Weekly NYC Events Calendar: Oct. 24–Oct. 30

The Indypendent’s curated events calendar comes out every Wednesday online and once a month in print. Sign-up for our regular e-newsletter and you won’t miss a thing. If there is an event you want others to learn about let us know.

THURS OCT 24
5:30PM–8PM • FREE
PANEL: Unmasking Fake News and the Efforts to Suppress Journalists
A provocative discussion with leading thinkers and working journalists about communicating with those who believe fake news and combatting the overabundance of misinformation out there.
National Writers Union
256 W. 38th St., 12th Fl., Mnhtn

THURS OCT 24
6PM–7:30PM • FREE
HEALTH: Advocacy Hour with We The Patients NY
Hear from a mix of POC women-led start-ups (Patient Orator), policy experts (Consumer Reports), NYS legislative staffers, patients and organizers passionate about health care, particularly affordability, medical debt and medical billing issues.
We the Patients – New York
10th Fl., 633 Third Ave., Mnhtn 

THURS OCT 24
6PM–9PM • FREE
FORUM: Winning Bigger
Even as we face dire threats from the Trump administration and far-right white nationalist movements here at home, the left is insurgent. This event is an invitation to come together and think about New York as a laboratory for a thriving, multiracial social democracy.
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
236 E. 3rd St., Mnhtn

THURS OCT 24
7PM–9:30PM • FREE
BOOK LAUNCH: The Stars and The Blackness Between Them
Junauda Petrus-Nasah reads from her new book The Stars and the Blackness Between Them, a work of queer magic-realism, liberation, Black diaspora, and astrological love.
Bluestockings Bookstore, Café, & Activist Center
172 Allen St., Mnhtn

OCT 25–OCT 27
FRI–SUN, times vary • $20–$150
CONFERENCE: Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference
Convening urban and rural farmers, students, chefs, food-product makers, herbalists, nutritionists, consumers, policymakers, educators, activists and organizations from across the country, the theme of this year’s conference is Homecoming: Remembering and Reclaiming our Futures through Soil and Soul.
The New School
66 W. 12th St. Mnhtn

FRI OCT 25
7:15PM–10PM • $15
PERFORMANCE: Boxcutter Collective: Tricks and Treats (& Puppet Shows!)
An evening of short and unsettling puppet shows brought to you by the rotting brains of your favorite mad scientist puppeteers with ghostly music brought to you by Ali Dineen & The Boxcutter Brass Band. Come early for a free guided tour of the Coney Island Museum at 7:15.
Coney Island USA
1208 Surf Ave., Bklyn 

FRI OCT 25
7:30PM–9:30PM • FREE
MUSIC: In Sonic Discourse with Cecil Taylor’s Unit Structures
The second of three free concerts as part of the Unit Structures: The Art of Cecil Taylor Conference based around the jazz pianist’s classic, 1966 avant garde recordings, hosted at The Graduate Center and Brooklyn College from October 24th through October 26th. The program will feature performances by Lewis Porter, Sandow Sinai, Chris Stover with Tanya Kalmanovitch, Chloe Rowlands and Sarah Schoenbeck, Imri Talgam and Michelle Yom, and Mayakov+sky Platform. RSVP if you plan to attend.
The Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Ave., Mnhtn 

FRI OCT 25
7:30PM • $10–$15 sliding scale
MUSIC: Halloween Punk Show to Benefit the Black Trans Travel Fund
Bring your spooky wear. Funds go to help provide black transgender women with resources to ensure they are able to travel to and from their destinations safely and free from verbal harassment or physical harm.
Starr Bar
214 Starr St., Bklyn

SAT OCT 26
12PM–4PM • FREE
FESTIVAL: ESG Harvest Fest
Bring the fam for a day full of free fun and activities for everyone to enjoy from delicious snacks to pumpkin decorating.
Elizabeth Street Garden
Elizabeth St. btw Prince & Spring Streets, Mnhtn 

SAT OCT 26
8PM–12AM • $15
PARTY: The Spectre: A DSA Halloween Party
Come for an evening of dancing and sticking your hands in bowls of gross stuff with the Democratic Socialists of America. There’ll be a bar, tarot readings, DJs, candy, a costume contest and raffles. Be there if you dare!
Verso Books
20 Jay St., Suite 1010, Bklyn

SAT OCT 26
8PM–1AM • $20
DANCE: Assata Shakur Freedom Dance for Political Prisoners
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the city’s best fundraiser to free long-held political prisoners. Admission includes one drink and food is on sale. Don’t worry if you get sweaty, you can buy a commemorative t-shirt to wear.
National Black Theatre
2031 Fifth Ave., Mnhtn

SUN OCT 27
12PM–5PM • FREE
LIT: The Free Black Women’s Library Salutes Toni Morrison
Come and share your favorite passages, books, essays, speeches, poems, memories, and stories of the ways the Pulitzer Prize winning black feminist writer has influenced your art, writing and life.
The Free Black Women’s Library
1072 Bedford Ave. # 39, Bklyn

TUES OCT 29
7PM–9PM • FREE
BOOK LAUNCH: An Encyclopedia of Political Record Labels
Join Josh MacPhee for the launch of his new book, a collection of information about political music and radical cultural production. He’ll be in conversation with Johnny Temple, publisher and editor-in-chief of Akashic Books.
powerHouse Arena
28 Adams St., Bklyn