Free NYC Events This Week

The Feast of San Gennaro enters its final stretch on Mulberry Street, running through Sunday September 27. Free to wander the 11 blocks of Italian food stalls, games, and nightly live music on the Grand and Mott Street stage. The last chance of the year for zeppole, cannoli, and sausage-and-peppers in Little Italy (food and games cost money; entry is free).

The largest free literary event in NYC runs its week of "Bookend" events across Brooklyn venues all week, leading up to Festival Day on Sunday. Free readings, panels, and author talks. This year's lineup includes Colson Whitehead, Joyce Carol Oates, Marlon James, Tracy K. Smith, and dozens more. Most events are free - check the schedule for tonight's picks.

Free general admission (RSVP online) to NYC's biggest waterfront Oktoberfest at Pier 15, running seven days a week through October 31. A 10,000-square-foot venue with views of the Brooklyn and Williamsburg bridges, traditional Hofbrau and Weihenstephan beer, brats, giant pretzels, oompah music, and stein-holding contests. Entry is free; beer and food are for sale. Traditional dress encouraged.

A full day of free family literary fun ahead of the main festival - author readings, storytelling, illustration workshops, and activities for young readers. Free and all-ages. A great free Saturday for families before the big Festival Day on Sunday.

The 51st annual Atlantic Antic, Brooklyn's oldest and largest street festival, takes over a mile of Atlantic Avenue from Hicks Street to Fourth Avenue. Hundreds of food and craft vendors, around a dozen live-music stages, three kids' areas, and the return of the "Antic Sing" competition. Free all day. A walk-and-graze Brooklyn classic - and it pairs perfectly with the Book Festival a few blocks away.

The main event: the largest free literary festival in NYC fills Brooklyn Borough Hall, Columbus Park, and surrounding venues with national and international authors, a lively literary marketplace, panels, and readings. Free all day. Combine with the Atlantic Antic for one of the best free Brooklyn Sundays of the year.

The Feast of San Gennaro wraps its 11-day run with extended closing-day hours and special events on Mulberry Street. Free to attend - the last night to soak up the lights, music, and food of the "Feast of All Feasts" until next September.

Oktoberfest is in full swing across the city. Watermark at Pier 15 (free RSVP entry) is the big waterfront one, but German beer halls and gardens across the boroughs - Loreley, Reichenbach Hall, Black Forest in Brooklyn, Zum Schneider - are running keg tappings, oompah bands, and pretzel specials through October. Entry to most is free; you pay for the beer.

Mark your calendar: tickets for the limited-capacity sites at Open House New York Weekend (October 16-18) go on sale today. The full 300-site lineup was announced September 25. Most OHNY sites are free drop-in, but the popular ones - the Flatiron Building, DOT Sign Shop, Rockefeller Center Gardens, Brooklyn Army Terminal - need advance tickets that sell out fast. Plan now.

Free monthly evening at the Brooklyn Museum. All galleries open plus live music, dancing, film, and a cash bar. One of the best free nights out in NYC, every first Saturday. No ticket required - just show up.

One of NYC's most beloved and surreal annual traditions. The Feast of St. Francis at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine opens with a 10:30am service featuring the Procession of the Animals (past years have included camels, llamas, and birds of prey), music by Paul Winter, and dance by Forces of Nature - followed by an outdoor fair and pet blessings. Bring your pet. No passes required; seating is first come, first served, so arrive early.

Smorgasburg continues its Sunday run at Breeze Hill in Prospect Park into the fall. Free to enter and browse dozens of food vendors. A great free way to spend an early-October Sunday as the leaves start to turn.

The Grand Procession of the Feast of San Gennaro carried the statue of the saint through the streets of Little Italy with floats, the Red Mike Festival Band, and thousands lining Mulberry Street.

Illumination NYC lit up the grand reopening of Wagner Park with three nights of immersive light installations, projection mapping, and performances on the Lower Manhattan waterfront.

One of the largest African American parades in the country marched up Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard from 111th to 136th Street with marching bands, floats, and community organizations under the theme "Good Businesses Sustain Our Future."