A BKLS guide to things to do in NYC this September 2026: Broadway Week celebrates its 15th anniversary, New York Fashion Week debuts a new artistic director at Diane von Furstenberg, and the Feast of San Gennaro turns a full century old in Little Italy.
September does not ease the city out of summer so much as hand it a packed calendar and keep moving. A hundred-year-old street feast, a discount ticket program that has generated over $200 million for Broadway since 2011, and the last stretch of Labor Day weekend all land inside the same thirty days.
This is our September 2026 edit: 26 verified things to do, organized by what kind of day you are building, with a weekend-by-weekend breakdown at the end. For last month’s programming, see our August 2026 edition. For everything else, scroll on.
Table of Contents Show
US Open Season at The William Vale
Honey Deuce at The William Vale
📍 Location: 111 North 12th Street — Williamsburg, Brooklyn | 🌐 Website: The William Vale | Dates: Thursday, August 27–Saturday, September 12, 2026
The William Vale spreads its US Open tie-in across three venues rather than picking one. Westlight, the rooftop bar on the 22nd floor, pours the standard Honey Deuce with a skyline view attached; the Turf Club serves a frozen version for anyone who wants the same drink built for late-summer heat; and Leuca pairs it with live match screenings on the patio, all in partnership with Grey Goose.
The hotel is also running a Game, Set, Stay package for the length of the tournament: a $50 Lyft credit, two Honey Deuces at Westlight, and a pair of William Vale dad hats, worth a mention for anyone planning to stay over rather than just drop in for a drink.
Marta Kostyuk x Wilson: A Wilson Sportswear Story
📍 Location: The William Vale, 111 North 12th Street — Williamsburg, Brooklyn | 🌐 Website: The William Vale | Dates: Running through the US Open | Tickets: Free to view
The William Vale’s lobby is hosting the first public reveal of Marta Kostyuk’s 2026 Wilson kit, built around her run as Wilson’s first full-category ambassador. It is a small, free thing to duck into if you are already in the neighborhood, and a truly new piece of tennis-world news rather than a recycled press moment.
The Icons & Major Events
2-for-1 Broadway Week
🌐 Website: 2-for-1 Broadway Week | Dates: Tuesday, September 8–Sunday, September 20, 2026 | Tickets: 2-for-1 with code 241BWSHOW, or upgraded seating with UPBWSHOW; on sale from August 18
Broadway Week has run twice a year since 2011, and the program has now sold more than 3 million tickets and generated over $222 million in revenue for Broadway, according to NYC Tourism + Conventions. This autumn’s edition covers 25 shows, from long runners like Wicked, Chicago, and The Lion King to newer additions including The Rocky Horror Show, Just in Time, and Titaníque. Most shows support a third or fourth ticket at the same discounted rate, up to a typical cap of eight per order.
BKLS NOTE
Pair Broadway Week with dinner nearby: Le Rock, 5 Acres, NARO, Smith & Mills, and Weather Room are all solid pre- or post-curtain picks within a short walk of the Theater District. Shows sell out their discounted allotment unevenly, so check a few different dates before assuming a sold-out show is gone for the whole run.
New York Fashion Week
🌐 Website: New York Fashion Week | Dates: Thursday, September 10–Tuesday, September 15, 2026 | Tickets: Official CFDA schedule is industry/press only; public runway shows available separately, from about $125
The official CFDA calendar runs 70 runway shows and presentations, opening with Henry Zankov’s debut as Diane von Furstenberg’s new artistic director and closing with Thom Browne. Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Carolina Herrera, Khaite, LaQuan Smith, and Prabal Gurung round out the week, alongside a new fur-free policy taking effect on the official schedule for the first time this season. Those shows remain invitation-only, but you do not need industry credentials to see runway fashion in person this week.
BKLS NOTE
The Bureau Fashion Week runs its own officially calendared, publicly ticketed shows at Gotham Hall, September 11 to 13, with 11 runway shows and 100-plus designers; general admission starts around $125, and more than 40 percent of their attendees are first-timers. Runway 7 runs a similar public program at Sony Hall from September 8 to 13. Neither requires an invitation, just a ticket.
