It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2022 and hello to 2023! To celebrate the arrival of the new year and the end of the old, we’ve rounded up the most exciting and somewhat off-beat New Year’s Eve events in New York City. From uncovering the secrets of famous sites to taking part in an all-day poetry marathon, check out the many different New Year’s events happening this weekend:
1. Dive into the New Year with Coney Island’s Polar Bear Plunge
For a brutally refreshing start to the new year, you can take part in the 120th Coney Island Polar Bear New Year’s Day Plunge! Taking place at Coney Island Beach, participants are invited to run into the freezing cold waters in the name of charity. The plunge is free to join but swimmers are encouraged to make a donation.
Donations from the plunge go towards supporting local organizations such as the New York Aquarium, Alliance for Coney Island, Coney Island USA, Coney Island History Project, and more. Swimmers are advised to bring warm clothes, surf boots or old sneakers, and towels. The NYC Parks Department provides changing facilities on the Boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue. On-site registration opens at 10 AM and the plunge happens at 11 AM. See all of the details here.
2. Go on a New Year’s Eve Tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sneak in one final 2022 adventure with an unconventional New Year’s Eve event. Join former museum guard and author of the forthcoming memoir All The Beauty in the World Patrick Bringley for a New Year’s Eve tour of the Secrets of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. On this expert-led tour, you’ll see the museum through the eyes of someone who spent an entire decade patrolling its treasure-filled halls.
Secrets of the Met Museum Tour
Some of the fascinating stops you’ll make include a visit to the very first item acquired by the museum in 1870, a once-stolen Greek statue, and the tooth of Mary Magdalen in a Renaissance reliquary. As you walk among priceless artifacts, Bringley will share behind-the-scenes stories of how the museum is run and what happens in the backstage areas where the public isn’t allowed.
3. Be part of an all-day poetry marathon
Hundreds of poets and performers will gather at St. Mark’s Church-on-the-Bowery on New Year’s day for the Poetry Project’s New Year’s Day Marathon, a full day of readings, dance, live music, and other forms of performance. The Poetry Project describes the event as “heart-breaking and -making, exhausting and exhilarating, rancorous and sweet,” “the most surreal and sprawling literary event of the year.”
You can purchase tickets to attend the event here or register to watch the live stream. The Marathon will take place over two five-hour periods with an hour break in between on January 1st. The sections of the marathon will be ticketed separately. The Marathon is a big fundraiser for The Poetry Project, which hosts a variety of events throughout the year and provides fellowships and support to teachers, readers, writers, and more.
4. Spend New Year’s day uncovering the secrets of Rockefeller Center
If one of your resolutions is to get out and explore more in 2023, you can start by uncovering the secrets of Rockefeller Center on an expert-led tour. On Untapped New York’s tour of this Art Deco complex, you’ll walk through a hallway covered in gold, see a literal hidden gem of the complex (a sterling silver model airplane made by Cartier), and escape the tourist crowds in a little known park with an urban waterfall, among many other exciting experiences.
Rockefeller Center Tour
On this tour, you’ll discover a different side of Rockefeller Center, one of the most visited and recognizable places in New York City. Completed in 1939, the iconic Rockefeller Center has its fair share of secrets both historical and current.
5. Write your wishes on NYE Times Square confetti
The confetti that rains down on Times Square at midnight isn’t regular confetti. The official Times Square New Year’s Eve confetti is made up of pieces of paper that contain the wishes of people from all over the world. You can share your wish for 2023 by visiting the Wishing Wall in person, but hurry up, it closes on December 28th at 8 PM!
If you can’t make it over to Times Square in person, you can submit your wish to the digital wishing wall. When submitted digitally, your wishes are printed out and added to the thousands of pieces of confetti that fall. Wishes that are digitally submitted after December 28th will be held onto for next year’s celebration.
6. Attend a concert for peace
For over 30 years, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine has hosted a New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace. The tradition began with Leonard Bernstein who wanted to create a tribute to the people of New York City. The evening of music this year will feature conductors Kent Tritle and Bryan Zaros leading the cathedral’s choir and orchestra in Gustav Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite, David Lang’s Make Peace, Joseph Turrin’s Lullaby for Vaska, and Philip Herbert’s Elegy: in memorial.
You can grab your tickets here. The show will take place on Saturday, December 31st from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. If you can’t make it in person, this year’s concert will be available to live stream on the Cathedral’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, courtesy of the Mount Sinai Health System.
7. Explore the Gilded Age Mansions of Fifth Avenue
Stand in the footsteps of architectural giants on Untapped New York’s Gilded Age Mansions of Fifth Ave tour on New Year’s Day. On this tour, you’ll discover grand estates both past and present, once home to esteemed families like the Vanderbilts and Astors. As you stroll Fifth Avenue and see what remains of this time, you’ll also discover works of architecture lost to time with the aid of stunning historical photography and scintillating stories of the affairs that took place inside.
Gilded Age Mansions Tour
Led by an expert guide, you’ll see the footprint of the largest single residence ever built in Manhattan, discover a charming bookshop tucked into a Fifth Avenue mansion, uncover one of the last single-residence mansions on Fifth Avenue, and so much more!
8. Attend the last show at Caroline’s Comedy Club
As a farewell to its longtime Times Square location, comedy club Caroline’s will host a New Year’s Eve Spectacular. Advertised as “The Funniest Party in the Universe,” the show will feature comedians like Che Durena, Jordan Jensen, Onika McLean, Sahib Singh, and more.
The comedy club announced this month that it will be closing its doors after 40 years in Times Square. The New Year’s Eve Spectacular will be the final performance.
9. Get out on a First Day Hike
Start the new year off with a rejuvenating stroll in one of New York City’s beautiful parks on a First Day Hike! 2023 marks the 12th anniversary of First Day Hikes in New York City, when residents are encouraged to go out and explore their local green spaces.
This year, more than 100 state parks, historic sites, wildlife areas, canal trails, and public lands will participate in the family-friendly hikes. The hikes range from 1 to 5 miles. Find a hike near you on the NYC Parks website! For some more inspiration, check out New York City’s largest parks.
10. Take part in a midnight run in Central Park
Get a headstart on your fitness goals for 2023 at the New York Road Runner’s Midnight Run in Central Park, one of New York City’s long-running New Year’s Eve events. Runners take their marks and go at the stroke of midnight as fireworks light up the sky above. The race takes runners along Central Park’s inner loop, starting near Bethesda Terrace, traveling through the park’s rollings hills, passing the reservoir, and around the Lake to finish,
Halfway through the four-mile race, runners can make a toast at the sparkling cider fluid station in the Park’s northern section. All runners get to bring one guest to the celebrations and to watch the race. You can register for the race here.
