by Charlotte DeFazio
DECEMBER 14-16
Winter Solstice Concert
Paul Winter’s Winter Solstice Celebration has become a favorite holiday alternative to The Nutcracker and Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular with performers from all over the world. It’s a modern take on ancient solstice rituals, when people gathered together on the year’s longest night to welcome a new year. Tickets from $40. Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave.; solsticeconcert.com
DECEMBER 15
Winter Wonderland Ball
Witness the New York Botanical Garden’s incredible transformation as you step into what seems like a sparkling snow globe. Each year, this black-tie soiree is one of the city’s most fashionable parties of the holiday season, and it’s for a good cause: proceeds support the Garden’s world-renowned Children’s Education Programs. Tickets from $500. NYBG, 2900 Southern Blvd.; nybg.org
JANUARY 10-17
Winter Jazzfest
Opening night of this anticipated event features a U.K. jazz stage hosted by Gilles Peterson. The rest of the week’s schedule includes the signature Winter Jazzfest Marathon (January 12-13) with more than 100 groups performing, and a celebration of the life and work of innovator Geri Allen, who passed away in June of 2017. Tickets and locations vary. winterjazzfest.com
JANUARY 25, FEBRUARY 22 + MARCH 29
NYBG Lecture Series
The 2018 winter lecture series highlights three renowned gardeners: Dan Hinkley, Arne Maynard and Edwina von Gal. Hinkley, a famed plant hunter, nurseryman and author, will talk about his Windcliff project in Seattle, which houses wild specimens from more than 20 countries. Maynard, one of today’s most celebrated garden designers, will share his work behind the Allt-y-bela medieval renaissance tower house in Monmouthshire, Wales. And von Gal, sought-after landscape designer and founder of the Perfect Earth Project (a nonprofit that promotes toxin-free land maintenance), will discuss her Marsh House overlooking the Accabonac Harbor in East Hampton, New York. Tickets from $35. NYBG; nybg.org
JANUARY 26
MusiCares Person of the Year
Radio City Music Hall welcomes Fleetwood Mac as the first band to receive the MusiCares Person of the Year award for their charitable work. Fleetwood Mac, John Legend, HAIM, Lorde, Keith Urban and Harry Styles will all perform. Tickets from $356. Radio City Music Hall, 1260 6th Ave.; msg.com/radio-city-music-hall
FEBRUARY 8-14
Fashion Week
Beautiful clothes make you feel good, so if you’re unable to catch designers unveiling their Fall 2018 collections in person at their runway shows across town, scope out the new crop of must-haves in a live stream from home. Locations vary; nyfw.com, nyfwlive.com
FEBRUARY 10
The Art of Food
What’s better than an art show complemented by gourmet, art-inspired food? More than 25 top chefs of the Upper East Side will create mouthwatering culinary masterpieces whose muses are works of art specially curated by Sotheby’s. This year’s event will be hosted by Claus Meyer, the Danish chef behind Grand Central’s upscale new restaurant, Agern, and best-selling author of The Nordic Kitchen. Tickets from $120. Sotheby’s New York, 1334 York Ave.; artoffoodny.com
FEBRUARY 25
NYC Fermentation Festival
This inaugural festival celebrates all things fermented, and benefits The NYC Brewers Guild and Just Food, a nonprofit working to increase access to healthy, locally grown food, especially in the underserved neighborhoods of New York City. The one-day event will have more than 30 vendors, fermentation seminars, workshops for children, tasty pickled treats and more. Brooklyn Expo Center, 72 Noble St.; nycfermentationfestival.com
MARCH 8-11
The Armory Show
Don’t miss one of New York’s top fairs for 20th- and 21st-century art from around the world. More than 200 leading international galleries and innovative artist commissions await tens of thousands of visitors. Piers 92 + 94, 12th Avenue at 55th St.; thearmoryshow.com
MARCH 28
Angels in America on Broadway
Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield will co-star in Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize winner, now in an acclaimed new production from the National Theatre. Marianne Elliott is directing the 18-week-long landmark show, which portrays gay life and AIDS in 1980s America. Tickets from $99. Neil Simon Theatre, 250 W. 52nd St.; angelsbroadway.com