Feast of San Gennaro
📍 Location: Mulberry Street—Little Italy, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: Feast of San Gennaro | Dates: Thursday, September 17–Sunday, September 27, 2026 | Tickets: FREE to attend, cash recommended for vendors
What began in 1926 as a one-day religious observance by Neapolitan immigrants turns one hundred years old this September. Today, the Feast of San Gennaro fills 11 blocks of Little Italy with food, music, processions and festivities. Mulberry Street hosts more than 300 vendors and draws over a million visitors across the feast’s 11-day run, a scale that has endured even as Little Italy itself has shrunk.
The Solemn High Mass takes place Saturday, September 19 from 2 PM to 4 PM at the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood. The Grand Procession follows exactly a week later on Saturday, September 26 from 2 PM to 4 PM. And the Napoli Expo closes that same night with a special live performance from 6 PM to 9 PM.
For the complete itinerary, food recommendations, practical tips, and our suggested route through Little Italy, read our full guide to the 100th annual Feast of San Gennaro.
BKLS NOTE
Many vendors are cash-only, and ATM lines build fast once the evening crowds arrive, so bring more cash than you think you need. For the calmest visit, go on a weekday afternoon in the feast’s first few days; Friday and Saturday evenings are by far the busiest, and this year’s centennial programming will likely push crowds past a typical year.
Brooklyn Book Festival
📍 Location: Brooklyn Borough Hall & Plaza, Cadman Plaza, and Columbus Park | 🌐 Website: Brooklyn Book Festival | Dates: Sunday, September 20–Monday, September 28, 2026 | Tickets: FREE
The festival marks its 20th anniversary this year, having grown from a single-day event launched by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz in 2006 into New York City’s largest free literary festival: more than 200 authors, 250 publishers and literary organizations, and eight stages spread across Borough Hall, Brooklyn Law School, and nearby venues. This year’s flagship day presents Colson Whitehead, Joyce Carol Oates, Marlon James, Tracy K. Smith, and Cristina Rivera Garza, with novelist Amitav Ghosh receiving the festival’s Best of Brooklyn award.
BKLS NOTE
High-profile panels and signings fill up fast, with lines forming thirty minutes before start time for the biggest names. Popular author signings run on timed tickets distributed the same day, so if there is one author you came to see, make that your first stop rather than your last.
All Things Go Festival
📍 Location: Forest Hills Stadium, 1 Tennis Place—Forest Hills, Queens | 🌐 Website: All Things Go Festival | Dates: Friday, September 25–Sunday, September 27, 2026 | Tickets: Ticketed
Now in its third year at Forest Hills Stadium, an open-air venue that hosted The Beatles and The Rolling Stones during its 1960s heyday, All Things Go has built a reputation for its women-and-queer-forward lineups and close-knit fan community, affectionately nicknamed the Besties. This year’s bill is entirely female: Zara Larsson makes her first festival-headlining appearance Friday alongside Lola Young, Brandi Carlile headlines Saturday, and MUNA closes the weekend Sunday, with a Carly Rae Jepsen sunset set and appearances from The Beaches, CMAT, Jensen McRae, Rebecca Black, Cara Delevingne, and Blu DeTiger.
BKLS NOTE
One stage, no overlapping sets—a truly rare festival structure that means you do not have to choose between acts. There is no on-site parking; check the venue’s site for the best transit route, since Forest Hills Stadium sits about fifteen minutes from Manhattan by car but is built around subway and LIRR access.
The Armory Show
📍 Location: Javits Center, 429 11th Avenue—Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: The Armory Show | Dates: Thursday, September 24–Sunday, September 27, 2026 | Tickets: Ticketed
What is now known as The Armory Show began in 1994 as the Gramercy International Art Fair, held in rented rooms at the Gramercy Park Hotel by dealers including Matthew Marks and Pat Hearn, before taking its current name in 1999 in homage to the landmark 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art. Now owned by Frieze, this year’s edition brings roughly 230 galleries from more than 30 countries, with expanded Solo and Presents sections and Caribbean-focused Platform and Focus sections curated by Jovanna Venegas and María Elena Ortiz, respectively.
