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The Parent Loop
Because parenting is better when we share the good stuff.
October 9–12, 2026
Weekend Guide
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| Handpicked, budget-friendly happenings on the UWS, plus a few nearby highlights worth the trip. Not everything happening, just the ones I'd text a friend about. Because "What should we do?" shouldn't be stressful. |
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Hi loopers,
It's a long weekend! Monday is Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day, so this issue runs Friday through Monday. There's a lot to celebrate: corn husk dolls and a canoe-and-kayak day on the Bronx River with the North American Indigenous Center of New York, Día de Muertos at The Met Cloisters, and Wave Hill opening its gates to everyone at no cost on Monday. Closer to home, The Past and The Curious podcast comes to life at Lincoln Center, and Halloweentown is playing outdoors on West 100th Street.
Heads up for Monday: NYPL branches and New-York Historical are closed, but The Met and the American Museum of Natural History are open.
Fall events that run all season are at the end. And new this week: my Halloween & Día de los Muertos guide, with every UWS trick-or-treat street, Halloween weekend parties, Día de los Muertos celebrations around the city and a decorations scavenger hunt across the UWS, Central Park and the UES. Have a friend who wants to sign up? Share the link here and follow @theparentloopnyc for more. Quick tip: click "Read online" (top right) so your reading view doesn't get trimmed. |
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Around The Loop: Little shoutouts, local sightings, and meaningful connections from the week
Hot off the press: Stephanie from Morning Meeting and I are planning our next Let's go, moms! (and friends) event on the UWS in the coming weeks: karaoke! Belt it, lip-sync, dance or just cheer. Details soon. PS: In case you missed it, our spring dance party was a banger, with 45+ people partying the (early) night away.
Congratulations to Claudia and Vanessa for winning the giveaway to attend Rooted & Ready's gathering on Oct 24!
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| Friday - October 9 |
| Storytime @ Book Culture on Broadway (2915 Broadway at 114th St), 10:30 AM, young kids. |
| Family Storytime: Ukulele Storytime! @ NYPL–Columbus, 11 AM, ages 0–5. Songs, rhymes and read-alouds. |
| Community Playdate @ NYPL–Bloomingdale, 11 AM–12 PM, ages 0–5. First come, first served. |
| Take & Make Craft @ NYPL–Bloomingdale, 3–4 PM, kids. |
| Little New-Yorkers: The Lorax @ New-York Historical, 3:30–4:30 PM, ages 3–6, then Crafts and Classics Club at 5–6 PM, all ages. Make a Lorax puppet to "speak for the trees," then sew a quilt square during a Chronicles of Narnia read-aloud. Included with museum admission (pay-as-you-wish after 5 PM). |
| Movie Nights: Back to the Future @ Hudson Yards Public Square & Gardens, 6–8 PM. Rated PG. Popcorn while it lasts; doors open an hour early. |
| Movies Under the Stars: Halloweentown @ Frederick Douglass Playground (W 100th St & Amsterdam Ave), 6:45 PM, families. A kind witch has to save her peaceful town from a dark force. Bring a blanket. The Parent Loop pick! |
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| Saturday - October 10 |
| Puzzles & Play @ NYPL–Bloomingdale, 10 AM–2 PM, toddlers through elementary. |
| Family Art Project: Corn Husk Dolls @ Wave Hill (Bronx), 10 AM–1 PM, families. Part of Wave Hill's Indigenous Peoples' Weekend: explore corn's role in Indigenous cultures and make a corn husk doll, with a storytime of When the Shadbush Blooms at 11:30 AM. Included with grounds admission. |
| 15th Year Kids Halloween Block Party @ W 133rd St between Lenox and Seventh Aves (Harlem), 10 AM–5 PM, kids. A neighbor-run block party, now in its 15th year, and the first Trick-or-Streets closure of the season in Manhattan. |
| The Past and The Curious Live @ David Rubenstein Atrium, Lincoln Center, 11 AM, all ages. The hit kids' history podcast comes to the stage with songs, games and "fun forgotten firsts," like the first dog to travel around the world. About 45 minutes, first come, first served; Lincoln Center suggests arriving up to an hour early. |
| Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration with NAIC-NY @ Mitsubishi River Walk on the Bronx River (near Bronx Zoo Parking B, Boston Rd entrance), 11 AM–3 PM, all ages. The Bronx River Alliance and the North American Indigenous Center of New York host canoeing and kayaking, an Indigenous art workshop, a mini-library of Indigenous books, and Haudenosaunee social dances from 2–3 PM. The Parent Loop pick! |
