Photograph: Shutterstock | |
Photograph: Shutterstock | |

NYC events in January 2025

Kick off the new year with the best NYC events in January 2025 from powerful exhibitions to light shows to festivals

Rossilynne Skena Culgan
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Begin the new year on the right foot with our list of NYC events in January 2025 to plan your month. We’ve included the best events in January, from can’t-miss happenings to popular New York attractions. From new museum exhibits to celebrating Martin Luther King Day, check out these events and more sensational things to do in the winter.

RECOMMENDED: Full NYC events calendar for 2025

What’s on in NYC in January 2025?

  • Music

During the typically bleak post–New Year’s Eve concert lull, Winter Jazzfest promises a bright spot on the city’s calendar. Expect to hear more than 100 groups from around the world. Now in its 21st year, the annual event showcases new talent performing a broad spectrum of musical styles all under the banner of jazz. 

This year's fest runs Thursday, January 9, 2025 to Wednesday, January 15, 2025, with immense "Marathon" events in Manhattan on Friday, January 10 and in Brooklyn on Saturday, January 11.

Buy advance tickets at the official festival website. A two-day marathon pass costs $155-$265, or $85 per day if bought separately. You can also purchase tickets for individual shows, which start at $30.

  • Things to do
  • Ice skating

Ice skating in NYC is one of the city’s most beloved seasonal traditions. While some skating rinks are open year-round, ice skating in the winter is a special treat that will warm your soul with the spirit of the season. The iconic rink at Rockefeller Center and the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park are bursting with holiday cheer (and fab food and drinks), while low-key rinks offer a more chill experience. 

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

The idea of climbing into your swimsuit when it’s freezing outside might not sound appealing, but hear us out. These winter spas in NYC make it worth it to brave the cold (briefly) in your swimwear.

With Scandinavian-inspired ethos and design, The Winter Pool House at The Rockaway Hotel and the Winter Spa at The William Vale will help you get into the Nordic hygge spirit for a relaxing escape.

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  • Sports and fitness
  • Sports & Fitness

Battle your friends in a game of pétanque at Carreau Club in Industry City, the nation’s first pétanque bar. For the uninitiated, pétanque (pronounced puh-TONK) is a bocce-ball style French boules sport gaining popularity in the U.S., starting here in NYC.

This indoor location with nine pétanque courts adds 6,000 square feet to the existing 2,000 square-foot outdoor space. 

Carreau Club also delivers with a full bar, craft beer, wine and cocktails. Plus, a small deli counter will serve French-inspired salads, crispy socca waffles, pissaladière (flatbreads), and sandwiches including lamb merguez “mitraillette,” jambon beurre, and pan bagnat. It’s a perfect place to stay inside all day and have fun.

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  • Dance

The Urban Bush Women dance company is celebrating 40 years of “building community and taking risks that push the culture forward.” To honor the momentous occasion, the troupe has put together a (very) full calendar of performances, special events, digital content, and opportunities to gather. Here's what's coming up: 

— January 10-March 27, 2025 - Lineage Legacy and Liberation: An Examination of Urban Bush Women’s Art-making and Community Organizing Praxis in NYC, exhibit at the Apollo Theatre

— February 5-8: SCAT!...The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar

  • Things to do

As the world commemorates the centennial of James Baldwin's birth, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) presents Turkey Saved My Life - Baldwin in Istanbul, 1961–1971, a landmark exhibition featuring rare photographs of the iconic writer by Turkish photographer Sedat Pakay.

Running through February 28, 2025 in the Grand Lobby of the Central Library, this exhibition offers an unprecedented glimpse into Baldwin’s transformative years in Istanbul from 1961 to 1971, when the author-activist moved to Istanbul seeking refuge from the entrenched racism and homophobia he experienced in America. The exhibition will be accompanied by public programs, including panel discussions, film screenings, and readings that further explore Baldwin’s unique connection to Turkey.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

It's going to be a pup paw-ty at Meet the Breeds, the nation's largest canine extravaganza held in New York City this month. At the event, meet and play with more than 1,000 dogs while learning about responsible pet care. 

All are invited to the event hosted by the American Kennel Club on the weekend of January 25-26, 2024 at the Javits Center in Manhattan. Tickets cost $35 for adults and $10 for kids (use promo code MEET for $5 off). 

Expect to learn about 100 breeds of dogs and determine which might be the best type for your lifestyle, from Affenpinschers to Yorkshire Terriers and everything in between. You'll learn about each breed's country of origin, as well as historical purpose and function. Plus, get a chance to discover new breeds and talk to breed experts. 

