notable, and/or free. There is at least one event for every day of October 2025, and no borough or event type is off limits.

Creating this list is a lot of work for me! Thus, seeing events past the first week requires a paid subscription. All subscribers, however, will receive a free highlights post.

Subscribe now

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Wednesday, October 1

  • Paola Prestini: Houses of Zodiac

    • Reception with light bites and cocktails by Via Carota followed by a performance of the 2022 work Houses of Zodiac by composer Paola Prestini; 6 & 7:30 pm; Oct 1–3

    • $80 (includes light bites and cocktails)

    • The Green-Wood Cemetery and Catacombs

    • 500 25th St (Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn)

  • October Tech Rooftop Mixer

    • Networking-focused meetup aimed at tech entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals; 6:30–9 pm

    • Free (registration required)

    • Arlo Williamsburg rooftop

    • 96 Wythe Ave (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

  • Stereolab with Dorothea Paas

    • Concert by the Anglo-French indie pop band Stereolab, with opening French indie act Memorials; 8 pm (7 pm doors)

    • $131–$337

    • Brooklyn Steel

    • 319 Frost St (East Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Thursday, October 2

Friday, October 3

  • Urban Illusions

    • 75-minute close-up, interactive magic show tucked away in an East Village basement featuring Hayden Childress; 8 pm; Fridays and Saturdays

    • $95–$145

    • Urban Illusions

    • 95 E 7th St (East Village, Manhattan)

  • Interventions: Firebird by Touki Delphine

    • “Rule-breaking concert” by the artist collective Touki Delphine inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird and featuring hundreds of recycled car tail lights; 7 pm; Oct 3 & 4

    • Gov­er­nors Island Parade Ground

    • 15 Evans Rd (Governors Island, Manhattan)

Saturday, October 4

Sunday, October 5

Monday, October 6

  • Compost and Create Zero Waste

    • Volunteer to help prepare compostable waste and learn about composting, recycling, and zero waste; 8:45 am–12:45 pm; every Monday

    • Free

    • Governors Island Compost Learning Center

    • 758 Enright Rd (Governors Island, Manhattan)

Tuesday, October 7

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Free Highlights: Things to Do in NYC, September 2025]]>https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-free-highlights-september-2025https://www.blankmanlist.com/p/things-to-do-in-nyc-free-highlights-september-2025Sun, 17 Aug 2025 12:49:13 GMT
Part of a Buddhistic Sutra, Unidentified artist, Handscroll; ink and color on paper, China
The Silk Road was a network of routes connecting East and West art, culture, and ideas, like this 8th-Century scroll found in the Met’s collection. If you have $21,000 to spare, you can take a “Silk Road” luxury tour from NYC to China. Photo: The Met

As part of early research for the September 2025 Blankman List, I spotted something a while back called a “China Silk Road” tour on the China Institute’s website and quickly left a note marking it for later. It sounded cool. I imagined an exhibit of art and objects from the Silk Road trading routes that connected the Eastern and Western worlds. Eventually it came time to review my notes and formally list the event in my typical bullet point fashion.

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I felt confused at first trying to describe the event succinctly, but that’s not uncommon. Sometimes I didn’t save the best link or the description isn’t written clearly. Why is it called a “luxury journey?” What’s this about “culinary excellence?” I soldiered on until I got to the price tag: $21,000 per person.

Wait, what?!

I work hard to make my list broadly diverse, and cost is one of the many parameters with which I’ve thought about diversity over the years. At first, I outright avoided anything over $100 or so because I recognized that made events prohibitive for many. My thinking has evolved here. I still want my events to be generally accessible and seek out many free and low-cost events, but I also understand that plenty of readers are willing to front a steep entry fee so long it’s an event that they really want to go to. (And it’s in their budget.) It’s frankly unavoidable for many events featuring global headliners like Nine Inch Nails or Dua Lipa or for prime seats to Broadway shows, Yankees games, and Met operas.

But $21,000 is . . . like, a lot. What is this, the Rockefeller List? This is how I learned that it’s not an art exhibition at all, but an actual guided luxury tour to China with “Michelin-starred restaurants” and “luxury accommodations.”

I did not include it in my final list. (Although a little ironically, I guess I am now in a way.) And for those who share in my disappointment that there was no actual cheap China tour in NYC, I present a few China-related events to offer something along those lines:

The events that follow may not include expensive world tours, but they do span a wide range of options: operas about Yiddish, Broadway talks, magic shows, volunteer opportunities, and more, giving a snapshot of all there is to do this September around NYC. And I promise nothing costs over $21,000.

Disclaimer: Before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Legally Blonde The Musical
The 2007 musical Legally Blonde (based on the movie, which is based on the book—Christ, what even is original?) is not being revived on Broadway (yet), but you can see it this September with the Off-Off-Broadway Gallery Players in Brooklyn. Photo: Eva Rinaldi

On Broadway

I’ve written plenty about Broadway in my years creating this list, including full dedicated articles on how to see Broadway shows for cheap and ranking every musical playing at one point. I include a Broadway show in most month’s lists, generally looking for one that’s opening, closing, or has a noteworthy performance for one reason or another. For these highlights I go one step further to include a few Broadway-related events beyond simply seeing the shows.

