Growing up in Paterson, Oscar obsesses over fantasy novels, falling in love, and the curse that has plagued his family for generations. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the Dominican teen remains true to himself despite the endless taunting from friends, family, and foes. But he can’t escape the past: The family curse declares its power and the violence of Oscar's family history collides with his present. 

     Literature to Life presents this adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that chronicles the life of an overweight science-fiction enthusiast who dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien. Performed by Jean Perez, a Dominican-American actor and filmmaker from the Bronx.

     $23.32. Monday night at 7 at the United Palace, in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.

     Uptowners and staff from the Columbia University Medical Center flock to the Fort Washington Green Market for its bounty of fresh, locally grown offerings.

     Mexican herbs, peppers, greens, honey, cheese, juice pressed from ripe orchard fruit—it’s all grown in the rich soil of Orange County's Black Dirt region.

    Pastries and fresh bread make this the perfect market for putting together a healthy lunch or stocking up your larder mid-week. Visit the Market Information tent each week for cooking demonstrations, nutritional information, kids’ games and health-related events and activities throughout the season.

     Tuesdays on 168th Street at Fort Washington Avenue. Through December 15.

     Over 60 and want to excercise with your crew?

     Columbia invites you for wellness walks and fitness sessions, organized around incentives and rewards for your effort.

     The weekly workouts are held indoors—on the world’s fastest indoor track (spiked shoes not required)—and led by health experts from the Columbia Medical Center. To sign up, call (212) 305-9483.

      Free. Tuesday mornings from 10 to 11:30 at the Armory in Lower WaHi on Fort Washington Avenue at 168th Street.

     Take a journey into the life of Jacob Dyckman, a doctor who once resided in the house that now serves as a museum. Dyckman became New York’s commissioner of health before tuberculosis, cut his life short at age 34 in 1822. 

     The exhibition Home Sick explores the role that enslaved people played in caring for their sick enslavers, including Dyckman. It features some of the treatments, too, including leeches.
     In a separate exhibit, you can view Jhanique Lovejoy’s portrayals of her familial and romantic relationships as a queer Jamaican American artist. Using alternative processes, collage, and insights from her musicological studies, Lovejoy explores the themes of family archives, love, and the preservation of Black family history. 

     Both exhibits are free for Uptown residents. Wednesday through Friday from noon to 4 and Saturday from 10 to 4 at the at the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, in Inwood on Broadway at 204th Street. Through October 24.

     Join Jazz WaHi for a fun, family-friendly performance and jam session. Musicians of all levels welcome to sit in.

     Take a chair or blanket pack a picnic, and enjoy live music outdoors. The house band includes Louise Rogers, voice; Mark Kross, piano; Ethan O’Reilly, bass; and Kaori Yamada, drums. 

     Free. Wednesday afternoons at 4 in Bennett Park in Hudson Heights, near the corner at Fort Washington Avenue at 183rd Street. Through October 28.

     The film that started Universal Studio’s horror cycle, Tod Browning’s 1931 version of Dracula turned the vampire into one of the most famous names in horror, cinema and pop culture.

     You’ll want to see Bela Lugosi in the title role, based on Bram Stoker’s gothic novel.  In the role of vampire hunter Van Helsing was Edward Van Sloan, who lived for a time on 215th Street and Seaman Avenue in Inwood (eleven blocks from the screening!). A Broadway actor, Van Sloan was one of the most prolific character actors in horror films from the golden age.

     Preceding Dracula will be the 1931 short horror-comedy Boo, made up of clips from Universal’s horror output and incredibly dated jokes. 

     $17.64. Wednesday night at 7:30 at the Inwood Art Works Studio, on Seaman Avenue at 204th Street.

     On Thursdays, this stretch of Lower WaHi transforms into a bustling marketplace overflowing with fresh local fruits and vegetables. It’s a spot for the neighborhood to find farm-fresh produce, Mexican specialty products, bread, pies and scones made with local flour. 

     Greenmarket’s farmers and fishers come from parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and New England, providing a bountiful array of fresh foods.

     Thursday from 8 to 4 in Lower WaHi on 175th Street between Broadway and Wadsworth Avenue. Through November 19.

