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

By Tracy Zwick

November 21st through 23rd 

New York Road Runners Race to Deliver: Sunday, November 23rd, 8 a.m.; Central Park. (The start line is on East Drive near 67th Street; the course goes north from there, then west across 102nd Street Cross Drive, then south on West Drive, with the finish line on the 72nd Street Transverse.)

I love turkey trots. I love to read about them, and I love to run in them with my family. Living on the UWS, there’s not a lot of space for turkey trots when they’re traditionally staged – on Thanksgiving morning. That’s because we’re home to the world’s premiere Thanksgiving Day Parade, which takes up a lot of UWS real estate. What we get instead is a chance this Sunday to raise money for a local provider of free meals to those too ill to shop or cook, and at the same time run four miles in a turkey costume, holding a rolling pin or wearing a chef’s toque. It’s too late to get a bib to officially join the 32nd running of the NYRR four-mile pre-Thanksgiving race this Sunday, but you can get out there and cheer. If it leaves you feeling inspired, you can also volunteer with God’s Love We Deliver, or donate.

“Journey Through Jazz: The Mighty Negro Spirituals”: Friday, November 21st and Saturday, November 22nd at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at West 60th Street. Tickets start at $35.

Jazz at Lincoln Center trumpeter Marcus Printup will lead a celebration of songs of faith and resilience this weekend at Columbus Circle. Printup, in four performances over two days, will be joined by members of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church under the direction of Vinroy D. Brown, Jr.  Expect a mix of spirituals, hymns and gospel songs that shaped the sound of American music. The ensemble will share the stories and spirit behind classics such as “Wade in the Water,” “This Little Light of Mine,” and “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho.”

“Ragtime” at the Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, through June 14th, 2026, at 150 West 65th St.; tickets start at $58

I saw this with my 23-year-old and her best friend a few nights ago, and, wow. It’s not the first time we’ve seen a production of this musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s novel, which  follows three fictional families in pursuit of the American dream at the dawn of the 20th century. But we’ve never seen a better one. The cast blew us away, particularly the lyric baritone Joshua Henry in the role of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. His “Wheels of a Dream,” sung together with Nichelle Lewis, is an absolute show-stopper. Same with “Back to Before,” sung by the marvelous Caissie Levy. We had a terrific pre-show dinner across the street at The Smith. My daughter and I took WSR food columnist Abigail T. Sidi’s advice to try the Smith Burger, which she recently crowned the “best burger on the UWS”!

Read Some of The New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2025

We’re coming up on end-of-year list time, and yesterday the NYPL got things started by announcing its list of the year’s best books for kids, teens and adults, all selected by the library’s staff and librarians. They’re all available at NYPL for free, and you don’t have to wait to read them. Through December 31st, the NYPL is making a selection of 26 e-book titles and audiobooks available to cardholders with no wait time. From Booker Prize-nominated “Audition” by Katie Kitamura, and fellow nominee “Stone Yard Devotional” by Charlotte Wood, both of which I can personally recommend, to a history of Johnson & Johnson, comics, horror and poetry, there’s something for everyone.

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