  • Closing Sunday, September 9: John Proctor Is the Villain

    • New Broadway play about five young women who “are about to shed light on some of the darkest secrets in their one-stoplight town”

    • $79–$549

    • Booth Theatre

    • 222 W 45th St (Times Square, Manhattan)

  • Saturday, September 13–Sunday, September 28: Legally Blonde

    • Off-Off-Broadway production of Legally Blonde, the 2007 musical based on the novel and film about a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend

    • $37 adult / $32 senior/child

    • Gallery Players

    • 199 14th St (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

  • Sunday, September 21: Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction

    • Broadway-themed flea market with silent auction; 10 am–7 pm

    • Free entry

    • Around Shubert Alley

    • W 44th St & W 45th St through Shubert Alley (Times Square, Manhattan)

  • Thursday, September 25: Out for Blood: A Cultural History of Carrie the Musical with Chris Adams

    • Talkback, signing, and live podcast recording with author Chris Adams about his newest book on Carrie: The Musical, an infamous Broadway flop; 7:30–8:30 pm

    • Purchase of $30 book required for entry

    • Drama Book Shop

    • 266 W 39th St (Midtown, Manhattan)

Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn is protected and stewarded by the Fort Greene Park Conservancy. On September 26, they are hosting an annual community fling for anyone to attend or volunteer to help run. Photo: IskoD

Volunteer Time

I know that my listed events often lean into arts and culture, but I seek out many ways to explore the city, find community, and at least in this case, leave the world a better place than it was before. September is an especially notable time for service in NYC since it marks the annual commemoration of the 9/11 attacks. In particular, 9/11 Day is organized every year in efforts to pack meals for millions of people around the country in need of food.

  • Tuesday, September 2: Pack and Distribute Food

    • Volunteer preparing, packing, and distributing food for a food pantry; 10 am–1 pm; every Tuesday

    • Free

    • The Salvation Army Brooklyn

    • 601 Lafayette Ave (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn)

  • Saturday, September 6: Park Pitch In: 9/11 National Service Weekend

    • Volunteer cleaning invasive plants from the 9/11 Grove in Prospect Park; 10 am–1 pm

    • Free

    • Enter park at Grand Army Plaza; walk to triangular lawn with sculpture

    • North Prospect Park (Prospect Heights, Brooklyn)

  • Wednesday, September 10 & Thursday, September 11: 9/11 Day of Service

    • Work with groups across the city to pack millions of meals for those in need; shifts available throughout the days

    • Free

    • Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum

    • Pier 86, W 46th St (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

  • Friday, September 26: Volunteer at The Fling 2025

    • Volunteer to help set up, run, and clean up after a community celebration supporting the Fort Greene Park Conservancy; slots at 9 am–1 pm and 4–9 pm

    • Free

    • Meet at the Prison Ship Martyr Monument at Fort Greene Park

    • Willoughby Ave & Washington Park (Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn)

Magic to Do

As a kid, one of my greatest thrills was stumbling upon a re-airing of David Copperfield’s famous 1983 illusion where he makes the Statue of Liberty disappear (shown above). Over the years I loved to watch magic and read about magic techniques and practitioners and saw a little of myself in the nerdiness and persistence required of all of their trainings. In an effort to evangelize about the art form, I draw attention to some of the magic to be found around the city throughout September.

  • Thursday, September 4–Saturday, September 13: R. Paul Wilson: Stories I Can Tell

    • Performance by magician and storyteller R. Paul Wilson, the world’s foremost expert on cons and scams; start times at 7:15 and/or 9:30 pm

    • $136–$218

    • 69 Atlantic

    • 69 Atlantic Ave (Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn)

  • Sunday, September 21: Stand-Up Magic at the Spare Room at the Gutter

    • Show of magic and stand-up comedy in the back room of a bowling alley; 7 pm (6:30 pm doors)

    • $25

    • The Spare Room at the Gutter

    • 200 N 14th St (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

  • Wednesdays & Fridays: Magic After Hours with Noah Levine

    • Close-up magic show at a Manhattan magic shop featuring illusionist Noah Levine; 8 pm (Wednesdays) or 8 & 10:30 pm (Fridays)

    • $95

    • Tannen’s Magic

    • 45 W 34 St, Suite #608 (Herald Square, Manhattan)

  • Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays: Urban Illusions

    • 75-minute close-up, interactive magic show at an intimate East Village venue featuring Hayden Childress; 8 pm (Thursdays/Fridays) or 7 & 9:30 pm (Saturdays)

    • $95–$145

    • Urban Illusions

    • 95 E 7th St (East Village, Manhattan)

Night at the Opera

September is an exciting month for opera fans, as it marks the annual start of the Met Opera’s new season. The season opener this time around is a new adaptation of Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. This month I call attention to a few other opera events as well, including the world premiere of one about unfinished efforts to create a Yiddish dictionary.

