Your October 2026 guide to 48 wild festivals, haunted nights, fall weekends, food events, films, music and strange little plans North of NYC.

Fifty-two September 2026 events North of NYC throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond—from balloons and jazz to wine, art, garlic and giant pumpkins.

Kingston’s second annual Sexiest Armpit contest judged eight contestants on looks, scent and interpretive dance, and it is already returning in 2027.

August is summer refusing to slow down. County fairs are filling midway lights, porches are turning into stages, corgis are racing at Saratoga, lumberjacks are climbing greased poles and a festival devoted to Lake Champlain’s legendary monster is taking over the waterfront. This month’s guide reaches from Westchester and the Hudson Valley through the Catskills, Capital Region, Adirondacks and Finger Lakes. You will find major concerts, outdoor theater, food festivals, cultur

A Quiet Place Part III is filming in Durham, bringing John Krasinski’s blockbuster horror franchise back to the Hudson Valley.

NOT BIGFOOT. WORSE. A local's dispatch from the strangest corner of Dutchess County I've lived in this valley long enough to know a few things for certain: the leaves turn in mid-October, the Thruway will always be under construction, and somewhere between the Taconics and the Catskills, there is always — always — a Bigfoot story developing. This week's installment comes out of Pine Plains, and I'll be honest with you: I expected the usual blurry-shape-in-the-woods routine. W

Somewhere off the shore of Hyde Park, under the same water where people paddleboard and toss out crab lines and pretend not to think about what's touching their ankles, there is a fish the length of a Volkswagen Beetle currently thundering. Not swimming. Not splashing. Thundering. Like, scientifically documented, peer-reviewed, someone-had-to-double-check-it's-not-a-train thundering. This is not a metaphor I'm building toward. This is the actual finding. Researchers jus

One lucky winner will receive the ultimate Westchester getaway, valued at more than $1,700, including a two-night stay at Sonesta White Plains Downtown, four tickets to Caramoor with a private Rosen House tour, four tickets to the Pleasantville Music Festival to see Ok Go, Old 97's, The Fixx, Yola, and more live, dinner for two at Freebird Kitchen & Bar, and dinner for two at Hudson Grille.

BCMT in Kingston, New York belongs firmly in that second category. Led by Joshua Vogel and Kelly Zaneto, the space operates as both a working craft studio and a gallery devoted to contemporary handmade work. Under the BCMT umbrella, Vogel continues the studio practice he began when he founded Blackcreek Mercantile & Trading in 2010, designing and producing heirloom-quality furniture and objects from sustainably sourced domestic hardwoods.

This isn’t a town built for a quick stop. It’s a place you ease into. You grab a coffee, wander a little longer than planned, find yourself in a gallery you didn’t expect, and suddenly the day has shape. By the time you leave, you’re already thinking about what you missed.

The first thing you notice is the sound. Hundreds of tattoo machines buzzing at once, a metallic swarm of electricity and intention. It’s not noise exactly, it’s rhythm. Walk through the doors of the International Hudson Valley Tattoo Convention and you step into a world where art doesn’t hang on walls, it lives under skin. Artists hunched over collectors, stencil paper taped to tables, flash sheets covering every square inch of booth walls.

HVH’s 12 Stays of Christmas is back, and this is the one everyone waits for all year. Twelve wildly different dream stays, one massive giveaway, and a lineup built to make you start planning trips before you even finish reading. From waterfall views and design forward hideaways to mountain lodges, historic boutique gems, and full reset retreats, this list is pure upstate escapism, wrapped in holiday chaos, and ready to be claimed.

tles in, and Upstate New York is packing it with everything worth leaving the house for. Think Broadway-level theatre in Schenectady, bluegrass legends in Albany, soup fundraisers that feed entire communities, wine trails trimmed in garland, and cozy lodge markets where cider steams in one hand and a handmade gift sits in the other. From pumpkin-launching festivals in the Adirondacks to Portuguese wine dinners on the Hudson, this month doesn’t ease in — it arrives with music,

October doesn’t tiptoe into New York — it barrels in with a calendar so stacked, you’ll wonder how to fit it all in. This is the month when haunted houses stretch longer, festivals blaze brighter, concerts hit harder, and every corner of the Hudson Valley and beyond feels electric with fall energy. It’s not just the peak of spooky season — it’s the peak of everything.

September in New York isn’t just a month — it’s a lifestyle. The weather is perfection, the leaves start teasing their colors, and weekends are stacked with fairs, food, and festivals that make you want to drop everything and explore. From the Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes, this is your official HVH roadmap to the season’s most unforgettable adventures.

July Events That Are Bringing the Heat From backyard BBQs to hot air balloon launches, July in New York is an all-out celebration. Whether you're looking to dance under the stars, sip your way through wine trails, or catch epic fireworks, we've rounded up the absolute must-do events across the state that’ll have you saying, "Hold my beer, I’ve got plans."

Let’s be real—New York’s dispensary scene isn’t just heating up, it’s on fire. From Catskills cool to city chic, these spots are flipping the script on what a cannabis experience looks like.

After six long years of silence, Mountain Jam is back—louder, lovelier, and ready to reclaim its place at the heart of the NE music scene!

Let's explore one of the most overlooked towns in the Hudson Valley? Middletown, NY, is a melting pot of cultures, creativity, and incredibl

We’re talking riverside views, treehouse dreams, spa escapes, and mountain retreats — and one lucky winner will get them ALL.