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10 Fun November Fall Events in New York City

The weather in New York City has turned cold and the bathing suits have been stored away and been replaced by sweaters. This doesn’t mean that Gotham has shut down until spring. The Big City fun still remains aplenty, be it day or night, and the spirit of the holiday season courses through the city’s heart. We couldn’t list all-of-the endless events in New York City, but, we have managed to compile a list of the top-10 fun things to do here in November.

#1. Free Ice

Free Ice-skating at Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park from October 28th to March 4th. Bring your skates to enjoy the frozen fun, great eats, and rows upon rows of 125 holiday kiosk shops. Winter Village shop hours are Monday through Friday from 11am to 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 10am to8pm until January 2nd.

#2. Can Art

The New York City Canstruction Competition is going to be one of the most unique ways to help hunger this holiday season from November 2nd to the 15th.  The interesting artistic social event is being held at Brookfield Place at 230 Vesey Street, NY, NY, in Lower Manhattan’s Battery Park City. Viewing hours for the displays are from 10am to 8pm, Nov. 2nd to 14th, and 10am to 6pm on Nov. 15th.

This is the charitable event’s 10th year in New York City which challenges 27 teams of contractors, architects, and engineers to build incredible, large artistic structures out of nothing but unopen canned food – which are then displayed throughout Brookfield Place Center.

Awards are granted in the categories of best original design, structural ingenuity, best meal item, best use of labels, most cans used, people’s choice award, the Cheri C. Melillo Award, and last and unfortunately least, the honorable mention. The works of canned art are free to view and patrons can donate to the cause by dropping off non-perishable food items to a donation bin located on the second level of 230 Versey St.

#3. For the Kids

Play Fair is being presented by Toys-R-Us and Spin-Master on November 4th and 5th at Javits Center at 655 West 34th St. NY, NY.  The event is billed as a celebration of play and entertainment for all ages. Numerous hands-on exhibits, displays, well known toy brands, and exclusive productions will give toy and game lovers from child to adult a fun-filled experience that they won’t soon forget. For those of you who went to last year’s event, this year’s is expected to be double in size with even more fun activities, so buy your tickets quick before they totally sell-out.

Show Hours:

Friday, November 3rd:

5pm to 7pm – Industry and Press Preview

Saturday, November 4th:

9am – VIP Admission

10am to 2pm – AM Session

3pm to 7pm – PM Session

Sunday, November 5th:

9am – VIP Admission

10am to 2pm – AM Session

3pm to 7pm – PM Session

#4. The Long Run

The TCS New York City Marathon is taking place on November 5th. It’s too late to run in the race if you’re not already registered, but, you can certainly watch the event anywhere along the 26.2 mile course. The momentous World renowned race is expected to bring in hundreds of thousands of tourists, raise tens of millions of dollars for charities, and is expected to generate hundreds of millions in NYC revenue.

The very first New York City Marathon was in 1970 and was held in Central Park; the participants had to run four laps around the gigantic park in order to finish. There were only 127 participants at the time with only one female entrant – only 55 people finished the race. Prizes were cheap wristwatches and recycled trophies. The 2016 TCS New York City Marathon had over 40,000 finishers in comparison with hundreds of thousands in prize money.

By the numbers according to Forbes.com:

  • 30% of runners now come from outside the U.S.
  • 7% of racers who started last year’s race completed the race.
  • The average completion time in 2016s race was just under 5 hours.
  • The 1970s entry fee was $1. The current entry fee is now $255 dollars for U.S. citizens and $347 for foreign runners.
  • 1,952 portable toilets will be provided along the competition’s route.
  • Around 12,000 volunteers help out during race week.
  • Over 82,000 people paid a non-refundable $11 dollar fee to enter a lottery just for a chance at a position in the race. 75% were rejected.
  • The race offers a total guaranteed prize pool of over $800,000 dollars.
  • One million plus spectators line up to watch the race every year.

