B4B NYC: The 5 Best Bang-for-Your-Buck Events in New York City This Weekend

NEW YORK, NY — We know you've got a hilarious, original, super-duper-clever idea for a Halloween costume this year, but are you really going to break with tradition and spend an entire weekend painstakingly crafting it by hand? Just admit it early this time: You're not. Like the rest of us, you're going to wait until Oct. 30 and run down to the nearest pop-up shop, where a good-natured proprietor will promise to sell you an American-made costume of the very highest quality at the very fairest price. (Pro tip: Be a Ghostbuster. Nobody ever does that.)

Great! Now that that's settled, and your weekend is wide open, kindly follow along as Patch's Culture Hound rounds up the five best bang-for-your-buck adventures on offer in New York City over these next few days, in every taste and price range — B4B NYC, as we've taken to calling it.

But first, it's a ...

PLEASE-LET-ME-IN-I-SIMPLY-MUST-GET-IN ALERT

NEW YORK COMIC CON / NEW YORKER FESTIVAL

Where: Javits Center (Comicon) [map] / multiple venues (New Yorker)

When: All weekend long

What: Two, count 'em two, glorious nerd-fests will be popping up in the city this weekend, one each of the low- and high-brow variety: Comic Con and The New Yorker Festival (you decide which is which). Both feature lots of panels and interviews with your favorite celebrities, tastemakers and arteests — it's just that the ones at Comic Con will be dripping with superhero bling. Tickets are still available here for a handful of the New Yorker talks, but you'll have to use StubHub (along with all your feminine/masculine/gender-fluid wiles) to nab tix for the most popular interviewees, including Bruce Springsteen, David Letterman, and Sarah Silverman. And as far as getting into the Javits Center with the rest of the cosplaying phreaks: You can search here for tickets, but you're probably better off trying to sneak in. (Which HAS worked in the past — you know, for a friend.)

How much: Prices vary, but tickets ain't cheap.

LILLIAN SCHWARTZ: PIONEER OF COMPUTER ART

Where: Magenta Plains, Lower East Side, Manhattan [map]

When: Friday (9/7), Saturday (9/8) and Sunday (9/9), 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

What: In what is quite surprisingly the first-ever NYC solo show of Lillian Schwartz, Magenta Plains gallery presents Pioneer of Computer Art, a deep collection of the innovator's prints and videos, created during her more than 30 years working at Bell Labs. Schwartz, often credited as one of the chief founders of the digital-art medium, is included in the permanent collections of many of the world's leading museums. Her films have even won an Emmy and an Oscar — although a collaboration with Salvador Dali ended badly when his mustache instructed him not to credit Schwartz for her work. True story. (The takeaway: We should all continue to ignore the opinions of our facial hair.) More information here.

How much: FREE!

BEYOND THE WALL: THE PINK FLOYD EXPERIENCE

Where: The Hall at MP, Williamsburg, Brooklyn [map]

When: Saturday, 10/8, 8 p.m.

What: You know what's missing in your life? Pink Floyd songs played with rigorous exactitude by a bunch of dudes who aren't actually members of Pink Floyd! Lucky for you, Floyd tribute band Beyond the Wall would be happy to fill that void Saturday night. Their authentic sound and effects-heavy stage show will surely conjure the ghost of Roger Waters within The Hall at MP. (Waters is, of course, very much alive, but if he weren't, he'd no doubt float on over to Williamsburg this Saturday and nod approvingly at this gang of fanboys, even as his ghost hand failed to grip his beer.) To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Wish You Were Here, BTW will rock the complete 1975 setlist from that tour — front to back — along with a bunch of other crowd favorites. Pudding available for those who eat their meat. More information and tickets here.

How much: Tickets are $18 and up

TITUS ANDRONICUS

Where: Market Hotel, Bushwick, Brooklyn [map]

When: Friday, 10/7, and Saturday, 10/8, both at 8 p.m. (two shows)

What: Check this out. (Go ahead, we'll wait.) Yeah, so that? That was "Fatal Flaw," a kickass Clash-esque throwback mashed with a parallel dual-guitar solo direct from the Allman Brothers (?) — courtesy of Glen Rock, New Jersey's own Titus Andronicus. The band rocks not one but two venues this weekend, because no single venue could contain this kind of raw punk power, obvi. And you see the dude with the Duck Dynasty beard up there? That's lead singer Patrick Stickles. He's, like, rull good and rull crazy on stage. The whole spectacle is well worth your time — and a crisp Jackson. More information and tickets here.

How much: Tickets are $20

THE GOD PROJEKT

Where: La MaMa, East Village, Manhattan [map]

When: Friday, 10/7, and Saturday, 10/8, at 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10/9, at 4 p.m.

What: The best theaters are always brave. In The God Project, Kevin Augustine dons an old-codger mask and a cantankerous, even-older-codger persona in his portrayal of The Man Upstairs, an almighty deity beset by old age, dementia and a suffocating stream of pleas from his Earthly creations — not the cuddliest of protagonists, to be sure. Produced by La MaMa in collaboration with Lone Wolf Tribe, and winner of a 2014 New York Innovative Theater award, The God Projekt weaves Borscht-belt humor, virtuosic puppetry and a heavy dose of bravery as it grapples with humankind's thorniest theological questions. More information and tickets here.

How much: Tickets are $30 (or $25 for students and seniors)

THE BIG CHOCOLATE SHOW

Where: The Terminal Stores, West Chelsea, Manhattan [map]

When: Saturday, 10/8, and Sunday, 10/9, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. (four sessions)

What: Once a year in ancient Maya society, just to keep the sun moving around the Earth, the elders offered a young boy to the gods. Ixcacao, the goddess of chocolate, gave the boy her magical concoction to soothe his nerves as he approached his doom — and just like that, chocolate became a crucial element of Maya society. Which brings us to The Big Chocolate Show: New York City's answer to chocolate devotion, without the human sacrifice. Over four separate sessions, 50 artisanal vendors offer tastings and classes dedicated to the planet's sweetest bean. Basically, you'll spend three full hours stuffing your face with many thousands of calories before stumbling home, filled to the brim with an awkward mix of satisfaction and shame. And all the while, Ixcacao will be watching, smiling, from atop her giant bejeweled jaguar. More information and tickets here.

How much: Tickets are $45 each

Submit your event to arts@patch.com to be considered for the B4B NYC weekly roundup.