| Fashioning Paper @ Cooper Hewitt, 11 AM–3 PM. A drop-in family program. Included with museum admission. |
| Living History: The Origins of K-pop Photo Cards @ New-York Historical, 12–3 PM, all ages. Learn how 1800s cartes de visite paved the way for K-pop photocards, then get your own made. Included with museum admission. |
| Open Studio: Patterns and Pottery @ The Met Fifth Avenue, 1 PM. Drop-in art-making. Included with museum admission. |
| Theater Games @ NYPL–Bloomingdale, 2–3 PM, kids. |
| Fantastic Middle Grade Reads @ Books of Wonder, 2 PM, middle-grade readers. Michael Buckley, Gail Carson Levine, Julia Riew and Cindy L. Rodriguez talk about their new books. RSVP required. |
| Coding with SciXplorers @ NYPL–Bloomingdale, 2:30–3:30 PM, ages 6–12. Beginner coding on code.org. Online registration required. |
| Movies Under the Stars: Ghostbusters @ Jacob H. Schiff Playground (Harlem), 6:45 PM. Rated PG, so better for school-age kids. |
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| Sunday - October 11 |
| Family Art Project: Corn Husk Dolls @ Wave Hill, 10 AM–1 PM. See Saturday. |
| Indigenous Peoples Day NYC @ Randall's Island Park, Sunday and Monday, all ages. A two-day gathering hosted by Native New Yorkers, with intertribal dancing, drum and dance competitions, live music, spoken word, food and Native vendors. Gates open at 10 AM Sunday, and the Grand Entry, when all the dancers enter the circle in full regalia, is at 12 PM. Entry at no cost. |
| Día de Muertos at The Met Cloisters, 10 AM–4 PM, all ages. A bilingual day of art-making, storytime, music and community storytelling. Included with museum admission (pay what you wish for NY State residents). The Parent Loop pick! |
| Storytime with the Author: I'm Right Here @ Books of Wonder, 11:30 AM, babies and toddlers. Michelle Grace reads her new board book. RSVP required. |
| Hispanic Day Parade @ Fifth Ave, heading north from 44th St, 12 PM, all ages. Groups from across the Spanish-speaking world march in music, dance and traditional dress to close out Hispanic Heritage Month. |
| Storytime @ Book Culture on Broadway, 1 PM, young kids. |
| Family Afternoon: Drip! Drop! Splash! @ The Met Fifth Avenue, 1 PM, families. Included with museum admission. |
| Launch Event: Cow and Sow @ Books of Wonder, 2 PM, young kids. Matthew Farina and Caldecott-winning illustrator Doug Salati celebrate their new wintery picture book. RSVP required. |
| Overlook Concert @ 116th St Overlook, Riverside Park, 2–3:30 PM, all ages. The Manhattan School of Music Jazz Ensemble. |
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| Monday - October 12 |
| Indigenous Peoples Day NYC @ Randall's Island Park, Monday morning. See Sunday. Day two opens with a sunrise tobacco and water ceremony, followed by more cultural performances and speakers. |
| Indigenous Peoples' Weekend @ Wave Hill (Bronx), 10 AM–5:30 PM, all ages. Admission is waived for everyone on Monday. At 1 PM, join Oleana Whispering Dove's walking tour on the Lenape women chiefs who shaped Dutch-Indigenous relations. |
| Indigenous Peoples' Day School Holiday @ Prospect Park (Brooklyn), all ages. A hands-on leaf litter activity at the Audubon Center (10 AM–3 PM), an animal encounter (1 PM) and a fall leaf walk (2 PM), plus ReImagine Lefferts at Lefferts Historic House (12–5 PM), with exhibits and workshops on the Lenape people of Lenapehoking. All at no cost; the carousel next door is $3 a ride. |
| Columbus Day Parade @ Fifth Ave, heading north from 44th St, 11:15 AM, all ages. The city's largest celebration of Italian American heritage, with marching bands and floats. |
| Launch Event: Andromeda Diaz and the Reasonable Doubt @ Books of Wonder, 6 PM, middle-grade readers. Emily Galvin Almanza launches her mystery about a kid who fights injustice, in conversation with Mary-Louise Parker. RSVP required. |
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| Fall, Halloween and Día de los Muertos: all season, plus dates to bookmark |
| This isn't every event out there, just the ones I'd put on my calendar. More in next week's issue. |
New: The Parent Loop's Halloween & Día de los Muertos Guide. Every UWS trick-or-treat street, the Trick-or-Streets block parties on Broadway (Oct 17) and Columbus Ave (Oct 25), Halloween day parties at AMNH, New-York Historical and Hudson Yards, every Día de los Muertos celebration worth the trip, and a family scavenger hunt for the best-decorated stoops on the UWS, in Central Park and on the UES. See the full guide.
