As New York City gears up for St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, there are  bunch of exciting events going on throughout the five boroughs. From free book giveaways to sumo wrestling viewing parties and literary film festivals, check out our Untapped Picks for things to do this week:

Friday, March 15th

Photograph Courtesy of Ground Floor Gallery

View the artwork of Ed Grant and Elizabeth Velazquez, two artists-in-residence who have been working in a shared studio space inside Cigar Factory LIC. As the name suggest, the building was originally a 19th-century cigar factory, which is now a mixed-use creative space. Friday night, both artists will unveil all new, original, site-specific pieces at an opening which will take place from 5pm until 9pm. The show will run until Saturday, March 23rd with visiting hours Saturday, March 16th from 1pm to 6pm, Sunday, March 17th, 1pm to 3pm and Saturday, March 23rd from 12pm to 6pm.

Start celebrating St. Patricks Day early by grabbing a free book at the 9th Annual Irish Arts Center Book Day. Thanks to a community of supporters and sponsors, staff and volunteers, the center gives away thousands of free books by Irish and Irish American authors as well as those of other cultures. This year, alongside titles by writers of Irish heritage there will be literature from Asian American authors too. There are dozens of Book Day pop-up stations across all five boroughs, where there will be fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, poetry, and books in translation to choose from. Find one near you here!

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day weekend at the aptly named Patrick’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar in Times Square. The restaurant will feature live Irish music both Saturday and Sunday nights and serve up corned beef and cabbage. To compliment your meal, the bar will be offering nitro Irish coffees and The YaVe Green Tequila Maria, a special green cocktail crafted with jalapeno tequila from a Harlem based tequila company.

Saturday, March 16th

Experience the colors and a taste of the nightlife of Singapore at the New York Botanical Gardens’ 2019 Orchid Evenings. Walk through a garden of Supertrees and orchids in the Conservatory at this adults only, after dark event where you can sip a Singapore Sling and purchase a bite to eat from the Bronx Night Market Pop-up while freestyle dancers and DJs perform throughout the night.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, Library of Congress

Uncover the remnants of the original Beaux-Arts Penn Station that once stood at the site of the current transportation hub. On our Tour of the Remnants of Penn Station, join Penn Station expert Justin Rivers as he reveals secrets of the station’s history and where throughout the modern-day structure you can find vestiges of its past, from original staircases to structural elements, as well as little-known contemporary features like a sculpture created by a world renowned artist.

Tour of the Remnants of Penn Station

Explore the south side of Ellis Island on a special Behind-the-scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Hospital. Built in the early 20th century to treat immigrants coming through Ellis Island’s processing station, the hospital was once the standard for American healthcare. After the immigration station was decommissioned the hospital complex served many other purposes, such as field offices for the FBI, and has sat abandoned for over sixty years. Gain access to off-limits areas that are only open to guests on this tour and see pieces of a site-specific art installation by world renowned artist JR.

Behind-the-Scenes Hard Hat Tour of the Abandoned Ellis Island Hospital

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

Sunday, March 17th

Check out our list of unique ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with everything from haunted trolley tours of Brooklyn to exploring New York City’s Irish neighborhoods.

Monday, March  18th

Learn about the lives and processes of your favorites writers at the Brooklyn Library’s free film screening series, LitFilm 2019. Now in its second year, LitFilm will feature inspiring documentaries about famous figures like Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, Pablo Neruda, Lorraine Hansberry, Wole Soyinka, Samuel Beckett and many others. The weeklong event will also feature appearances by filmmakers like Tracy Heather Strain (director, Sighted Eyes, Feeling Heart) and Stephen McCarthy (directors, Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists), as well as writer Mark Eisnerand and more. All screenings are free but require advanced registration and will take place at the Brooklyn Public Library, Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn between Monday and Sunday, March 24th.

Tuesday, March  19th

From shew stones and spirit photography to ghost radios and EVP recorders, learn the “history of how human beings have attempted to interact with the otherworldly using technology” at Miskatonic’s upcoming multi-media presentation, Enchanting Technology: Making, Hacking and the Occult Imagination. The class will be held at Film Noir Cinema in Brooklyn and led by Peter Bebergal. The information presented is from Bebergal’s research for his book Strange Frequencies.

Take part in Little Cinema’s immersive movie experience at one of their upcoming Secret Throwback Shows at Brooklyn’s House of Yes. The screening of a secret cult fantasy film from the 1980s will be accompanied by Little Cinema’s signature live circus acts by Hybrid Movement Company and House Of Yes,  a spoken word performance by Equiano Motif music, immersive effects, DJ-ing by CHNNLS (Jay Rinsky), and video art and 3D projection by Josh Slaby plus  a claw foot bathtub and  butler for the ultimate viewing experience as well as special cocktails all night.

Wednesday, March  20th

Chef Andrew Gerson serving up bowls of chankonabe. Photo by Clay Williams

Based on an inspiring trip to Japan, New York photographer Michael Harlan Turkell wanted to bring sumo culture to the city. With the help of  Brooklyn Kitchen founder Harry Rosenblum, they founded Sumo Stew, an event series based around the bowls of chankonabe that wrestlers prepare and eat before matches. Each sumo stew features live streamed sumo matches and a plethora of Japanese dishes and drinks which this time include a turkey, tofu and mushroom chankonabe (the sumo stew),  a special bento box composed of Japanese-inspired dishes from top local chefs, asahi beer, sake by Skurnik Wines and senbird tea.

Enjoy a comedy show while also helping a good cause at Stand Up! at Haven Cycles in Brooklyn. The show, which features comedian Danny Felts (who has appeared on HBO’s High Maintenance and IFC’s Portlandia) and others, is a pay-as-you-wish event with proceeds going towards RIP Medical Debt, a New York-based organization that buys medical debt and then forgives it.

Thursday, March  21st

Catch a screening of some of the over 200 feature and short films presented over the 11-day Queens World Film Festival. Films are organized into 61 different thematic “blocks” such as Cyber Alarm, Worldly Vision, and Local Express. The festival will also feature talkbacks, Q&As, industry panels and plenty of other networking opportunities with full access to festival directors, filmmakers and special guests.