What to do in New York in September

Summer’s end actually marks the beginning in New York City: from film and fashion, to food and fine art, with so many exciting festivals and upcoming events, September is the season to be in NYC.

• Out in Flushing Meadows, Queens, the world’s best tennis players are heating up the courts at the U.S. Open through September 9. Though tickets to main events like the Men’s Final on Sept. 9 are hard to come by, grounds admission on the final day of the U.S. Open is just $5 and grants you access to both the Junior Singles Finals and the chance to watch the Women’s Doubles Finals on big-screen TVs alongside thousands of fans.

• We hope there’s some space on your credit card, because Thursday, Sept. 6 is the fourth annual Fashion’s Night Out — when more than 700 New York City shops kick off Fashion Week by keeping their doors open late, and hosting sales and events (free champagne or karaoke, anyone?). Major celebrity sightings are de rigeur during Fashion’s Night Out, so plan carefully!

• While most of us are still planning our fall wardrobes, true fashionistas are already thinking about Spring — or at least they will be at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, from Sept. 6 – 13 at Lincoln Center. Runway shows take place all day in various venues at Lincoln Center, from stalwarts like Donna Karan and Diane Von Furstenberg, to up-and-coming designers in the “Project Runway” showcase. Entry to Fashion Week shows is by invitation-only, but linger outside Lincoln Center for some major celeb-spotting opportunities (and be sure to hit Fashion’s Night Out for your own runway moment).

• The annual Vendy Awards celebrates New York City’s ever-growing fleet of food trucks, with honors in such categories as Dessert, Rookie and Market Vendor. And on Sept. 15, more than 25 finalists will be parked on Governors Island (accessible via free ferry from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan) to serve up their signature grub. Line-ups can be long, but the open bar stocked with Brooklyn Brewery beers makes standing around with friends an event not an ordeal. Go to nycvendys2012.eventbrite.com for more information.

• By now you’ve heard about the High Line (that’s the popular elevated park built on an abandoned railway line running through midtown to the West Village). But have you heard of the “Low Line”? Proposed for a disused trolly terminal, this subterranean park would use cutting-edge solar technology to filter sunlight downward, allowing plants and trees to flourish in this underground park. And from Sept. 15 – 27, you can be among the first people to witness the technology firsthand at “Imagining the Lowline,” a small-scale indoor park in Essex Market Building D, an abandoned warehouse space on the Lower East Side. A range of programming is planned, including talks and a pair of indoor street fairs (Sept. 16 and 23) featuring local businesses.

• And if you came to NYC to eat, then the Feast of San Gennaro won’t disappoint. The 11-day festival in Little Italy features both a cannoli-eating competition (Sept. 13; 2–4p.m.) and a pizza-eating contest (Sept. 20 at 2p.m.), in addition to 300 licensed food vendors and musical performances throughout. The Feast of San Gennaro Festival revolves around a Grand Procession on Sept. 15 outside the Most Precious Blood Church (109 Mulberry St between Canal and Hester Streets).

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s upcoming Andy Warhol tribute will definitely be a big draw this fall in NYC. Opening Sept. 18, “Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years” examines the artist’s influence on the last five decades of contemporary art. Featuring approximately 45 works by Warhol alongside 100 works by some 60 other artists, this exhibition juxtaposes his work with other pieces that reinterpret or respond to his work in some way. “Regarding Warhol” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be on display until Dec. 31, 2012.

• Film fans always anticipate the New York Film Festival (Sept. 28-Oct. 14), which celebrates its 50th year this fall. Each year the screening committee chooses an average of 28 feature films and 16 short films for screening, with documentaries and other special events rounding out the festival. This year the buzz is behind the world premieres of “Not Fade Away,” the first directorial feature by “Sopranos” creator David Chase, Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” and Robert Zemeckis’s “Flight”. All screenings take place at Lincoln Center.

• One of the most-buzzed-about events of the fall has to be Global Festival 2012 on Sept. 29, a benefit concert in Central Park featuring Neil Young, the Foo Fighters, the Black Keys, Band of Horses and K’Naan. For free tickets, get involved with the Global Citizen Project (you earn credits toward a lottery by sharing material on social media, for example), or shell out for VIP passes ($189.50–$489.50). Either way, it all goes to a good cause: combating extreme poverty. Go to www.globalcitizen.org to start earning credits now.

• September is also a good month to catch a Broadway show! From Mary Poppins and The Lion King to Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark to Blue Man Group, BestofNewYork.com has your connection to the Great White Way with great discounts, so you can save your cash for the rest of these September events.

So what’s your favorite event in NYC this September?