Halloween is here this week and there are tons of spooky ways to celebrate. Watch teams of architects live carve pumpkin masterpieces, celebrate slasher films, and don’t forget to acknowledge Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday. Check out our Untapped picks for things to do in New York City this week!

Friday, October 25th

Start off your Halloween weekend at the Center for Architecture’s third annual Pumpkitecture! competition! Twenty New York City-based firms will go gourd to gourd to once again compete for the Pritzkerpumpkin Prize. Watch architects live-carve extraordinary structures while you enjoy food and beverages included. You can attend this event for free if you are an Untapped New York Insider! Learn more here! 

[mepr-show if=”rule: 518547″][uc_booking_button title=’Book Now’][/mepr-show][mepr-hide if=”rule: 518545″][uc_insider_button title=’BECOME A MEMBER TO JOIN THIS EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders/’][/mepr-hide][mepr-show if=”rule: 518546″][uc_insider_button title=’UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO JOIN THIS EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders’][/mepr-show]

Saturday, October 26th

Pioneer Works and Maria Popova bring Universe in Verse to Shantell Martin’s The May Room on Governors Island. In celebration of Whitman’s Bicentennial, The Trust for Governors Island and Brooklyn-based cultural center Pioneer Works will present The Astronomy of Walt Whitman, a day of poetry readings and performances by Pioneer Works Director of Sciences Janna Levin, Diane Ackerman, Nicole Krauss, musicians Morley and Meshell Ndegeocello, and more. This special, intimate edition of Universe in Verse focuses on poetry and introspective examination combined with external exploration. The Astronomy of Walt Whitman will be free to attend with limited entry on a first-come, first-served basis.

Today is the day for fall festivals all over New York City! Celebrate Halloween at Socrates Sculpture Park with a unique fall festival that pays homage to Fèt Gede – the Haitian festival of the ancestors. Enjoy Gede activities including a song workshop, card readings, lantern-making with artist Rafael Domenech, face-painting, and a procession culminating in a dance and drum performance at 3pm. This event is free an open to the public from 12PM to 4PM.

Take part in the Elizabeth Street Garden’s 7th Annual Harvest Fest! Costumes are encourage for the full day of free fall activities. There will be delicious snacks, pumpkin decorating, face painting, crafts, live music, Spooky Storytime with Mulberry St Library, and more!

Head down into the basement of The Beekman for a creepy 80s-90s horror film-theme night from Alley Cat Amateur Theatre, “People Under the Stairs.” Alley Cat Amateur Theatre can be found within the once-hidden cellar and century-old “mechanical room,” of The Beekman hotel. Today, the space is an intimate lounge with Japanese inspiration. Starting at 7:00PM, the Halloween event will feature 80’s cover band, The Paper Planes and late-night DJ’s, Matty Sav & Petroleux.

Sunday, October 27th

Celebrate Theodore Roosevelt’s 161st birthday anniversary at the site where he was born! Throughout Saturday and Sunday there will be free talks and events inside the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace. Today, Brooklyn Taxidermy will give a talk, Q&A and show and tell and volunteers from the American Museum of Natural History will be on hand to talk about the museum’s founding. You can visit the room where the museum’s carter was accepted!

Monday, October 28th

See who will take home a Transportation + Infrastructure Design Excellence Award from the AIANY and ASLANY. These awards recognize exceptional design by AIA and ASLA members working in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Built and unbuilt projects will be reviewed for their innovative design approaches to transportation and infrastructure. AIANY + ASLANY will recognize projects that reflect a commitment to sustainability, community engagement, and civic architecture. You can attend this event for free if you are an Untapped New York Insider! Learn more here!

[mepr-show if=”rule: 518547″][uc_booking_button title=’Book Now’][/mepr-show][mepr-hide if=”rule: 518545″][uc_insider_button title=’BECOME A MEMBER TO JOIN THIS EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders/’][/mepr-hide][mepr-show if=”rule: 518546″][uc_insider_button title=’UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO JOIN THIS EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders’][/mepr-show]

Tuesday, October 29th

Go behind-the-scenes of Brooklyn’s Mural Movement at the Brooklyn Historical Society, and explore how today’s artists are continuing to forge community cohesion and retain a sense of place amid gentrification as Robyne Walker Murphy, Executive Director of Groundswell, moderates a conversation with Janet Braun-Reinitz, muralist and author of On the Wall: Four Decades of Community Murals in New York City, Richard Green, Director of Crown Heights Youth Collective, and Joe Matunis, founder of El Puente’s Los Muralistas initiative. You can attend this event for free if you are an Untapped New York Insider! Learn more here!

[mepr-show if=”rule: 518547″][uc_booking_button title=’Book Now’][/mepr-show][mepr-hide if=”rule: 518545″][uc_insider_button title=’BECOME A MEMBER TO JOIN THIS EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders/’][/mepr-hide][mepr-show if=”rule: 518546″][uc_insider_button title=’UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO JOIN THIS EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders’][/mepr-show]

Wednesday, October 30th

Head underground for an exhilarating ride through more than 100 years of subway history on Untapped New York’s Underground Subway Tour. As you weave through stations of the past and present, learn how the New York subway system has evolved, uncover art installation hidden in plain sight, and see the famously decommissioned City Hall station!

Underground Tour of the NYC Subway

Join Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts organization, Stacy Horn and historian Judith Berdy at Back to Black(well’s), a book talk on Roosevelt Island. Just steps from the ruin of James Renwick’s Small Pox Hospital, Horn, author of Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad and Criminal in 19th- Century New York, will take guests into the area’s macabre past, sharing insight from her new book. Further light on the positive that occurred later in the 20th century will be shed by historian Judith Berdy, the President of the Roosevelt Island historical society, who will share the history of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, and its benevolent founder, the Reverend William Glenney French. You can attend this event for free if you are an Untapped New York Insider! Learn more here!

[mepr-show if=”rule: 518547″][uc_booking_button title=’Book Now’][/mepr-show][mepr-hide if=”rule: 518545″][uc_insider_button title=’BECOME A MEMBER TO JOIN THIS EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders/’][/mepr-hide][mepr-show if=”rule: 518546″][uc_insider_button title=’UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO JOIN THIS EVENT FOR FREE!’ url=’/plans/insiders’][/mepr-show]

Thursday, October 31st

Celebrate Halloween with your furry friend at the AKC Museum of the Dog’s Howl-O-Ween Spooktacular! Come by yourself, with your friends, or even bring your dog! Enjoy specialty punch, beer and wine and some sweet snacks for both you and your dog. Participate in a costume contest and enjoy a photobooth, crafts and more.

Check out our list of the best alternative ways to celebrate Halloween in New York City this year!

Check out a full list of all upcoming Untapped New York public tours and Insider events!