  • Musicals
  • Midtown WestOpen run

In the 1950 film masterpiece Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood glamour is a dead-end street. Stalled there with no one coming to find her—except perhaps to use her car—is Norma Desmond: a former silent-screen goddess who is now all but forgotten. Secluded and deluded, she haunts her own house and plots her grand return to the pictures; blinded by the spotlight in her mind, she is unaware that what she imagines to be a hungry audience out there in the dark is really just the dark. 

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  • Things to do
  • Flushing

Queens Botanical Garden has a beautiful light show you’ll want to see this year called “Lektrik.” With over 1 million LED lights, this illuminated trail imitates a lush garden with giant lanterns—including 40 stunning lamp scenes crafted by 150 artisans using 120 tons of steel and 150,000 feet of silk—and brings it to life with acrobatic performers, stone-carving, an artisan market and ambient music.

  • Circuses & magic
  • Midtown EastOpen run

There's a reason Chamber Magic has remained a staple in NYC's magic scene for more than two decades: It dazzles, show after show, with tricks that'll still leave you awestruck days later. 

The charming Steve Cohen, billed as the Millionaires’ Magician, conjures high-class parlor magic in the marble-columned Madison Room at the swank Lotte New York Palace. Dress to be impressed (cocktail attire is required); tickets start at $125, with an option to pay more for meet-and-greet time and extra tricks with Cohen after the show. If you've come to see a classic-style magic act, you get what you pay for.

Sporting a tuxedo and bright rust hair, the magician delivers routines that he has buffed to a patent-leather gleam: In addition to his signature act—"Think-a-Drink," involving a kettle that pours liquids by request—highlights include a lulu of levitation trick and a card-trick finale that leaves you feeling like, well, a million bucks.

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  • Things to do
  • City Life

Think pink at Watermark, the classic American restaurant on Pier 15 by the Seaport, is turning into an immersive pink wonderland this month. It's just in time for the peak of New York winter and for Valentine's Day celebrations.

The 10,000 square-foot outdoor bar and restaurant will be lit up in pink hues and be decorated with red flowers, heart installations and mesmerizing twinkling lights. Pink Pier will be open from January 10 until mid-April.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

The Anne Frank House is one of the most popular sites in Europe. A museum dedicated to Frank and her Jewish family, the destination served as a hiding place for the Franks and others during World War II, as they were hiding from the Nazis.

For the first-time ever, the nonprofit organization behind the museum will bring its work to New York City in partnership with the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan, together debuting “Anne Frank The Exhibition,” a full-scale recreation of the annex, complete with the furniture pieces that adorned the space during Frank’s years in hiding.

The new exhibit will be mounted at the Center for Jewish History at 15 West 16h Street by Fifth Avenue in Union Square. The production will run from January 27, 2025—International Holocaust Remembrance Day—through April 30, 2025.

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  • Music

For Sophia Allison, the journey from bedroom pop idealist to full-fledged rockstar happened slowly, then all at once. In the nearly 10 years since Allison began posting demos on Bandcamp under the name Soccer Mommy, her '90s-indebted indie pop has led to performances on The Tonight Show and on tours opening for Paramore, Wilco and Phoebe Bridgers. On her latest album, Evergreen, Allison returns to the laidback instrumentation of her earliest songs.

After testing out the new album by touring overseas, Soccer Mommy returns to Brooklyn on January 30 at Brooklyn Steel. The show is certain to contain fan favorites like “Still Clean,” “Crawling in My Skin” and Allison’s breakthrough single “Your Dog.” Opening is the amorphous experimental pop musician L’Rain, whose fuzzy, electric album I Killed Your Dog was one of the most acclaimed of 2023. 

  • Things to do
  • City Life

The Algonquin Round Table was a famous literary movement, but it was also an actual round table inside midtown’s Algonquin Hotel. Now, after a six-month restoration, the original round table is back at The Algonquin Hotel, Autograph Collection—and you can go visit it.

More than a century ago, the Algonquin played host to literary juggernauts such as Dorothy Parker, Franklin Adams, Robert Benchley, Edna Ferber, Harold Ross, Robert Sherwood, Alexander Woollcott and more. The group, who called themselves "The Vicious Circle," met for lunch at the hotel's round table. Now once again, the newly refurbished table is playing host to the city's tastemakers. 

You can find the round table inside the hotel at The Round Table Restaurant. Look for the table (round, of course) with the tall blue booth that curves around it. You can practically envision the literary greats who packed into the seats around it.

