As the cool autumn weather finally sets in, you can start getting in the Halloween spirit with a moonlit cemetery tour, help out local public schools by buying hand-made desserts or tour a historic Jazz Age movie palace. All this and more is happening this week in New York City. Check out our Untapped Picks for things to do this week:

Friday, October 19th

Find out what is in store for the future of Governors Island at a discussion featuring Michael Samuelian, President of the Trust for Governors Island and Amy Plitt, Editor of Curbed NY. The Future of Governors Island event is a part of Archtober, a month long series of events celebrating design and architecture all over New York City. If you are an Untapped Cities Insider, you can attend this event for free! Not an Insider yet? Become a member today and access free behind-the-scenes tours and events in New York City all year long!
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Kick off the 20th NYC Craft Beer Festival with a silent disco and four hours of tasting the city’s best selection of craft brews. This year’s two-day festival will have new features like an enhanced curated selection of ciders for sampling and Seafood Cove where you can purchase oysters and a variety of other seafood dishes

Saturday, October 20th

Explore the opulent Loew’s Valencia Theater in Jamaica, Queens, now home to the Tabernacle of Prayer for All, with Untapped Cities Insiders. At this special visit, guests sit inside the Valencia’s 3500-seat theater and hear a presentation on the landmarked building’s history from the church’s pastoral secretary Sister Forbes. After the talk, there will be time to roam the theater freely and take photographs of the incredible space. You can sign up for this free tour now if you are an Untapped Cities Insider. Not an Insider yet? Become a member today and access free behind-the-scenes tours and events in New York City all year long!
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Sunday, October 21st

Meet the growers of monstrous pumpkins from around the country at the New York Botanical Garden’s Giant Pumpkin Weekend. Some of the pumpkins brought in for the festivities weigh in at more than a ton! Visitors can take pictures with the oversized pumpkins, ask growers about the growing process and watch them harvest the gourd’s giant seeds. The pumpkins will be on display through October 31.

Image Courtesy of the Grand Bazaar

Satisfy your sweet tooth at the Artisanal Sweet Treats Bazaar in the Upper West Side. This pop-up is part of the Grand Bazaar, the biggest curated weekly market in NYC and one of the oldest, which takes place every Sunday. Sugar addicts will delight in everything from handmade macaroons, experimental donuts, creatively flavored peanut-butter cups, Transylvanian twisted cakes, freshly baked cookies and cupcakes, small-batch fudge, and mouthwatering truffles and chocolates! Proceeds from the market benefit the four public schools in the area.

Tuesday, October 23rd

Take part in The Velvet Underground Experience, a new immersive art and music exhibit. Through hundreds of photographs, video and film, revisit New York City in the early 1960’s to explore how this iconic American rock band influenced modern music, fashion, art, and popular culture in frontman Lou Reed’s native city. From their go-to Lower East Side hangouts to Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory, explore the band’s favorite NYC haunts through Matali Crasset’s original scenography.

Wednesday, October 24th

Look into the “Future of Penn Station” at talk presented by Agora and Rebuild Penn Station. This panel discussion will review various Penn Station proposals that seek to fix the issues of the current dark, cramped and overall unappealing present day station. Speakers include Kevin Baker, a New York City writer, Richard Cameron, a principal designer at Atelier & Co. and co-founder of both the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art and The Beaux-Arts Atelier, Wally Rubin, District Manager of Manhattan’s Community Board Five, Dani Simons, Vice President for Strategic Communications at the Regional Plan Association, Samuel Turvey, Chairman of the Rebuild Penn Station Steering Committee and moderatorJustin Shubow, President of the National Civic Art Society.

Join the conversation on “A Path to a Post-Rikers NYC.” New York Times reporter Ashley Southall will tackle the tough questions surrounding the future of Rikers Island with criminal justice experts including Kalief Browder Foundation Founder Akeem Browder, CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance Executive Director Michael Jacobson, Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Dana Kaplan, and Vera Institute Program Director Insha Rahman at the Brooklyn Historical Society. If you are an Untapped Cities Insider, you can attend this event for free! Not an Insider yet? Become a member today and access free behind-the-scenes tours and events in New York City all year long!

Lit by the brilliance of a full moon, walk along the winding roads of Green-Wood’s historic and storied landscape to discover the graves of fascinating figures in New York and American history on a Full Moon Tour. This walking tour ends with a visit to the Catacombs, which are normally closed to the public. A flashlight and comfortable shoes are recommended for this tour.

Thursday, October 25th

Go inside the historic and beloved “Little Red Lighthouse” in Fort Washington Park on an exclusive tour with Untapped Cities Insiders. Led by an Urban Park Ranger, guests will climb the original cast iron steps to the top of the tower. Along the way, learn about the history of this unique landmark and the surrounding area of Fort Washington Park, The George Washington Bridge and the Hudson River. You can sign up for this free tour now if you are an Untapped Cities Insider! Not an Insider yet? Become a member today and access free behind-the-scenes tours and events in New York City all year long!

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See our full lists of upcoming public tours and Untapped Cities Insider events!