BKLS NOTE
This traditionally opens New York’s fall art season, and a wave of smaller gallery openings and dinners cluster around the same week—worth checking Chelsea and the Lower East Side gallery calendars if you are making a full weekend of it.
Arts, Culture & Free Traditions
Botero in New York
📍 Location: Sotheby’s, 945 Madison Avenue—Upper East Side, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: Botero in New York | Dates: Through Monday, September 7, 2026 | Tickets: FREE
This focused exhibition looks at Colombian artist Fernando Botero’s pivotal years between 1960 and 1973, when he developed the rounded, oversized figures that became his signature style while living in New York and engaging with the Pop Art movement around him. Works on loan from the Botero Foundation hang alongside pieces available for purchase. It closes earlier than anything else in this guide—do not save it for later in the month.
¡BAILA! Latin Music Dance Party
📍 Location: Bronx Music Hall, 438 East 163rd Street—Morrisania, Bronx | 🌐 Website: Bronx Music Hall | Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026 | Time: 7 PM | Tickets: $20
Now in its second edition, this dance party brings a live performance from The Bronx Charanga, playing salsa, cha-cha-chá, and classic Latin rhythms in a room built specifically to celebrate the borough’s deep music history. Since opening, Bronx Music Hall has become an anchor for Afro-Latin and jazz programming in the South Bronx, drawing a mix of neighborhood regulars and musicians from across the city. Bring shoes you can actually dance in.
Community Open House & Intergenerational Jazz Power Jam
📍 Location: The People’s Theatre, 419 West 206th Street—Inwood, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: Community Open House & Intergenerational Jazz Power Jam | Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026 | Time: 2 PM | Tickets: FREE, pay-what-you-can with RSVP
This marks the opening of The People’s Theatre’s first permanent home in its 18-year history: a roughly $40 million, 19,000-square-foot cultural center called Centro Cultural Inmigrante, billed as the first immigrant cultural center and largest Latino theatre in New York State. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who grew up in the neighborhood and whose family fund pledged $1 million toward construction, called it “a real dream come true for the many artists who grew up in Washington Heights and Inwood.”
The open house runs from 2 PM to 5 PM with performances, workshops, and backstage tours, followed by a 5 PM concert from Jazz Power Initiative bringing together performers across generations. Guests can also see Liquid Highway, a new mural by Dominican artist Scherezade Garcia, and preview the venue’s inaugural production, GUAC, below.
GUAC
📍 Location: The People’s Theatre, 419 West 206th Street—Inwood, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: GUAC | Dates: Friday, September 25–Saturday, October 10, 2026 | Tickets: Ticketed
The People’s Theatre launches its mainstage programming at its new Inwood home with GUAC, a bilingual solo performance in English and Spanish written and performed by Manuel Oliver and co-written by James Clements. Oliver’s son, Joaquín “Guac” Oliver, was killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting. The piece moves between humor, family memory, music, and advocacy, and this run marks the first bilingual staging of a work Oliver has performed for years as part of his continued efforts to prevent gun violence.
Pahua
📍 Location: Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Boulevard—Flushing, Queens | 🌐 Website: Pahua | Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026 | Tickets: Ticketed, from around $40 based on comparable Flushing Town Hall shows
Mexico City singer, percussionist, and DJ Pahua brings a border-crossing blend of cumbia, Caribbean rhythms, and electronic textures, drawing on everything from Brazilian funk to South American folklore. Flushing Town Hall has built its reputation as one of Queens’s most reliable rooms for exactly this kind of global, genre-blurring booking. Early arrivals can attend a half-hour pre-show talk, with Mexican food available for purchase.
Galapagos Puppet Theater: The Blazing Fire Mountain and Its Princess, A Monkey King Tale
📍 Location: Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Boulevard—Flushing, Queens | 🌐 Website: Galapagos Puppet Theater: The Blazing Fire Mountain and Its Princess, A Monkey King Tale | Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026 | Times: 11 AM and 2 PM | Tickets: Ticketed [$15 for adults, $12 for members, and $8 for children]
A 40-minute performance bringing a chapter of the 400-year-old Chinese epic Journey to the West to life through Bu Dai Xi, the delicate and acrobatic tradition of Taiwanese hand puppetry. When a mountain of fire blocks their journey, the mischievous Monkey King and his fellow disciples use transformation, persuasion, and puppet martial arts to obtain a magical fan from the powerful Iron Fan Princess. Expressive silk scarves and vividly crafted puppets move to live accompaniment on erhu, bamboo flute, and percussion from celebrated folk musician Jimmy Zhao and his ensemble.
