Gothamist Fall Guide: 20 Things To Do In October

In September we said goodbye to big sodas and eating Shake Shack guilt-free while saying hello to new taxis and improved subway transfers. Yarn got kinky, Brooklyn got Barclayed and Patrick Stewart got Dish.

Now in its fourth year, the El Coto de Rioja Paella Parade brings together top New York chefs to celebrate Spain's most iconic dish: paella. The chefs compete in a paella cook-off with winners chosen for most creative paella, best pairing with El Coto de Rioja wines and "Paella Parade Crowd Pleaser" chosen by the guests. Sample various interpretations of the classic dish while you sip Spanish rioja wines and decide who had the best socarrat.

Beer and wine drink fairs are nothing new, so maybe it's time cocktails had their tasting festival moment. Enter Brooklyn Shaken & Stirred, a walk-around drink-tasting event centered around speciality cocktails from Brooklyn mixologists. Fort Defiance, Greenhook Ginsmiths and Van Brunt Stillhouse are just a few of the purveyors offering spirits and cocktails; wine from Brooklyn Winery and Brooklyn Oeonology and beer from Sixpoint will also be available, if that's more your thing. You'll probably need some sustenance to keep you vertical, so munchies from Dressler, Le Comptoir and other local eateries are included in your ticket price.

Most of us don't have hundreds of millions of dollars at our disposal to purchase great art but the folks at the Affordable Art Fair don't think you have to. To prove it, they're taking over The Tunnel space in Chelsea for four days to exhibit thousands of original paintings, prints, sculptures and photographs ranging in price from $100 to $10,000. Whether you're a first-time buyer looking to start a collection or a seasoned vet, there are plenty of styles and price points for everyone.

Every year, Bed-Stuy shows its neighborhood pride with Bed-Stuy Alive!, special programing and performances that celebrate the neighborhood's unique character. To kick off the two-weeks of festivities, the Restoration Rocks concert brings "dynamic emerging and established artists" for a day of free music. Rapper MC Lyte, hip-hop group Brand Nubian and Jessica Care Moore are just of the few headliners for this year's event; check back here for updates. For a complete list of all the Bed-Stuy Alive! events, step right this way. And check out some of these placeswhile you're in the neighborhood.

Experience the reaping like you did when you were a kid at Brooklyn Bridge Park's Harvest Festival. Pick a pleasing pumpkin from the patch, create a masterpiece leaf rubbing and make your own harvest-colored beads at the Brooklyn Craft Workshop. Best of all, GreeNYC official mascot (and newly appointed Gothamist-staffer) Birdie NYC will make a special appearance.

Grizzly ghouls from every tomb dance together at Thrill The World, an annual event celebrating the King of Pop. Dancers gather to perform MJ's "Thriller" in an attempt to set world records and also benefit The Pajama Program, which delivers warm sleepwear and books to kids in need. You can learn the dance ahead of time at one of the classes in Central Park held every weekend until the event for $20 ($10 if you bring new pjs or a children's book) just in case your zombie dance moves are a little rusty.

Come celebrate America's favorite pagan holiday at the 39th Annual Village Halloween Parade, NYC's yearly celebration of autumn, costumes and drunkenness! Starting at 6 p.m., thousands will display elaborate costumes—from The Ghostbusters to The Batman— floats and choreographed routines. Want to walk the parade? Enter on Sixth Avenue between Canal and Spring Street, and you can strut your stuff all the way up Sixth Avenue to Chelsea. If you are going to make the trek, make sure you get there early to stake out your viewing spot. For those wishing to avoid the mayhem, NY1 will broadcast the entire event.(Aaron Marks)

You may not know it from the selection at your local Gristedes, but garlic comes in many different varieties, each with unique flavor profiles (and yes, they'll all give you garlic breath!). Experience these subtle differences firsthand at the Heirloom Garlic-Tasting Festival at the Hoboken Historical Museum. Farmers Rich and Sue Sisti will bring along more than a dozen varieties of the pungent vegetable from their farm in Wantage, NJ, as well as other fresh produce for sale. Remember: if everyone is eating garlic nobody gets singled out for bad breath!

Once a year, the charming Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse opens its doors to visitors at the Little Red Lighthouse Festival, a celebration of the only remaining lighthouse in Manhattan. Visitors can climb the narrow staircase inside the lighthouse to take in 360 degree views of the city, the Hudson river and the majestic George Washintgon Bridge above. The festival, now in its 20th year, has readings of the book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge happening throughout the day as well as fishing clinics, an "interactive reptile experience," (!) and live music and theatre performances. 

Queens gets in on the holiday harvest action with the Halloween Harvest Festival at the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City. Expect live music and art-making workshops where you can make your own Halloween costume and a seasonal spread of harvest foods from local restaurants will also be available. Speaking of costumes, dress Fido in his finest fashion and enter him in the Canine Costume Contest.