    In The Game features interlocking shows by Christopher Williams (b. 1956, Los Angeles), Monika Baer (b. 1964, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany), Aria Dean (b. 1993, Los Angeles), and Abraham Cruzvillegas (b. 1968, Mexico City). The collaboration unfolds like a game of exquisite corpse. Through July 2.
     Yoshitaka Amano (b. 1952, Shizuoka, Japan) has been drawing for as long as he can remember. The works in this exhibition draw on the visual language he developed creating character illustrations for anime and video games. Through February 7.

     Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 5 at the Academy on Audubon Terrace, on Broadway at 155th Street.

     Investigate paranormal activity behind the scaffolding.

     In this special series of investigations, you’ll get a peak into Manhattan’s oldest remaining residence for a different kind of investigation after the construction crews leave.

     Over many years, changes to the physical interior and exterior have caused reported shifts in the paranormal activity experienced in the Mansion. With extended access during this current period of change, you may get to the bottom of the question: “If there are ghosts in the Morris-Jumel Mansion, what do they think of the restoration?”

     For ghost hunters ages 18 and over only.

     $71.21 and up. Friday and Saturday nights at 7 at the Morris-Jumel Mansion on Jumel Terrace. Also on October 16, 17, 23, 30 and, if you dare, All Hallow’s Eve. On November 6 and 7 too.

     A creative improvised music series, Uptown Out  features musicians from Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. 

     Space is limited, so save your spot early.

     $10. Thursday night at 7 at Recirculation, in Lower WaHi on Riverside Drive near 160th Street. Monthly on the second Thursday. 

     A fearless, funny, and moving play about a father turned activist, GUAC explores the aftermath of the Parkland shooting.

     Manuel Oliver, the playwright and performer, channels his love, loss, and rage after his son Joaquin “Guac” Oliver was killed in the Florida attack. From pepperoni bacon pizza to air guitar solos, Oliver paints a portrait of a vibrant life cut short—and a father’s relentless fight for a better future. In Spanish and English.

     $35 to $65. Wednesday through Saturday nights at 7:30, with matinees on Saturday afternoons at 2, at the Centro Cultural Inmigrante in Inwood on 206th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.

      Composer Jerome Kitzke will honor the American poet in his centennial year by reading his seminal poems Howl and Footnote to Howl.

     Kitzke set to music many of Ginsberg’s poems, including Hum Bom!, Sunflower Sutra, and Song. Each reading will be followed by an audio recording of the composition of Kitzke’s. The recording performances are by pianist Anthony de Mare and Kitzke’s band, The Mad Coyote.

     The audience will be capped at 50, so to be sure you have a seat purchase a ticket in advance.

     $22.96. Friday night at 7:30 at the Inwood Art Works Studio on Seaman Avenue at 204th Street.

    The Inwood greenmarket is a year-round neighborhood favorite.
    People of all ages, backgrounds, and tastes gather each Saturday to meet and greet their friends and neighbors and do their weekly shopping. Even on the coldest, darkest winter Saturdays, loyal Inwood shoppers come out because they know they can’t get products like this anywhere else.
     A core group of 15 farmers attends every week of the year, and during the peak of the season, five more join to round out the offerings with the summer’s bounty.
     Saturdays from 8 to 3 on Isham Street between Seaman Avenue and Cooper Street. Open year-round.

     Experience the Met Cloisters’ collection through creative drawing challenges in the galleries with expert teaching artists.

     Materials are provided, but you may bring your own sketchbook. Please note, only pencils are allowed in the galleries. Demonstrations repeat every 30 minutes over two hours. For visitors of all ages. First come, first served.

     Free with museum admission. Saturday afternoon from 1 to 3 in the Cloisters. On the second Saturday of the month.

     Celebrate Caribbean histories at a Taíno language workshop followed. The lessons will be followed by a musical performance honoring the Puerto Rican and Irish diasporas.

     Organized by the Hispanic Society.

     Free. Saturday afternoon with the workshop at 3 and the music at 6 on Audubon Terrace, on Broadway at 155th Street.

     With bold imagery and an ear tuned to the music of Homer’s epic poem, Gareth Hinds reinterprets The Odyssey in a graphic novel that’s become a New York Times bestseller.

     Meet Hinds and buy an autographed copy of the book and enjoy an pastry at the same time. Hinds has also published graphic novels of Beowulf, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, and King Lear. He’s visiting from his home near Washington, D.C.

     Saturday evening at 6:30 at Dutch Baby Bakery, in Hudson Heights on 187th Street.

