The Short List: What's Happening in NYC This Weekend (Oct 22–25, 2026)

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The quiet weekend before the loud one. Next Saturday is Halloween, which means every restaurant below 23rd Street is already being fought over. This weekend nobody is fighting over anything.

Pierre Soulages: Paintings on Paper

Lévy Gorvy Dayan, 19 E 64th St · Closes Oct 31 · Free

Twenty-odd works on paper from the French master’s estate, most never shown publicly before. 6 train to 68th St, then four blocks south.

Free, in a townhouse, and almost nobody knows it is on. Go on a weekday afternoon and you will likely have the room to yourself. Half an hour, no ticket, and the best free art in Manhattan this month. Last full week.

Ask Lola: “Somewhere to eat on the Upper East Side after the gallery exhibit.”

Stone Street Oktoberfest, final Saturday

Financial District · Sat 24, noon to 11pm · Free, $10 VIP · Oktoberfest guide

The last one of the run. A pedestrianised cobblestone block turned into an outdoor beer hall, with stein-holding contests and a live band.

Arrive by two. It fills from four and the tables under the awnings go first, which matters in late October. It runs until eleven, so treat it as the afternoon and book something in the Seaport for eight.

Ask Lola: “A table near Oktoberfest at 8 on Saturday.”

Unbound at Brooklyn Public Library

Central Library, Grand Army Plaza · Through Dec 27 · Free

Christopher Myers has filled the Central Library with towering tapestries and stained glass.

Free, largely undiscovered, and inside the best piece of civic architecture in Brooklyn. Weekday afternoon and you will have it nearly to yourself. The Brooklyn Museum is a ten-minute walk, so the two make an afternoon.

Ask Lola: “Find me a place to get coffee near the Brooklyn Public Library.”

Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses

Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Heights · Through Dec 6 · Museum admission

The Dutch couturier’s North American retrospective, 140-plus pieces plus multimedia installations. 2 or 3 to Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum puts you at the door.

Start at the top floor and work down. Everyone goes bottom-up and the rooms fill in sequence, so working backwards buys you an hour of near-empty galleries.

Ask Lola: “Somewhere for lunch after visiting the Museum on Saturday.”

Blood Manor

Tribeca · Fri 23 and Sat 24 · From $50 · Details

Live scare actors and effects rooms downtown, running through Nov 7. Not recommended under 14, and the point is that it is genuinely unpleasant.

Book a late slot and eat beforehand. Nobody wants dinner afterwards, and the early slots are full of groups who have not yet worked that out.

Ask Lola: “Find me somewhere for dinner in Tribeca after the event on Friday.”