Food & Drink Highlights
The Art of the Cut: Yama Seafood x Marea
📍 Location: 240 Central Park South—Midtown West, Manhattan | Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026 | Time: 1 PM–4 PM | Price: $195 | Reservation: Reserve Here
Marea’s Terrace Series brings in outside specialists for one-off events on its Central Park South terrace, and this installment brings together Nobu Yamanashi, president of Yama Seafood, Marea Executive Chef PJ Calapa, and Chef Kaz for a live demonstration of breaking down a whole tuna—a butchery skill that, done well, is closer to performance than prep work. The experience celebrates the precision, tradition, and craftsmanship involved in preparing the fish from the first cut onward.
Honey Deuce at Recreation Bar
📍 Location: 26 Ann Street—Financial District, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: Recreation Bar | Dates: Through Sunday, September 13, 2026 | Price: $18 cocktails
The Honey Deuce—Grey Goose vodka, lemonade, raspberry liqueur, and three honeydew balls scooped to resemble tennis balls—has been the US Open’s official cocktail since its 2007 debut. Grey Goose asked mixologist Nick Mautone to develop something memorable but simple enough to serve quickly at tournament scale. More than 740,000 were poured during the 2025 Open alone. Recreation Bar pairs match coverage with $18 court-inspired cocktails, including the Honey Deuce, a Patrón Paloma, and the Berry Rouge Royale, throughout the tournament.
Tennis Watch Party at Sungold
📍 Location: 96 Wythe Avenue—Williamsburg, Brooklyn | 🌐 Website: Tennis Watch Party at Sungold | Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 | Time: 4 PM–6 PM | Price: $18 cocktails | Tickets: Eventbrite
Sungold, inside Arlo Williamsburg, puts the US Open on the big screen, sets up table tennis on the patio, and pours complimentary Grey Goose Honey Deuce samples while supplies last—a lower-key, Brooklyn-side way to catch the tournament without the Queens crowds.
Tom Yum Week
📍 Location: 17 Thai restaurants across NYC | 🌐 Website: Tom Yum Week | Dates: Wednesday, September 16, 2026–Wednesday, September 30, 2026
New York’s first Tom Yum Week turns 17 Thai restaurants into temporary creative spaces, each paired with an artist or creative team for a two-week run. It is organized by Tom Yum Labs, a new Bangkok-and-New-York cultural exchange project, and takes its name from yum [ยำ], the Thai category of dishes built around mixing and combining sweet, sour, salty, spicy, and savory, all in one bowl. The event takes that idea of mixing and applies it to restaurants, artists, and diners instead of just ingredients.
Each of the 17 collaborations is different: digital art, augmented reality, sound design, even a short film served as part of the meal. Several Brooklyn restaurants are participating, including Dock Asian Eatery [an interactive game built around mixing ingredients into a dish], Gigi Curry and Noodle Bar [chili heat translated into sound], KRU [jungle curry paired with sound and image], SEA [a spicy chicken basil wrap layered with its own backstory], Sky Ice [a tom yum sorbet where every ingredient becomes its own character], and Zabb PuTawn [blue-and-white ceramic patterns redrawn with hidden details]. The remaining eleven restaurants run across Manhattan and Queens: Charoen Krung, Godunk Thai Street Food, Kati Thai Cuisine, Lalyn, Lucky Bar, Narkara, Saolea, Sala Thai, Samyan, Thai Pavilion, and Valla Table.