     The power of art to make an emotional connection is on display every Sunday afternoon in Apartment 3F—that’s  Marjorie Eliot’s place, where she invites veteran musicians to play along to her piano accompaniment. 

     Famous and up-and-coming artists perform at Eliot’s weekly sessions and her free concerts are legendary among jazz aficionados.

     Join her live—in her home for Parlor Jazz.

     Free. Sunday afternoons at 3:30 at 555 Edgecomb Avenue, Apartment 3F, in Lower WaHi at 160th Street.

     Manhattan’s oldest surviving house is in need of some renovation. The $10 million exterior restoration and accessibility project broke ground at the Morris-Jumel Mansion last autumn.

     A house with this much history is worth studying. A partnership among the Mansion, the Historic House Trust, and the Spitzer School of Architecture at City College is documenting the restoration project. Students note the revitalization of a 261-year-old wood frame structure. Using photography, archival research, stakeholder interviews, and annotating architectural drawings, the students are drafting a story map rich in detail about the Mansion’s renovation and its history. 

     Moving ahead, roof work was intended to be completed in October, but delays may push back that expectation. 

     The mansion closed on December 1. We’ll keep posting its events, though they will be smaller in number.

     Why travel downtown when you can experience the brilliance of Broadway and the magic of musical theater steps from your home?

     The Uptown Cabaret offers unforgettable performances by local musical theater singers, composers and lyricists from the great white way and the professional theater in Inwood.

     The headliner Amy Engelhardt, and your emcee is Alexandra de Suze

     $10. Monday night, October 12, at 7 at the Inwood Art Works Studio on Seaman Avenue at 204th Street. Monthly on the second Monday.

     Sit in on an evening of poetry and discussion celebrating the work of the Argentinian poet Alejandra Pizarnik.

     The program is presented in partnership with the Feria Internacional del Libro en Español, which held its book fair on the third.

     Free. Tuesday evening, October 13, at 6 at the Hispanic Society, on Audubon Terrace at Broadway and 155th Street.

     Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes, creators of the Tony Award-winning musical In The Heights, sit for a conversation.

     Ahead of New York City Center’s gala production of In the Heights, the pair revisit the production’s journey from WaHi to Broadway and its lasting influence on American theater and popular culture. 

     Free, but reservations are required. Tuesday night, October 13, at 7:30 at the Centro Cultural Inmigrante in Inwood on 206th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.

     Genre filmmaker Larry Cohen was born in Washington Heights in 1941, and later moved to Riverdale. His satirical satirical sci-fi-horror-comedy The Stuff (1985) follows an organic dessert sensation, sold after it bubbles up from the ground, and later causes havok.

     You’ll also get to see the short subject The Haunted Mouth, with plaque as the evil spirit, meant to scare children into brushing and flossing. 

     $17.64. Wednesday night, October 14, at 7:30 at the Inwood Art Works Studio, on Seamon Avenue at 204th Street.

     Learn about stitching and its artistic expression in a conversation with the artist  Esperanza Cortés, who will discuss her exhibition, Embroidered Allegories.

     Her artwork is the 2026 selection for Arte en el Alto Manhattan, presented by the Hispanic Society Museum & Library.

     Thursday evening, October 15, at 6 at the Hispanic Society, on Broadway at 155th Street.

     UPtown Theater’s annual fundraiser takes place in the neighborhood’s newest theater. 
     The Onward and Upward Gala celebrates the troupe and honors its person of the year: Bob Braswell, an actor, producer, and a co-founder of People’s Theatre Project. 

      Wine, food, music, raffles, and auctions make the event festive, and you’ll get to explore the stunning, new cultural facility that another troupe, the People’s Theatre, calls home.

     $131.60. Friday evening, October 16, at 6 at the Centro Cultural Inmigrante in Inwood on 206th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.

     Put down your phone and get outside for the inaugural Riverfront Ramble. This free cross-river walking adventure and scavenger hunt invites people of all ages to explore Fort Washington Park, Palisades Interstate Park, and Fort Tryon Park.

     You’ll become a riverfront rambler when you cross the George Washington Bridge on foot in search of landmarks, scenic overlooks, and other points of interest. Leave your screen behind, pick up a paper map, and discover the parks at your own pace.

     Ramblers can pick up a free map at the Little Red Lighthouse in Fort Washington Park, the N.J. entrance to the GWB North Walk, the Palisades Interstate Park Long Path, and at the Cottage in Fort Tryon Park. Maps and information will also be available in Hudson Heights at Break Away Cafe, 71 Cabrini Boulevard.

