By Tracy Zwick
January 9th through 11th
Columbia Men’s Basketball v. Harvard: Saturday, January 10th at 2 p.m.; Levien Gymnasium at Columbia University, 3030 Broadway at West 120th Street; tickets $11
Last weekend the women of Columbia opened their Ivy League season; now it’s the men’s turn. These Lions are currently 7-0 at home, and looking to continue their hot start against Harvard this Saturday. This is Columbia’s first conference game of the season. It’ll also be “Youth Day,” when kids aged 2 to 12 can get half-price tickets, and receive giveaways throughout the game. It’ll feature a free game of “Basketball Bingo,” where kids can follow along with in-game action using a free bingo card. Every bingo winner can trade in their card to redeem a prize. Youth Day will also include a free post-game autograph session with the team. (Women’s basketball will host their “Youth Day” next Saturday, January 17th at 2 p.m.)
“Pastoral” at Lincoln Center: Sunday, January 11th at 7:30 p.m.; Rose Theater at Lincoln Center, Broadway at West 60th Street; tickets available on a “choose-what-to-pay” basis with a $5 minimum here
Choreographer Pam Tanowitz returns to Lincoln Center with a 60-minute dance performance in collaboration with composer Caroline Shaw and painter Sarah Crowner. Tanowitz set a dance to Beethoven’s “Pastoral” symphony, then replaced it with a new score by Shaw that pays homage to, and transforms, the Beethoven work. The New York Times called it “fresh and delightfully unpredictable …. “Pastoral” was not a place I wanted to leave.”
Two Day Book Swap Extravaganza!, Saturday,January 10th from 10 a.m. to 4: 45 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 11th from 1 to 4:45 p.m. at Jefferson Market Library, 425 Avenue of the Americas near West 10th Street; free
This one’s not on the UWS, but it’s an easy commute on our local downtown 1 train (get off at Christopher Street), and too much fun to leave out. It’s a new year, and, as the NYPL frames this event: “It’s time for some new books – OR – a newly clean apartment!” Bring your books. Bring your friends. Bring a tote bag, and leave with your 2026 reading list sorted!
Celebrate National Bagel Day!
Okay, National Bagel Day isn’t until Thursday, January 15th, but it’s all right to do your homework early, or get a head start. Many of us were traveling over the holidays, when New Absolute Bagels rocked the UWS with its soft opening. Now that the erstwhile home of beloved (now defunct) Absolute Bagels has officially opened, those of us who missed that early window can queue up to sample what may be among the city’s best bagels. Another NY bagel institution, H&H Bagels, is offering a free bagel and spread sandwich on Thursday in honor of National Bagel Day. (Available via online ordering or scanning the app in-store.) Drop your thoughts on New Absolute or any other National Bagel Day-related offerings in the comments please. H&H is at 526 Columbus Avenue (at West 86th Street), while New Absolute is on Broadway between West 106th and 107th streets.
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Columbia basketball games are wonderful with kids. They get so much closer to the action than they would at, say, MSG, and the mascot is adorable. They can go out to the lobby and buy concessions on their own and can become invested in the game and the team. Great idea!
Please everybody let Absolute Bagels know we need minis! They are being pretty vague about whether they will make them. I believe they were a big draw in the old shop.
I appreciate the effort that goes into these write-ups. Thank you
Something else to do: let’s support Bread’s Bakery against the harassment they’re facing. Thank you.
https://nypost.com/2026/01/09/us-news/zionists-swarm-breads-bakery-after-pro-palestine-employees-unionize/
Fine idea, Seth! Here, I suggest, is another:
“ICE Out For Good (Upper West Side, NYC) – vigil” (https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/884693/)
Sunday, January 11, 12:00–2:00pm at Verdi Square
What a shame the above comment spent 18+ hours in moderation limbo, until well after the event in question had passed.
There will, however, be no shortage of other opportunities to stand up and be counted (and surveilled, and possibly shot at): “1,000+ protests planned in wake of federal officer-involved shootings” (https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/01/10/ice-protests/2251768072822/).