5 Exciting Things To Do & Eat In NYC Between September 28th - October 4th

As summer transitions into fall, it's time to break out the cardigans and switch from iced coffee to hot. Start your official autumn era at one of this week’s events, where you can drink some apple cider, meet local authors, and sing along to songs played live on a piano.

Unlike the snooty DJ at last weekend’s party, the man dealing out music at Club Cummings this Thursday night will take requests. And play them for you live on the piano. And ask everyone to sing along. The pop-up piano bar at The Curfew Show with Tim Young will involve plenty of cocktails and no cover. Tim will be there to take your requests from 9pm to midnight.

Have you noticed the 12-foot puppet of a little girl walking around NYC for the past two weeks? She's Little Amal, the puppet face of a community art project created to raise awareness about refugee children. Little Amal, meant to be a 10-year-old Syrian refugee searching for her uncle, walked through Athens, Paris, and Turkey before arriving in NYC. She’s journeying through all five boroughs and stopping for immersive performances along the way, sometimes with other locally made puppets. Catch her before she leaves on October 2nd at various locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Full event schedule here.

September feels scholastic whether you’re in school or not, so it’s a great time to make your way to an adult book fair. The Brooklyn Book Festival runs through October 3rd and includes a Friday night soiree at Greenlight in Fort Greene where your book club can get a little loose. Swing by to mingle with Brooklyn authors and publishers in a celebration of independent publishing. Get more info here.

The Downtown Brooklyn Arts Festival takes place this weekend, and it'll feature some of the city’s best visual and performance art programming. On Friday, take a house music dancing class and stay for a special festival iteration of Brooklyn’s favorite weekend party Soul Summit. On Saturday, get your photo taken at an interactive photo booth exhibit and enjoy more live music throughout the day. More info here.

Sure, “pumpkin spice” has turned into a threat, but there’s still another pleasant autumnal drink you can get excited about. It’s time for cider, and Upstate New York is one of the best places to get it. This Friday, kick off New York Cider Week at Twin Star Orchards in New Paltz. They're throwing a big ol' paella party on their grounds featuring cider from Brooklyn Cider House. More info and tickets here.