      Free. Any time on Saturday, October 17, along the Hudson River.

     Give your best friend a special treat: A portrait as expressive as your dog.

     Bruce Katz providing Uptown neighbors a special price on sittings. The standard session lasts between thirty minutes and an hour, leaving time to keep it fun and stress-free for the dog. Expect frequent breaks as needed to keep your pet engaged and comfortable on set.

     $395. Saturday, October 17, from 10 to 2 at the Inwood Art Works Studio on Seaman Avenue at 204th Street.

     Would you like to learn more about the neighborhood you call home?

     Interpreters from the Morris-Jumel Mansion bring New York history to life in a guided walking tour uncovering Uptown’s centuries-old history. It’s a 90-minute, one-mile mobile experience beginning at the  Mansion and ending at Trinity Cemetery on Broadway and 155th Street.

     Meet up with other WaHi residents, history buffs, and the occasional tourist looking for hidden gems of New York City. 

      $23.18. Saturday, October 17, at 10:30 and 1:30 starting at the mansion in Lower WaHi, in Roger Morris Park. 

      Join the conversation.

      The People’s Theatre: Centro Cultural Immigrante hosts Wayfinding: Señas del Camino, an opportunity for Uptown artists and their supporters to meet and discuss the future.

      Details to follow.

      Sunday, October 17, at a time to be announced later at the Centro Cultural Inmigrante in Inwood on 206th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.

     Do you relish the chatter of songbirds declaring the arrival of spring and the contrast of the fall’s dazzling sun to its crisp, cool breezes? In Moments in Bloom, you will find yourself living more fully in each season, romanticizing the aesthetics we take for granted, and finding hope in times of uncertainty.

     Alexis Agliano Sanborn, a former WaHi resident, discusses her new book about Japanese seasonal living.

     $5. Saturday evening, October 17, at 6:30 at the Fountain Bookshop, in Hudson Heights on 187th Street.

      Experience the beloved 1984 classic film Ghostbusters as you never have. At this screening the music will be performed on stage by an orchestra.

     The film will presented on a large HD cinema screen, fully synced to a live performance of Academy Award-winning composer Elmer Berstein’s score.

     $53.76 to $80.64. Saturday night, October 17, at 8 at the United Palace, in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.

     Christopher Douglaston Ryan and Victoria Schwartzman perform Richard Strauss's music on piano, underscoring the recitation of Lord Tennyson’s poem, Enoch Arden. In the second act, you’ll hear the Chopin Ballade no.1 for piano solo, followed by Dmitri Shostakovich’s Aphorisms, juxtaposed with short poems written by Daniil Kharms. Performed on piano by Lori Funk and Victoria Schwartzman.

     A reception with light snacks and beverages will follow the performance.

     $25; children, $10. Sunday afternoon, October 18, at 2 at the Good Shepherd Auditorium, in Inwood at 620 Isham Street.

     Step inside the historic cottage at Fort Tryon Park for a rare opportunity to explore one of the park’s original structures.

     Built as the gatehouse for the early twentieth-century Billings Estate, the cottage now serves as the offices for NYC Parks and the Fort Tryon Park Conservancy. Drop by to learn about the building’s architecture, its connection to the Billings Estate, and its continuing role in the stewardship of the park.

     The open house is part of Open House New York.

     Free. Sunday, October 18, from noon to 4 in the cottage on the path where Cabrini Boulevard meets Margarget Corbin Circle in Hudson Heights.

     Enjoy new music for the new season in Locals. All of the pieces in the performance come from Upper Manhattan composers and performers in a concert from Conerstone Music. 

     Magpie Duo and Harlem-based jazz outfit Dust Roots return for an energetic program celebrating a broad variety of neighborhood voices.

     Formerly Music at Our Saviour’s, Cornerstone Music is not associated with the Cornerstone Chorale, which is also in Hudson Heights.

     Free. Sunday evening, October 18, at 5 at Our Saviour’s Church of the Atonement in Hudson Heights, on Bennett Avenue at 189th Street.

     A surreal, violent horror-western from South Africa about a murderous demonic shapeshifter that hunts lonely travelers in the desert will prepare you for Halloween. 

     Dust Devil is equal parts sexy, gory and metaphysical, with themes exploring the region's fraught racial politics in the mid-19080s.

