UWS Weekend: Great Things to Do in (and Around) the Neighborhood

By Tracy Zwick

October 10th through 12th

Watch “Karate Kid: Legends” Under the Stars: Friday, October 10th from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. (movie begins at dusk); Matthew P. Sapolin Playground on West 70th Street, between West End and Amsterdam avenues; free.

This fall, the city is hosting free, family-friendly movie screenings in parks all over town. UWSers get one close to home tonight. Grab a blanket and pack a picnic or snacks to munch on during this 90-minute, PG-13 film that was released last May. In it, a kung fu prodigy is forced to move from Beijing to NYC with his mother, and while here, he enters a karate competition. He’s taught by a kung fu master (Jackie Chan) and the original Karate Kid himself, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). No spoilers on whether or not he wins!

See “Fleabag” or Classic Silent Films at Symphony Space: Sunday, October 12th at 12:30 and 6:30 p..m.; 2537 Broadway (between West 94th and 95th streets). Tickets start at $9.

I never saw Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman show that inspired the hit TV series “Fleabag” – which my daughter and I loved. Though it’s too late for any of us to catch it on stage, it was captured live in London in 2019, and tickets are available for an encore presentation of the 80-minute production on the big screen at Symphony Space this Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

If Buster Keaton and silent films are more your jam, hit Symphony Space in the afternoon (starting at 12:30) on Sunday, and see some early 20th century comedic masterpieces as they were intended – with live music. “Coney Island” (1917), “The Scarecrow” (1920), “Day Dreams” (1922), and “Cops” (1922) are on the bill, with piano accompaniment by Ben Model.

Celebrate Dia de los Muertos at the Met Cloisters: Sunday, October 12th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; 99 Margaret Corbin Drive in Fort Tryon Park; Free with museum admission (NY residents pay-as-you-wish)

This Sunday, the Met hosts a day of bilingual activities to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, a day of remembrance honoring loved ones who’ve passed away, at its less-visited uptown location. Often referred to as the Day of the Dead, this holiday officially takes place on Saturday, November 1st and Sunday, November 2nd, and coincides with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. At the Met this Sunday, there’ll be art-making, music, community storytelling, activities in the garden and more. For all ages!

“To the Holy Sepulcher” at the Frick: Open Wednesday to Monday (closed Tuesdays) from 10:30  a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with late hours on Friday (open till 8:30 p.m.); 10 East 71st Street; tickets required (only children over 10 years old allowed).

If you’re willing to cross Central Park to get to the Frick, you can see around 40 exquisite objects from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem that have never before traveled to the U.S. They’re only on the UES briefly, through January 5th, as part of a tour during the construction of a new Christian museum, the Terra Sancta, in Jerusalem. Large-scale gem-encrusted gold and silver pieces, vestments and liturgical objects that comprise this exhibition were made by the foremost artisans of their time, and have been continuously used by Franciscan friars at the Holy Sepulcher and elsewhere since their creation.

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