Waterfront u0026amp; Outdoor
Illumination Light Art Festival
📍 Location: Wagner Park, Battery Park City, Manhattan | 🌐 Website: Illumination Light Art Festival | Dates: Thursday, September 17–Saturday, September 19, 2026 | Tickets: FREE, registration required online [artist lineup TBA]
Now in its fifth year, Illumination NYC has previously popped up beneath the Kosciuszko Bridge, inside the World Trade Center Oculus, and at Battery Park City’s Belvedere Plaza before settling into Wagner Park for a second consecutive year following the park’s full renovation. Expect more than 10 large-scale light installations, projection mapping across the park’s new architecture, DJ sets and performances, food trucks, and a beer-and-wine kiosk.
Saturday closes with a silent disco featuring three live DJs. Organizers encourage attendees to dress in their own light-inspired looks, while an on-site light shop sells glowing accessories and merchandise.
BKLS NOTE
Registration is required online in advance even though entry is free—do not show up without it. The festival draws a real crowd on its final night for the silent disco specifically, so go Thursday or Friday if you want more room to actually see the installations.
Autumn Glow Festival
📍 Location: Glen Island Park, Weyman Avenue—New Rochelle [outside NYC proper] | 🌐 Website: Autumn Glow Festival | Dates: Opens Friday, September 11, 2026 | Time: 6:30 PM–10 PM, last entry 9 PM | Tickets: Fever [Starting $16.99, ages 3 and under free]
Part of a touring lantern-festival series that sets up seasonally at parks and farms across the country, Autumn Glow brings hundreds of handcrafted, LED-lit lanterns inspired by traditional Chinese lantern festivals to Glen Island Park for a roughly one-hour walkthrough. The displays are built by skilled artisans—some with more than 20 years in the craft—and draw from Chinese legends, folklore, and the natural world. Food and drinks from local vendors are available along the route, along with artisan crafts and family-friendly activities. The festival runs rain or shine, with flexible rescheduling if extreme conditions force a closure.
BKLS NOTE
A short drive or Metro-North ride north of the city—worth it for a family day or a date night with a completely different backdrop, but factor in the travel time on top of the roughly hour-long walkthrough itself.
NYC Bus Festival
📍 Location: Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, Brooklyn Bridge Park—Dumbo, Brooklyn | 🌐 Website: NYC Bus Festival | Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026 | Time: 10 AM–3:30 PM | Tickets: FREE
The New York Transit Museum’s Bus Festival returns for its 29th year, bringing vintage vehicles from MTA depots around the city to Brooklyn Bridge Park with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. Highlights include the newly restored Bus 303, a wooden open-air double-decker built in 1918; Betsy, a 1931 double-decker from the Fifth Avenue Coach Company’s 1200 series; and Bus 3100, built by General Motors in 1956 as the first air-conditioned bus in the country, complete with cushioned seats and fluorescent lighting that felt futuristic at the time.
This year also brings Bus 2185, known as Pamela, which was damaged at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, rebuilt, and returned to service. Visitors can climb aboard, explore the interiors, and meet MTA staff, while an app-based scavenger hunt rewards anyone who photographs every vintage bus with a transit-themed temporary tattoo.
BKLS NOTE
The buses arrive hours before doors open—museum crews and TWU Local 100 mechanics start staging them around 6 AM for a 10 AM start, so this is a truly once-a-year chance to see the fleet, not a recurring pop-up. Lines for the most popular buses build through the morning.
QC New York’s September
📍 Location: 112 Andes Road—Governors Island | 🌐 Website: QC Spa New York | Tickets: Day pass + add-ons
The Governors Island spa carries its Sunset Sessions DJ series into early September, pairing poolside sets with sweeping views of Lower Manhattan. Once Fashion Week begins, it makes a convincing off-the-record recovery spot: a steam and a soak instead of another espresso between shows. The heated outdoor pools remain open as temperatures cool, making a skyline soak a welcome alternative to the usual autumn foliage walk.
Neighborhood & Labor Day Send-Off
🍂 LABOR DAY WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 5–7
Labor Day lands on Monday, September 7 this year, so the last stretch of summer belongs to this guide.