     The film’s star, Robert John Burke, was born in Washington Heights and appeared in a number of other horror and science-fiction film. He remains a working character actor and is a certified New York State firefighter who was among the rescuers on and after 9/11.

     $17.64. Wednesday night, October 21, at 7:30 at the Inwood Art Works Studio, on Seamon Avenue at 204th Street.

     Humanities professor Jonathan Goldman will tell the story of the Puerto Rican experience in 1920s New York.

     In Hidden Histories of Jazz Age: New York: From the Suppressed to the Strange, Goldman unearths stories of everyday life and marginalized communities. In sections that intertwine entertainment, politics, art, technology, crime, shopping, eating, and recreation, the book portrays sweeping events such as the Harlem Renaissance, Prohibition, and immigration reform through anecdotes of individual experiences that counter the era’s popular conceptions of ballooning wealth and uproarious celebration. 

     Free. Thursday evening, October 22, at 6 at the Hispanic Society, on Audubon Terrace at 155th Street.

        The history of United Palace, Manhattan’s fourth-largest theater, began in 1930 when it was then one of five Loew’s Wonder Theatres across the boroughs and New Jersey. Designed by the noted architect Thomas Lamb (Cort Theatre, the former Ziegfeld Theater) with interiors overseen by decorative specialist Harold Rambusch (Waldorf Astoria, Radio City Music Hall), it was one of the region’s premier vaudeville and movie houses.

     Drawing from the history of Nahautl-Christian texts, the Nahua play Antichrist and the Hermit, written for Indigenous audiences, reveals how Nahuas made sense of Christianity and helped form its colonial image.

     The program features a presentation and live reading of excerpts from the play followed by a discussion of contemporary efforts to preserve Nahua language and culture.

     Saturday afternoon, October 24, at 3 at the Hispanic Society, on Audubon Terrace at Broadway and 155th Street.

     Join the fun at a block party celebrating alegría: joy.

     Hosted by the People’s Theatre: Centro Cultural Immigrante, the second annual Uptown fall festival offers games, food, and fun.

     Details to follow.

     Saturday, October 24, at a time to be announced later in Inwood, on 206th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.

     Take in a choral performance of Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Requiem, from 1605.

     The Skylark vocal ensemble performs by candlelight in the Sorolla Gallery at the Hispanic Society of America, surrounded by Joaquín Sorolla’s Vision of Spain.

     Victoria wrote the composition in honor of the death of Empress Maria of Spain. 

     Open seats are free; $78.50 for reserved seats. Sunday afternoon, October 25, at 4 at the Hispanic Society, on Broadway at 155th Street.

     The Crackalackin’ Concert of Classical Music breaks down barriers and makes the beauty of classical music accessible to everyone.

     This year’s theme is Bringing It Back Home, Uptown, and features performances and mash-ups by: 

• Crackalackin' Symphony Orchestra
• DJ Boo 
• Leadlights Ensemble 
• Washington Heights Community Choir 
• Washington Heights Community Conservatory of Fine Arts and Association of Dominican Classical Artists

     Free. Sunday evening, October 25, at 5 at the United Palace, in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.

       Celebrate the neighbors whose dedication has helped care for and preserve Uptown’s crown jewel of a park. 

     The Dr. Ruth Community Awards began last year as part of Fort Tryon Park’s 90th anniversary gala. This year’s aware goes to Carol Weinstein, the founder of the Friends of Fort Tryon Park, along with the historic Friends Committee.

     $55.20. Sunday evening, October 25, at 5 at The Bonnefont café in the park.

     Mark the centenary of John Coltrane’s brith at A Night of Jazz, History and Community.

     The ticket gives you two sets of the music of Coltrane, featuring Anthony Ferrara on saxophone, Hamish Smith on double bass, and Will Hopkins on percussion.

     Drinks available for purchase.

     $15. Sunday evening, October 25, at 6 the Inwood Art Works Studio on Seaman Avenue at 204th Street.

     Swing a Song of Sondheim, a performance of the Broadway genius’s most popular tunes. A special co-presentation with Castle Village. 

     Meet the artists after the performance at a wine reception.

     $20 donation; seniors and youth, $15. Sunday night, October 25, at 7:30 at The Lounge in Hudson View Gardens, in Hudson Heights on Pinehurst Avenue at 183rd Street.