Dying to pet a Pekingese or give a Scottish Fold a scratch? Interact with lots of furry animals at this year's American Kennel Club Meet The Breeds. Thousands of doggies and kitties wiggle their way into the Javitz Center and you can pet and play with all of them! Toss a ball for a 200 pound Mastiff dog or give a Cymric cat—the "bunny rabbit of the feline world," perhaps so named because of its adorable nubbin tail—a scratch behind the ears. We're not exaggerating when we say this is probably the cutest event of the year ever.

If the thought of doing your Saturday morning shopping in tourist-mobbed SoHo sends you running, try visiting quieter Chelsea for the semi-annual Chelsea Bazaar. The popup market, setup by the Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce, will bring together vendors like Jazz Brownies, The Teaologist, Bitter and Esters and Vaute Couture for a day of "food, drink, shopping, raffles, and more." (Aaron Marks)

Still don't know the difference between apple juice and cider? Well if you want to learn—or just want to taste some delicious cider-y treats—then be sure to visit Cider Week, happening October 12-21 at eateries across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Attendees will taste ciders both alcoholic and non, learn to pair the drink with cheeses, and actually make some cider with farmers from a local cidery. The festival peaks with Applepalooza, a drinks-fest featuring hard cider, apple wine and seasonal cocktails in Astor Place. Just remember: If it's clear and yellow, you've got juice there fellow! If it's tangy and brown, you're in cider town. (Aaron Marks)

The blowout in San Diego may get all the glory, but New York City's Comic Con has been steadily growing into a spectacle of gigantic proportions. This year's Con has a slew of specials guests from Carrie Fischer and director Guillermo Del Toro to cast and crew members from The Walking Dead. There are hundreds of panels, autograph signings and other fan events—including a special concert with Ben Folds if you have a VIP or 4-day pass. The people watching alone is worth the price of admission, especially when you're sipping Brooklyn Brewery's special nerdy brew.

If you have yet to give comedienne and all around cool person Julie Klausner's podcast "How Was Your Week?" a listen, get your feet wet at a live taping at the Bell House. For this iteration, "How Was Your Shriek?", Klausner is joined by musician Ted Leo, actress Kristen Johnston, comedian Gabe Liedman and some other special guests for a "clumsily-appointed evening of Halloween terrors and good, fun times!" 

A week after the New York Film Festival wraps up in Manhattan, the old guard will make way for the new at the fifth annual Bushwick Film Festival, happening in the performing arts space Paperbox. The festival will showcase a variety of shorts, feature length films and music videos, from Bushwick and greater Brooklyn filmmakers. The films will run the gamut, from feature-length comedies to a "Dance piece set to ... the Funeral Doom phenomenon CELESTIIAL." (Remember, this is Brooklyn.) At $25, a three-day pass for the fest will run you about the cost of a single New York Film Festival screening, so grab your tickets before the NYU film students beat you to it! (Aaron Marks)

Don your best Princess Leia bikini or Han Solo vest and head over to the American Playground across from Word Bookstore for Star Wars Day, featuring a costume parade and in-store readings. Mingle with other Jeddi-loving people in the park before readings of Jason Fry's Star Wars: The Secret Life of Droids and an appearance by Star Wars audio book narrator Marc Thompson in the bookstore. There will be prizes and giveaways, presumably for the most authentic wookie in the bunch, all in celebration of National Star Wars Reads Day.

Didn't get out to Randall's Island for one of the music fests this summer? It's not too late to enjoy the great outdoors one more time at Randall's Island Golf Center's Fall Festival. Expect the usual fall festival activities like pumpkin patches and hay rides and festival food but with the added bonus of unlimited mini golf, a mini-microbrew beer fest—with Brooklyn Brewery, Blue Point, Harragansett and others—and golf-themed movies (Caddy Shack, Happy Gilmore) beginning at dusk. Getting out there couldn't be easier: free shuttles depart 40 minutes past the hour at four stops along 3rd avenue from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. 

During the weekend of October 13-14, head down to Gowanus to explore the personal spaces of 150 Gowanus-based artists. The 16th annual Gowanus Open Studios invites visitors to engage with the thriving artistic melting-pot community around the canal, to be "part of an environment in which art is created." Get more details about the artists and maps of the studios at information hubs located at Brooklyn Art Space and the Douglass Street Music Collective. (Anne Saunders)

For two weekends, a pop-up market takes over the Gowanus Grove selling food and crafts and all sorts of good things made by a mostly Brooklyn-based group of ladies (and maybe a dude or two). Gowanus Girls Indie Design + Food Mart aims to champion not only the great "female designers and lady food makers" but also the neighborhood in which the organizers, Curious Jane, have their home base. Lots of artists and designers will be selling their creations, including photography by Juliette Conroy and playful bath and body products that look like desserts from Teneshia LaRoda.