- Prix Fixe Menu at Berimbau Brazilian Table —36th Street, Midtown and West Village, Manhattan. September 7–13. A three-course menu from Michelin Bib-recognized Executive Chef Victor Vasconcellos marking Brazilian Independence Day: Cuscuz Paulista con Lagosta, slow-roasted Arroz de Costela, and coconut tapioca pudding to close. $65 per person, or à la carte, lunch and dinner.
- The Rockaway Hotel + Spa—108-10 Rockaway Beach Drive, Rockaway Beach, Queens. Heated pool loungers, cabanas, and a Sunday sunset set from Badfish on September 6 at 6 PM, included with a stay or available by day pass.
- Watermark—78 South Street, Pier 15, South Street Seaport. Doors open at noon on Monday, September 7 for an all-day East River send-off: oysters, chilled rosé, and live DJ sets as the afternoon turns to sunset. Tickets from $20.
Openings & Special Events
The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail
📍 Location: 2900 Southern Boulevard—Bronx Park, Bronx | 🌐 Website: The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail | Dates: Not yet announced
After two seasons at the New York Botanical Garden, Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail may return with another nighttime walk through illuminated sculptures, projections, characters, scenes, and songs from the film. Previous engagements ran from late September through November, but no 2026 dates have been announced. Bookmark this one rather than planning around it until a return is confirmed.
September 2026: The Weekend-by-Weekend Breakdown
If you want help sequencing the month, here is how September reads when you stack the weekends in order.
Weekend 1: Labor Day Send-Off [September 5–7]
- Friday, September 4: QC New York’s final Sunset Sessions DJ set [Governors Island, 6 PM–8 PM]
- Saturday, September 6: The Rockaway Hotel + Spa’s Badfish sunset performance [6 PM]
- Monday, September 7 [Labor Day]: Watermark’s Rosefest [noon, South Street Seaport], Berimbau’s Brazilian Independence Day menu begins [through September 13]
The Read: One last weekend of pool days and rosé before the calendar turns to Broadway and runways.
Weekend 2: Fashion Week Meets Broadway Week [September 12–13]
- Broadway Week [September 8–20] and NYFW [September 10–15] both run through this weekend, alongside The Bureau’s public runway shows at Gotham Hall [September 11–13]
- Saturday, September 12: The Art of the Cut at Marea [1 PM–4 PM], ¡BAILA! Latin Dance Party at Bronx Music Hall [7 PM]
- Sunday, September 13: Honey Deuce at Recreation Bar and Berimbau’s menu both close
The Read: Two of the month’s biggest anchors overlapping—pick a lane, or split the weekend between them.
Weekend 3: San Gennaro Opens, Illumination Lights Up [September 19–20]
- Thursday, September 17: Feast of San Gennaro and Illumination Light Art Festival both open
- Saturday, September 19: NYC Bus Festival [10 AM–3:30 PM], San Gennaro’s Solemn High Mass [2 PM–4 PM], The People’s Theatre’s Community Open House and Galapagos Puppet Theater’s Flushing Town Hall show
- Sunday, September 20: Broadway Week closes, Brooklyn Book Festival opens
The Read: The busiest Saturday of the month—pick one borough and commit rather than trying to cover all of it.
Weekend 4: The Month Closes Big [September 26–27]
- Wednesday, September 24: Pahua at Flushing Town Hall, The Armory Show opens
- Friday, September 25: All Things Go Festival and GUAC all open
- Saturday, September 26: San Gennaro’s Grand Procession [2 PM–4 PM] and Napoli Expo performance [6 PM–9 PM]
- Sunday, September 27: San Gennaro, All Things Go, and The Armory Show all close
- Monday, September 28: Brooklyn Book Festival closes
The Read: San Gennaro’s hundredth-anniversary weekend collides with two festivals and an art fair opening—the single biggest stretch of the month.
Your September, Your Way
If you are looking for the fullest weekend, Weekend 4 [September 25–27] wins on sheer volume: San Gennaro’s Grand Procession, All Things Go, and The Armory Show all landing within 48 hours of each other. Pick a corner of the city and stay there rather than trying to cross all four.
For last month’s programming, see our August 2026 edition. Looking ahead, our October guide and Autumn Bookmark cover what’s next as the season turns.
Tag your September with us at @brooklynslifestyle. We will be out there.