     Kiss had a level of stardom unprecedented in the late ’70s. Not just best-selling albums and hit singles, but Kiss characters in Marvel comics, Kiss action figures, and all sorts of Kiss merchandise.

     A movie seemed the natural next step, so Kiss teamed with kids’ animation powerhouse Hanna-Barbera for one of the strangest rock band vehicle movies ever made.

     Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978) plays very much like a live-action episode of Scooby-Doo, with songs by Kiss. Kiss founder Paul Stanley was born Stanley Bert Eisen and was raised in Inwood, at 531 West 211th Street. 

     The feature will preceded by Supaidâman (Spider-Man), directed by Koîchi Takemoto, a 1978 Japanese theatrical short with a very unusual take on the action hero. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee spent his formative years on Fort Washington Avenue, and could often be found watching adventure films at the Loew’s 175th Street Theater, now known as the United Palace.

     $17.64. Wednesday night, October 28, at 7:30 at the Inwood Art Works Studio, on Seamon Avenue at 204th Street.

     It’s time to get back to standard time and stop saving daylight.

     This is when we gain an hour, so set your clocks and watches back an hour—unless they’re bluetoothed, Wi-Fi’ed, ethernetted or otherwise connected to the cloud—and get ready for brighter mornings.

     Sunday morning, November 1, at 2.

     Try your hand at interpreting medieval art.

     The open studio experience this month at the Cloisters features creatures of myth and Imagination. Through  artist-led demonstrations, drop-in art-making activities, and conversations with experts, you’ll  explore materials and process.

     For visitors of all ages. All materials are provided.

     Free with museum admission. Sunday afternoon, November 1, from 1 to 4 at the museum in Fort Tryon Park. On the last Sunday of the month through December.

     The Inwood Pumpkin Pageant returns for its lucky thirteenth edition.

     Take your carved jack o’ lantern to on All Souls’ Day and light them up for a family-friendly community display. Vote for your favorite designs to see if they will win the coveted Blue Ribbon!

     For older kids, pumpkin smashing starts at 7:30, which prepares the rotting gourds for composting, keeping them out of the landfills.

     Free. Sunday evening, November 1, at 5 in Isham Park, in Inwood at Isham Street and Seaman Avenue.

New date

     The Broadway icons Robin de Jesús and Linedy Genao come Uptown for a cabaret performance celebrating the music, memories, and mischief that make New York feel like home.

     This Uptown Cabaret is part Broadway concert, part Latin music fever dream, and part family party with a playlist that moves from Juan Gabriel to Sunday in the Park with George. 

     $25 to $75. Monday night, November 2, at 7:30 at the Centro Cultural Inmigrante in Inwood on 206th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.

     The JACK Quartet and violinist Keir GoGwilt explore an essential New York composer’s hypnotic sound.

     The meditative, time-stretching works of Morton Feldman (1926–1987) endure 100 years after his birth for their muted beauty and radical innovation. Join the ensemble for a performance of one of Feldman’s final works, Violin and String Quartet (1985). The expansive experiment in duration and instrumental conversation is set against the medieval splendor of the 12th-century Fuentidueña Chapel.

     $70. Saturday afternoon, November 12, at 2 at the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park.

     Step back in time and experience the sights and sounds of the Revolutionary War at the historic Commemoration of the Battle of Fort Washington.

     The re-creation brings history to life with a dramatic live battle reenactment, eighteenth-century demonstrations, and hands-on activities for all ages.

     In addition to skirmishes between the Redcoats and the rebels, you’ll enjoy blacksmiths demonstrating traditional craftsmanship, live eighteenth-century music, and guided battlefield tours with reenactors in full costume. You may even meet Margaret Corbin, in the painting at left, and find out how she become the namesake of a park entrance.

     Dress in your colonial best and immerse yourself in the past. Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy an autumn afternoon celebrating your local history.

     Free. Sunday, November 15, from noon to 3 on the café lawn in Fort Tryon Park; enter from Margaret Corbin Circle in Hudson Heights.

     Enjoy old music and new sounds from Cornerstone Music.

     Channeling electronic music pioneers like Wendy Carlos and Isao Tomita, the Magpie Duo and harpist Deanna Cirielli present a rich concert of Renaissance and Baroque-era gems, reimagined for violin, harp, and synthesizer.    

     Formerly Music at Our Saviour’s, Cornerstone Music is not associated with the Cornerstone Chorale, which is also in Hudson Heights.

