Things to Do in NYC, December 2024

The December 2024 edition of the Blankman List

The Blankman List is a monthly curated list of things to do in New York City. It showcases the full range of what there is to do, for residents and tourists alike.

I especially seek out artistic and cultural events like concerts, plays, and art exhibits, along with anything that is high-quality, notable, and/or free. There is at least one event for every day of December 2024, and no borough or event type is off limits.

Creating this list is a lot of work for me! Thus, seeing events past the first week requires a paid subscription. All subscribers, however, will receive a free highlights post.

Disclaimer: before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Sunday, December 1

• Momentum Pop-Up Market: Caribbean Artisanal Brands

  • Pop-up market of food, jewelry, and other artisanal goods that feature Caribbean brands and makers; 10 am–8 pm; Nov 30 & Dec 1

  • Free entry

  • Chelsea Market

  • 75 9th Ave (Chelsea, Manhattan)

• Adama Delphine Fawundu: Ancestral Whispers

  • Site-specific artwork informed by the lives of Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family; 12–4 pm; Saturdays and Sundays through Dec 1

  • Free

  • Lefferts Historic House

  • 452 Flatbush Ave (Prospect Park, Brooklyn)

Monday, December 2

• Trivia Monday at Seven Sins

  • Bar trivia with prizes, with special menu items; 6 pm

  • Free entry; menu items are generally $13–$18, beers are generally $7–$9

  • Seven Sins Bar

  • 293 3rd Ave (Gramercy, Manhattan)

• New York First Mondays at 9/11 Memorial & Museum

  • Free evening admission to the September 11 Memorial & Museum for New York State residents; 5:30–7 pm; first Monday of each month

  • Free

  • National September 11 Memorial & Museum

  • 180 Greenwich St (Financial District, Manhattan)

Tuesday, December 3

• Assemble and Pack Food Bags

  • Volunteer assembling and packing food boxes for the West Side Campaign Against Hunger; sign-up slots available between 7 am and 2:30 pm; every Tuesday through Dec 3

  • Free

  • West Side Campaign Against Hunger

  • 263 W 86th Street (Upper West Side, Manhattan)

• The Architecture of Urbanity: Designing for Nature, Culture, and Joy

  • Talk by architect and author Vishaan Chakrabarti on his new book The Architecture of Urbanity about housing design and confronting global issues; 6 pm

  • Free

  • The Skyscraper Museum

  • 39 Battery Pl (Battery Park, Manhattan)

• Mixology Class at Sincerely, Ophelia

  • Class on making cocktails, led by classically trained bartenders; 7:30–9 pm; every Tuesday

  • $45 (includes tax and tip)

  • Sincerely, Ophelia

  • 221 2nd Ave, Suite B (East Village, Manhattan)

Wednesday, December 4

• Collision Course: Particle Physics Meets Machine Learning

  • Lecture by theoretical physicist Jesse Thaler on how one can teach a machine to “think like a physicist”; 6–7 pm (5:30 pm doors)

  • Free

  • Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium

  • 160 5th Ave (Flatiron District, Manhattan)

• The Garden Cup

  • Tennis exhibition featuring American players Ben Shelton, Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, and grand slam champion Carlos Alcaraz; 7 pm (6 pm doors)

  • $61–$300+

  • Madison Square Garden

  • 4 Pennsylvania Plaza (Midtown, Manhattan)

• Tabletop Role-Playing Games

  • Social meet-up welcoming to the LGBTQIA+ community for tabletop role-playing game sessions; 6–10 pm

  • Free

  • Brooklyn Pride Center - Crown Heights

  • 1561 Bedford Ave (Crown Heights, Brooklyn)

Thursday, December 5

• Science Stories

  • True, personal science-related storytelling, presented by The Story Collider podcast; 6:30–8:30 pm

  • $10 (includes two drinks)

  • Pier 57

  • 25 11th Ave (Chelsea, Manhattan)

• Faculty Recital: Alexei Tartakovski, Piano

  • Piano recital by Brooklyn College teacher Alexei Tartakovski featuring works by Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Chopin; 7–8:30 pm (6:30 pm doors)

  • $5

  • Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts, Don Buchwald Theater

  • 2920 Campus Rd (Flatbush, Brooklyn)

Friday, December 6

• Whitney Museum Free Friday Nights

  • Free evening entry to the Whitney Museum of American Art; 5–10 pm; every Friday

  • Free

  • Whitney Museum of American Art

  • 99 Gansevoort St (Meatpacking District, Manhattan)

• Ride, Rocket

  • Alternative rock concert featuring English shoegaze band Ride; 8 pm (7 pm doors)

  • $46

  • Warsaw

  • 261 Driggs Ave (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

• Wendell Brunious

  • Performance by New Orleans jazz trumpeter and vocalist Wendell Brunious; 3–4 pm

  • $25

  • Louis Armstrong House Museum, Jazz Room

  • 34-56 107th St (Corona, Queens)

Saturday, December 7

• Locations Sandwiches Featuring Boyscoutmarie & Amskray

  • Concert by activist alternative rock band Locations “sandwiched” between two other bands (Boyscoutmarie and Amskray), with sandwiches for sale; 7–11 pm

  • $29 (includes sandwich) / $18 (entry only)

  • Main Drag Music

  • 50 S 1st St (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

• Lesbian Herstory Archives Final 50th Anniversary Merch “Sale”

  • Limited edition merch with proceeds going to preserving records of lesbian lives and activities; 11 am–3 pm

  • Free entry

  • Lesbian Herstory Archives

  • 484 14th St (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

• Afterlives with Álvaro Urbano, Jess Wilcox, and Jeremy Johnston

  • Series of talks on the exhibit Tableau Vivant by Madrid-born and Berlin-based contemporary artist Álvaro Urbano; 2–4 pm

  • Free

  • SculptureCenter

  • 44-19 Purves St (Long Island City, Queens)