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| Día de los Muertos @ New York Botanical Garden (Bronx), through November 2, all ages. Weekends bring live son jarocho music (11 AM, 12 & 1 PM), papel picado and silk flower making (11 AM–3 PM), and kids' activities in the Children's Adventure Garden (11 AM–5 PM) like potting a marigold. Bring a photo or written memory for the community ofrenda. The parade is November 1 (crafts at 1 PM, parade at 2 PM). Included with the All-Garden Pass. |
| Boo at the Zoo @ Bronx Zoo, Saturdays and Sundays through November 1, plus Monday, October 12, 11 AM–4 PM, best for toddlers through elementary. A new hay maze and challenge trail, carnival games, costume parades and dance parties, a candy trail (11 AM–2 PM), face painting and a puppet show. Costumes welcome. Included with zoo admission. |
| Ascarium @ New York Aquarium, Coney Island, Oct 10–12 (including Monday), 17–18, 24–25 and 31, 11 AM–4 PM. A pumpkin sculpture display, bubble shows, Halloween crafts, magic shows and costume parades with aquatic puppets at 1, 2 and 3:30 PM. Included with aquarium admission. |
| Halloween Harvest @ Luna Park, Coney Island, through November 1. Pumpkin decorating, trick-or-treating and costumed staff alongside the rides, with a not-too-scary theme for little ones. |
| The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze @ Van Cortlandt Manor, Croton-on-Hudson, select nights through November 8. Thousands of hand-carved, lit pumpkins. Timed entry from $24. |
| Hudson Yards Movie Nights, Fridays 6–8 PM: Wicked (Oct 16), Hairspray (Oct 23) and Beetlejuice (Oct 30). |
| Open House New York, Oct 16–18, citywide. Hundreds of places that are usually closed to the public open their doors for a weekend. |
| En Familia: Día de Muertos @ El Museo del Barrio, Oct 17, 10 AM–2 PM. Art-making, live music and community altars. |
| Lenfest Kids: Arco @ Lenfest Center for the Arts, Oct 17. Next up in the time-travel film series. |
| Hablemos: Revolutionary Women / Mujeres Revolucionarias @ New-York Historical, Oct 24, 1–2:30 PM. The Spanish-language family program. Registration required. |
| Lincoln Center Open House, Oct 24–25, from 11 AM, campus-wide, all ages. Performances, music, dance and hands-on fun across the whole campus. |
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| Indoor favorites for rainy or chilly days |
| Discovery Room @ American Museum of Natural History, open daily except Tuesdays, pre-K and up. Live animals, fossil assembly and specimens. Included with admission. While you're there, Monarch's Journey is a sweet tie-in to the butterflies of Día de los Muertos. |
| The 81st Street Studio @ The Met, Thursday–Tuesday 10 AM–5 PM (last entry 4 PM, closed Wednesdays), ages 3–11. No museum admission needed. |
| Balloon Museum: DAYDREAM @ Tin Building, South Street Seaport, best for ages 4–12. Giant inflatable art installations you can touch and play in. Tickets required; kids under 3 get in at no cost. |
| Doll Dressing @ The Museum at FIT (Chelsea), closed Mondays and Tuesdays. More than 170 dolls shown alongside full-size fashion, through January 3. |
| Little Red's Hood @ Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, weekends, ages 3–7. $10/$15, advance tickets only. |
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Because parenting is better when we share the good stuff.
The Parent Loop
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