  • Monday, September 1: Outdoor Screening of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West

    • Outdoor film screening of La Fanciulla del West, Giacomo Puccini’s 1910 opera set during the California Gold Rush; 8–10:30 pm; part of the Metropolitan Opera’s Summer HD Festival Aug 22–Sep 1

    • Free

    • In front of the Metropolitan Opera House

    • 30 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

  • Thursday, September 4 & Friday, September 5: Carmen

    • Fully staged outdoor performance by NYC Opera of Georges Bizet’s Carmen; 7–9:30 pm

    • Free

    • Bryant Park Lawn

    • 6th Ave between 40th St & 42nd St (Bryant Park, Manhattan)

  • Thursday, September 18 & Sunday, September 21: The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language

    • World premiere of an opera telling the story of linguist Yudel Mark’s unfinished effort to create a comprehensive Yiddish dictionary; 7 pm; Sep 18 & 21

    • Free

    • YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (in the Center for Jewish History)

    • 15 W 16th St (Union Square, Manhattan)

  • Opening Sunday, September 21: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

    • Opera adaptation of Michael Chabon’s novel about two Jewish cousins inventing an anti-fascist comic book superhero shortly before WWII

    • $35–$500+

    • The Metropolitan Opera House

    • 30 Lincoln Center Plaza (Lincoln Square, Manhattan)

New York Botanical Gardens
The New York Botanical Garden is hosting a variety of events as part of Climate Week NYC 2025, including a 5K fun run on September 21. Photo: Ryan Somma

Climate Week NYC

September 21–28 marks Climate Week in NYC. Many of the events are focused on bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, and leaders to solve big problems facing all of us right now. But even if you recoil at the thought of networking—something for which I’m quite sympathetic—you can still be a part of the solution with events happening around the city, like the Climate Film Festival and efforts led by the New York Botanical Garden.

  • Saturday, September 20: The Wolf, The Fox & the Leopard

    • Multinational film about a feral girl raised by wolves who is whisked away by ecologically-minded preppers; 7:45–10 pm

    • $20

    • Regal Essex Crossing Cinema 1

    • 129 Delancey St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

  • Sunday, September 21: New York Botanical Garden 5K Fun Run

    • 5-kilometer race with proceeds helping to protect biodiversity and develop plant-based solutions to climate change; 8 am

    • $65

    • New York Botanical Garden

    • 2900 Southern Blvd (Bronx Park, The Bronx)

  • Monday, September 22: Narrative Change Summit @ Climate Week NYC

    • Networking-focused summit for creators and entrepreneurs focused on how creative media can address climate change and mobilize action; 10 am–7 pm

    • Free

    • SVA Theatre

    • 333 W 23rd St (Chelsea, Manhattan)

  • Wednesday, September 24: What If We Get It Right? Ayana Elizabeth Johnson with the SciFri Book Club

    • Talk with marine biologist and author Ayana Elizabeth Johnson about her latest book, What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures; 4 pm (3:30 pm doors)

    • $15–$25

    • Caveat

    • 21A Clinton St (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

Listen to the Music

Since I already highlighted four different opera events, I’m going to begrudgingly forego more classical/art music, although I direct you to the full September list to see plenty of additional options. Fortunately, just about any kind of music you can imagine goes through NYC at some point, and I call attention below to a few shows that caught my attention this month.

  • Tuesday, September 2 & Wednesday, September 3: Nine Inch Nails: Peel It Back Tour 2025

    • World tour stop for renowned industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, featuring German-Iraqi DJ Boys Noize; 8 pm; Sep 2 & 3

    • $56–$357+

    • Barclays Center

    • 620 Atlantic Ave (Prospect Heights, Brooklyn)

  • Sunday, September 7: Cash Cobain

    • Rooftop rap concert headlined by Cash Cobain and featuring 310babii, Myaap, and others; 8–10 pm (7 pm doors)

    • $73–$154

    • The Rooftop at Pier 17

    • 89 South St, Pier 17 (Financial District, Manhattan)

  • Wednesday, September 17–Sunday, September 21: Dua Lipa Radical Optimism Tour

    • World tour stop of British-Albanian singer-songwriter Dua Lipa; 7:30 pm; Sep 17–21

    • $287–$650+

    • Madison Square Garden

    • 4 Pennsylvania Plaza (Midtown, Manhattan)

  • Friday, September 5: The Legacy of Dizzy Gillespie with Yaacov Mayman

    • Concert by Yaacov Mayman’s Super-Hot Afro Latin Jazz Band showcasing Dizzy Gillespie’s influence on bebop and Afro-Cuban jazz; 2–3:30 pm

    • Free

    • Queens Public Library Central Library

    • 89-11 Merrick Boulevard (Jamaica, Queens)

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