Things to Do in New York City: September 5 – September 7

Labor Day weekend brings the final major events of summer to New York City, including the U.S. Open, free outdoor performances, a county fair, Caribbean cultural celebrations and several limited time pop ups. The weekend also includes free opera screenings at Lincoln Center and events in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island.

Saturday, September 5

• U.S. Open Third Round — Third round matches in the men’s and women’s singles competitions are scheduled at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, with grounds and stadium admission ticketed.
• Summer HD Festival: Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin — The Metropolitan Opera presents a free outdoor screening at Lincoln Center Plaza, 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, beginning at 8 p.m., with approximately 2,500 first come, first served seats.
• Pull Up a Plate at Smorgasburg Williamsburg — The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music presents a free community event with live music, DJs, an Instrument Zoo and food specials at Marsha P. Johnson State Park, 90 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• NYC Unicycle Festival (September 5–September 6) — The annual festival features unicycle basketball, races and beginner lessons along the 34th Avenue Open Street in Jackson Heights, Queens, free.
• KIKO Milano SoHo Grand Opening (September 5–September 7) — The cosmetics company celebrates the opening of its SoHo flagship at 430 West Broadway with complimentary beauty activities, engraving and other in store programming, free to attend.
• Lavazza Tablì 100% Coffee Pop Up (September 5–September 6) — A temporary coffee experience featuring tastings and a 100% Coffee Bar takes place at Meatpacking Collective, 412 West 14th Street, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., free and open to the public.
• The Serve: Presented by SharkNinja (September 5–September 6) — An interactive tennis themed pop up featuring beauty stations, product demonstrations, refreshments and giveaways operates inside Grand Central Terminal, 89 East 42nd Street, from noon to 6 p.m., with free admission.
• The Woobles Pop Up Shop (September 4–September 7) — The crochet brand’s first New York pop up at 291 Grand Street in Chinatown offers a free friendship bracelet station and limited free kits for early visitors, with admission free.
• Boxcutter Collective: The Cardboard Pizza Puppet Circus — A free outdoor puppet performance featuring a live brass band and large cardboard puppets takes place at Colonels Row, Building 405A, on Governors Island from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Healing Her: Mind, Body & the Bronx — NYC Parks presents a free community wellness event at Hunts Point Recreation Center, with programming from noon to 3:30 p.m.
• Sketch Jam — Artist and illustrator Ishita Jain leads a free observational drawing session at Sakura Park in Manhattan from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with some basic art supplies provided.
• Molière in the Park: Don Juan (September 5–September 27) — Molière in the Park presents a free production of Molière’s Don Juan at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

Sunday, September 6

• U.S. Open Round of 16 — Round of 16 matches are scheduled at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, with admission ticketed.
• Islands in the Park: A Caribbean Jam at Smorgasburg — Smorgasburg and I Am CaribBeing present a free Caribbean themed event with DJs, live steel pan, vendors, arts activities and food at Breeze Hill in Prospect Park from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• West Side County Fair — The annual free county fair features live bands, sideshow performers, carnival amusements, vendors and cotton candy at Pier I in Riverside Park South, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Summer HD Festival: El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego — The Metropolitan Opera presents a free outdoor screening of Gabriela Lena Frank’s opera at Lincoln Center Plaza, 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, beginning at 8 p.m.
• NYC Unicycle Festival — The second day of the free unicycle festival takes place along the 34th Avenue Open Street in Jackson Heights, Queens.
• Lavazza Tablì 100% Coffee Pop Up — The temporary coffee experience continues at Meatpacking Collective, 412 West 14th Street, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., free and open to the public.
• The Serve: Presented by SharkNinja — The tennis themed pop up continues inside Grand Central Terminal, 89 East 42nd Street, from noon to 6 p.m., with free admission.
• Hobonichi Launch Pop Up — Yoseka Land at 58 West Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, hosts a pop up for the 2027 Hobonichi collection from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Garden Highlights Walk — Wave Hill offers a guided tour of its gardens at 4900 Independence Avenue in the Bronx from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Monday, September 7

• West Indian American Day Carnival Parade — The 59th annual parade brings mas bands, steel orchestras, floats and Caribbean food vendors to Eastern Parkway from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, beginning at 11 a.m. and free to watch.
• U.S. Open Round of 16 — Additional Round of 16 matches are scheduled at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, with admission ticketed.
• Summer HD Festival: Puccini’s La Bohème — The Metropolitan Opera concludes its free Summer HD Festival with an outdoor screening of La Bohème at Lincoln Center Plaza, 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, beginning at 8 p.m.
• Molière in the Park: Don Juan — The free production continues at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, with the September 7 performance scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Piano in Bryant Park — A free live piano performance featuring ragtime, stride and jazz takes place at the Upper Terrace in Bryant Park from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Pétanque in Washington Square Park — Participants can learn and play pétanque with members of New York’s oldest running pétanque club at the park’s pétanque court from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., free.
• Labor Day: Wave Hill Is Open — Wave Hill opens its 28 acre public garden and cultural center at 4900 Independence Avenue in the Bronx from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for Labor Day.
• U-Pick Sunflower and Gericke Farm Tour — A free guided tour at Clay Pit Ponds Interpretive Center on Staten Island runs from 11 a.m. to noon and allows each registered participant to cut one sunflower bloom.
• Think Global. Act Local. — A free multi artist exhibition focused on endangered local and global species is on view at the Visitor Center at Satterlee Street and Hylan Boulevard in Conference House Park, Staten Island, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Good Normal Show No Gimmick — A free monthly comedy show featuring New York comedians takes place at Easy Lover, 790 Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Labor Day weekend offers a particularly broad selection of events, from the West Indian American Day Carnival and U.S. Open to free outdoor opera, neighborhood festivals and limited time pop ups. The three day schedule also provides opportunities to explore all five boroughs through public performances, art programs and seasonal events.