     Free. Sunday evening, November 15, at 5 at Our Saviour’s Church of the Atonement in Hudson Heights, on Bennett Avenue at 189th Street.

     Three secretaries turn the tables on their obnoxious boss in 9 to 5.

     Starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton, the 1980 film shows the who holds the power behind the throne. Arrive early for a special pre-show tribute concert honoring the late country music legend, Dolly Parton.

     $12.72. Sunday afternoon, November 22, at 3 at the United Palace, in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.

     The Hudson View Gardens’ music season continues with the classical guitarist Mak Grgic, a Grammy nominee.

     Meet Grgic after the performance at a wine reception.

     $20 donation; seniors and youth, $15. Sunday night, November 22, at 7:30 at The Lounge in Hudson View Gardens, in Hudson Heights on Pinehurst Avenue at 183rd Street.

     Spend some time on Thanksgiving to remind yourself of the Lenape people and the blessings of their land we now call home.

     Shorakopoch Rock is fabled to be the spot where the Lenape traded the island to Peter Minuit for goods worth 60 Dutch guilders. In pre-pandemic years, a short ceremony honored inhabitants’ duty to Mother Earth and responsibility to the forest, the river, and each other.

     Did you know that the location is in Manhattan’s only untouched forest? The Shorakopoch Preserve is part of the Old-Growth Forest Network, a recognized landscape of protected, old-growth, native forests.

     At Shorakopoch Rock in Inwood Hill Park. From the intersection of 214th Street and Indian Road, follow the path that runs along the water; the boulder is on the far side of a large, open field.

    You’ve had plenty of turkey and too much pie, so now’s the time to burn some calories.
     On this Shorewalkers trek, you’ll start at the southern tip of Manhattan, walk the Hudson River Greenway, and end in Fort Washington Park at the Little Red Lighthouse.

     Sign up here. Dress for the weather, take a snack, and wear comfortable shoes.

     Saturday morning, November 28, at a time and meet-up spot shared with the participants.

     Join a celebration of emerging playwrights at the New Horizons Play Reading Festival. The theme is bravery / valor.

     Hosted by the People’s Theatre. 

     Details to follow. Wednesday and Thursday, December 2 and 3, at the Centro Cultural Immigrante, in Inwood on 206th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.

    The winter holidays come alive with voices echoing off a Renaissance cloister’s resplendent stone halls.

     Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the acclaimed quartet New York Polyphony with a performance that spans a millennium of seasonal music in the twelfth-century Fuentidueña Chapel, one of the city’s most resonant rooms. 

     $95. Two performances: Saturday afternoon, December 5, at 2 and 4 at the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park.

     Experience the largest production of The Nutcracker in North America. It’s a breathtaking holiday spectacle featuring  international dancers, gravity-defying acrobatics, magnificent costumes, and towering puppets.

     Set to Tchaikovsky’s indelible score, the grand production has become an annual treasure.

     $49.50 to $213.40. Saturday evening, December 5, at 5:45 at the United Palace, in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 175th Street.

     Old and new sounds come together when you hear the crystalline voices of Trio Mediæval, the Grammy-nominated Norwegian vocal ensemble. The group’s vast repertoire stretches from the earliest sacred and folk traditions to brand-new works written especially for them.

     Old and new collide in this holiday concert, set in one of the city’s most sonically satisfying spaces: the glorious twelfth-century Fuentidueña Chapel.

     $95. Two performances: Sunday afternoon, December 6, at 2 and 4 at the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park.

     The Hudson View Gardens’ music season continues with a series favorite, the Cassatt String Quartet.

     Meet the artists after the performance at a wine reception.

     $20 donation; seniors and youth, $15. Sunday night, December 13, at 7:30 at The Lounge in Hudson View Gardens, in Hudson Heights on Pinehurst Avenue at 183rd Street.

     Start 2025 by stretching your legs and your expectations.

     The Shorewalkers’ Happy New Year’s Day Hike starts in Inwood Hill Park and from there strolls along the east side, taking you  under the three great bridges that span the Harlem River in High Bridge Park.

     Dress for the weather, wear comfortable shoes, pack some water and take a snack.

     Friday morning, January 1, at a time and an Uptown meet-up spot shared with participants.

     Using the setting’s echoing resonance to full effect, Sixth Degree Sextet and Magpie Duo present a concert devoted entirely to the music of George Crumb, a late American master of eerie, spellbinding soundscapes in the winter concert from Cornerstone Music

    Formerly Music at Our Saviour’s, Cornerstone Music is not associated with the Cornerstone Chorale, which is also in Hudson Heights.