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  • Dance
  • Burlesque
  • Bushwick

Austin McCormick and his risqué neo-Baroque dance-theater group Company XIV present a lavish erotic reimagining of the classic holiday tale, complete with circus performers, operatic singers and partial nudity. The word nutcracker has customarily conjured innocent wonder; now be ready to add glitter pasties, stripper poles and comically large stuffed penises to the toys in wonderland. Definitely leave the kids at home. 

  • Things to do

Within Grand Central Terminal, find the New York Transit Museum's 20th annual Holiday Train Show, an ode to all kinds of locomotives. You'll feel positively giant while wandering around the 34-foot-long display, festooned with miniature versions of city landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building. Watch as Lionel model trains depart from a miniature replica of Grand Central. Then they travel over the river (the East River, to be exact) and through the wood to reach their final destination, the North Pole.

The Holiday Train Show will be on view at Grand Central Terminal through February 2025. The free show is open Monday-Friday, 10am-7:30pm; Saturday-Sunday, 10am-6pm; and closed major holidays. Find it in the shuttle passage on 42nd Street and Park Avenue, adjacent to the Station Master’s Office.

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  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs

The Winter Village at Bryant Park is back in all its holiday glory. On the grounds you can peruse more than 180 shopping and food kiosks—all at one of the best NYC parks. Expect loads of handmade, unique and New York City-specific gifts for your family and friends. Work up an appetite at the 17,000-square-foot ice-skating rink and then fill up at the rinkside pop-up restaurant called The Lodge for festive cocktails and hearty food.

  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

The clothes we put on our bodies every day don't just keep us warm or covered or in fashion. They also say something. Clothing conveys meaning—sometimes in direct ways like "I'm mourning" and sometimes in indirect ways like "screw the status quo." 

A new exhibit titled "Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore" at the New-York Historical Society digs into how clothing has played a crucial role in the lives of everyday women. The exhibit, on view through June 22, 2025, explores how women have influenced, adapted and defied societal expectations through clothing. See a wide array of women's clothing, from a Depression-era house dress to a psychedelic micro mini to an Abercrombie & Fitch wool suit from 1917. Unlike most other women's fashion exhibitions, there's not a ball gown in sight, and that's exactly what makes this show so special. 

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  • Art
  • Art

When you think of Franz Kafka, there are a few words that likely come to mind: Lonely, tortured, isolated. But this depiction doesn’t actually tell the full story of Kafka, a new exhibit at The Morgan Library & Museum argues. Yes, the Czech writer known for his surrealist literary masterpieces like The Metamorphosis, did have a difficult life before dying at the age of 40 from tuberculosis.

But he was also known to be funny, a brilliant love letter writer, a good friend, and even a playful spirit. In fact, many of the solo photos we see of Kafka were really photos with other people who have been cut out of the scene over the years, Sal Robinson, curator at The Morgan explained during a tour of the new exhibit. The show, simply titled "Franz Kafka," is now on view through April 13, 2025.

  • Things to do
  • New Jersey

Get a new perspective at American Dream at the Paradox Experience, where you explore a collection of family-friendly exhibits where “nothing seems logical, yet all is utterly real,” including an Infinity Well, where you’ll “fly through an abyss.” The Paradox Sofa will have you questioning reality and the Paradox Tunnel will make it hard to walk a straight line. According to Fever, each exhibit inspires and challenges with ultimate creativity. Plus, it makes for trippy IG photos!

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  • Things to do

If Netflix’s Squid Game was one of your favorite shows and you’re looking forward to the new season premiere this December, you’ll want to try your hand at some of the challeneges at Squid Game: The Experience here in NYC.

Set within Manhattan Mall (100 West 33rd Street by Sixth Avenue), you get into teams of up to 24 people each to complete challenges across 60 minutes, including those that appeared on the TV show (yes, you’ll get to try your hand at the iconic Red Light Green Light) plus a number of brand-new ones built specifically for the experience. Once done playing, you can enjoy a night market offering a variety of Korean and international sweet and savory foods, plus drinks.

Looking for more things to do?

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  • Health and beauty
  • Spas

It’s no secret that New Yorkers are stressed, but when it comes to unwinding, we’re pretty competitive about that too—that’s where the best spas in NYC come in. The city boasts some of the most luxurious spas in the country, but affordable spa treatments also abound. So get inspired with birthday party ideas in NYC or date night ideas in NYC and book yourself a treatment at one of our favorite New York City spas.

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