The race’s start times are:

8:30 a.m. – Professional Wheelchair Division

8:52 a.m. – Achilles Handcycle Category and Select Athletes with Disabilities

8:55 a.m. – Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge

9:20 a.m. – Professional Women

9:50 a.m. – Wave 1 (including Professional Men)

10:15 a.m. – Wave 2

10:40 a.m. – Wave 3

11:00 a.m. – Wave 4

#5. Food and Wine Crush

The Brooklyn Crush Wine and Artisanal Food Festival are warming up foodies stomachs this fall on November 11th at Industry City, The Landing, 220 36th St Brooklyn, NY. Its culinary sessions are scheduled from 2:00pm to 5:00pm, and evening sessions are from 7:00pm to 10:00pm.The event is presented by Cadillac and tickets can be ordered online for both members and non-members.

#6. A Parade of Honor  

The New York City Veterans Day Parade is patriotically marching thru Gotham November 11th from approximately 11:15am to around 3:30pm. The parade route will follow Fifth Avenue northward from 26th for approximately 1.2 miles to 52nd Street. The event is non-partisan and non-political, whose sole and only mission is to honor the service of our military and its veterans, so much so, that any attempts to promote an outside agenda will result in the offending parade participants to actually be ejected from the parade.

This year’s theme is, of course, honoring all veterans, but, it’s also focusing on the centennial of the United States entering World War One. The featured military branch of service will be the United States Air Force, but, there will also be plenty of recognition left for the Army, Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard. Air force veteran and famous astronaut Buzz Aldrin is this year’s Grand Marshall, as well as representatives of the Air Force.

#7. Grand Holiday Shopping

The Grand Central Holiday Fair is going on from November 13th to December 24th from 10am to 8pm, Mon – Fri. Saturday from 10am –7pm, and Sun. from 11am to 6pm. The venue is at Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Terminal at 89 East 42nd Street at Park Avenue, NY, NY. Since 1993 the holiday fair has been one of the most popular yearly events for shoppers hungry for anything and everything holiday oriented. Forty unique vendors will focus on American handmade products which utilize locally-sourced materials with a socially-conscious background. Season orientated artwork, nick-knacks, clothing, toys, and assorted home goods will all be on hand to help fuel the holiday spirit.

#8. Holliday Decoration Heaven

The Renegade Craft Fair is back again and this season it will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St. NY, NY, on November 18th and 19th, from 11 am to 6 pm.  The event will offer New Yorkers a chance to stock up on last minute holiday decorations and fall themed goods.  There will be delicious food and an assortment of other goods as well. The event is free to attend.

#9. Turkey Day Parade

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is on November 23rd this year. The parade will start at 9am thanksgiving morning with giant crowds and an endless line of participants who make the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade a national pride every year.  The incredibly gigantic and famously iconic Pop Culture balloons are inflated the night before the parade at the American Museum of Natural History Building, between 3pm and 10pm. They can usually be seen from the area of 77th Street and Columbus Avenue as they come to life.

The parade will travel down Central Park West from 77th Street to Columbus Circle, then it will make its way along Central Park South to 6th Avenue, then down 6th Avenue to 34th Street, and finally it will finish along 34th Street to Macy’s Herald Square on 34th Street.

3.5 million people are expected to line the streets along the parade route this year with 50 million people watching the parade on television as more than 8,000 participants entertain the massive crowd. A must come, see, and hear experience for anyone in New York City this Thanksgiving.

It is a massive event, so in order to get a good spot to view the parade it is recommended that you show up at around 6:30 in the morning.  This will definitely require warm clothes, hot coffee, and lots and lots of happy holiday of enthusiasm.  The duration of parade will depend on where you view the parade, at the beginning of the route it lasts around 1 ½ hours, near the Macy’s end of the parade it lasts around 3 hours. For those of you who would rather watch the parade in the comfort of the warm indoors, NBC will air the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from 9 am until 12pm.

#10. The Christmas Tree of all Trees

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting is once again brightening up New Yorker spirits on November 29th at Rockefeller Plaza between West 48th and 51st Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Thousands will once again show up to watch the tree lighting and millions more will watch the show live on television.

The seventy year-old New York City tradition started when workers on the Rockefeller Plaza construction site lined up for their paychecks beneath a Christmas tree strategically placed in front of the work-site at the height of the Great Depression. For the eleventh consecutive year, the tree will be donated after use to Habitat for Humanity in order for it to be milled into lumber that will help with the organizations numerous charitable housing projects.

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