     Free. Sunday evening, January 10, at 5 at Our Saviour’s Church of the Atonement in Hudson Heights, on Bennett Avenue at 189th Street.

     Resilience, the theme for this season’s Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra concerts, explores the enduring strength of the human spirit in the face of challenge, change, and renewal.

     The concerts celebrate perseverance by highlighting composers and their works that break barriers, speak up, and search for hope. The winter chamber concert features unyielding voices, highlighting both individuals and musical works that endure across time.

     $53.25 for the season; discounts for seniors and students. Saturday night, January 16, at 7 at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Hudson Heights, on Bennett Avenue at 179th Street.

      If you like outdoor geometry, get on the street for sunrise and sunset when the shadows line up with the streets.

      The so-called Manhattanhenge effect works Uptown on days different from the rest of the island’s.

      Except for Fort George. To see the sun line up with the streets in Fort George, where the streets are aligned with most of Manhattan, head out on May 28 and 29, and July 12 and 13, the same as Manhattan. 

     Hudson Heights (on 181st Street in the photo), where the street grid is aligned differently from most of the borough, get out on August 26; it’s also on April 18.

     Inwood Henge is on January 23 — the grid there is so katy-wompus that the sun aligns when it is due “south.”

     You can look for the dates in all of the city’s neighborhoods on this map from Carto.

     Inwood Henge: Saturday, January 23, at dawn and dusk.

     Hudson View Gardens’ music season continues when a  resident pianist, Evelyne Luest and friends, perform solo piano and chamber works.

     Meet the artists after the performance at a wine reception.

     $20 donation; seniors and youth, $15. Sunday night, January 31, at 7:30 at The Lounge in Hudson View Gardens, in Hudson Heights on Pinehurst Avenue at 183rd Street.

     Resilience, the theme for this season’s Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra concerts, explores the enduring strength of the human spirit in the face of challenge, change, and renewal.

     The concerts celebrate perseverance by highlighting composers and their works that break barriers, speak up, and search for hope.  The season concludes with Harboring Hope, a celebration of the many ways music can sustain, uplift, and unite.

     $53.25 for the season; discounts for seniors and students. Saturday night, April 17, at 7 at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Hudson Heights, on Bennett Avenue at 179th Street.

     Listen to advanced students from Juilliard’s Historical Performance department perform historical music on period instruments.

     The concert engages in conversation that explores connections with the Museum’s collection.

     Free with museum admission. Friday morning, May 7, at 11 at the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park.

     A shapeshifting, collaborative baroque ensemble comes Uptown with its playful approach to early music.

     Ruckus performs with soprano Song Hee Lee (the recent Grand Finals winner at The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition) in a program featuring the cantatas of Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre.

     Saturday and Sunday, May 8 and 9, at times to be announced next year, at the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park.

     Join the Shorewalkers on a hike to Bear Mountain.

     On this Memorial Day trek, you’ll take the first of two parts of the walk, this one starting at Batter Park and ending on the other side of the George Washington Bridge.

     The hike continues on Independence Day, when it starts at the GWB in Fort Lee, descends 400 steps, and continues north along the Palisades to your destination.

     Registration info will come in the spring.

     Monday morning, May 31, at a place and time shared with registrants.

     Artek performs L’Amfiparnaso,  a rowdy, madrigal comedy by Orazio Vecchi (1597). The concert also features elegant madrigals for a hilarious and touching entertainment.

     The encsemble’s singers will perform with accompaniment from strings and myriad continuo instruments.

     Free. Saturday evening, June 5, at 5 at the Church of the Intercession, in Lower WaHi on Broadway at 155th Street.

     Want to learn about the golden age of cinema? Discover Paris for romantics? Take a class at Columbia University.

     The university’s School of Professional Studies invites adults who are not enrolled in college to attend selected courses for free from the University’s offerings in the Arts and Sciences during the academic year.

     It’s a community benefit available to Uptown residents. Class auditors are silent participants in class who are encouraged to keep up with the reading. No examinations or papers are required, no grade is assigned, and no credit is granted for course completion.

     Find the current list of open courses and sign up for class.

     Free. The deadline to sign up for the fall semester is in July. Class is held at Columbia in Morningside Heights and Manhattanville.