October brings a lively mix of open studios, gallery exhibitions, live music, dance, and outdoor arts events to Hudson and the surrounding communities. Here are some of the month’s highlights.

Featured Event: Hudson Open Studios 2026

Saturday, October 10–Sunday, October 11, 2026
11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. daily
Admission: Free

More than 50 Hudson artists will open their studios and temporary exhibition spaces for a behind-the-scenes look at their creative practices. Visitors can meet painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers, and multidisciplinary artists while exploring studios, galleries, storefronts, and pop-up venues throughout the city.

The self-guided weekend includes a map of participating locations, making it easy to create your own art walk through Hudson.

View the Hudson Open Studios website Join the Art Journey 2025

Arts and culture

Festivals, Music and Dance

Hudson Jazz Festival

Friday, October 2–Sunday, October 4, 2026
Hudson Hall and venues throughout Hudson

Hudson Hall’s annual jazz festival brings more than 70 artists to stages and unexpected spaces around the city. The 2026 program includes the Afro-Cuban rhythms of the Dafnis Prieto Sí o Sí Quartet on Friday, vocalist Vuyo Sotashe with pianist Chris Pattishall on Saturday, and Shenel Johns closing the festival on Sunday. Free “Sounds Around Town” performances will also take place in Hudson’s parks, restaurants, galleries, shops, and gathering spaces.

Explore the Hudson Jazz Festival hudsonhall.org

Hudson Oktoberfest

Saturday, October 3, 2026
12:00–8:00 p.m.
Upper Depot Brewing Co., 708 State Street

This full-day autumn celebration combines four live bands, regional craft beer, wine and cider, local food, independent makers, family activities, and participating animal-rescue organizations. Philadelphia indie-rock band Mo Lowda & the Humble headlines the music program.

Event information and tickets Brewery in Hudson, NY

Hudson Valley Dance Festival

Saturday, October 10, 2026
Historic Catskill Point, Catskill

Just across the river from Hudson, this annual benefit presents acclaimed dance companies, choreographers, and performers inside the atmospheric waterfront setting of Historic Catskill Point. Proceeds support Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Learn more about the Hudson Valley Dance Festival Dancers Responding to AIDS

Gallery Exhibitions and Art Destinations

Fertile Ground at Carrie Haddad Gallery

Through October 18, 2026
622 Warren Street, Hudson

Carrie Haddad Gallery’s fall exhibition brings together Dora Somosi, Allyson Levy, Annika Tucksmith, Betsy Weis, Lily Morris, and Eileen Murphy. Through painting, photography, textiles, encaustic work, and other media, the artists explore growth, transformation, weather, landscape, and the passage of time.

Visit Carrie Haddad Gallery Carrie Haddad Gallery

In Flux at Private Public Gallery

Through October 17, 2026
530 Columbia Street, Hudson

Set inside a striking restored 1865 synagogue, Private Public Gallery presents In Flux, an exhibition bringing together Judy Pfaff and Michael David. Their expansive works move between painting, sculpture, assemblage, and installation.

Visit Private Public Gallery privatepublicgallery.net

The Campus: 2026 Annual Exhibition

Through November 1, 2026
341 NY-217, Claverack

Located in a repurposed former school just outside Hudson, The Campus returns with its third annual exhibition. The sprawling presentation brings artists from its six founding New York galleries together with eight invited UK galleries, filling former classrooms, corridors, and communal spaces with contemporary painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and multimedia work.

Explore The Campus 27 June – The Campus

Sutter Antiques: Art Across Continents and Centuries

556 Warren Street, Hudson

A visit to Hudson’s arts district should also include Sutter Antiques, where historic art and objects create a dialogue across periods and cultures. The showroom offers a changing selection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings, Japanese works on paper, woodblock prints, scrolls, and decorative art from the United States, Asia, and Europe.

Founded in 1976, Sutter Antiques combines an established antiques tradition with the spirit of an intimate, highly personal gallery—an ideal stop for collectors and anyone interested in seeing how art from different cultures and eras can live together.

Explore Sutter Antiques Sutter Antiques

Outdoor Creative Experience

Painting the Day: A Community Plein Air Event

Saturday, October 3, 2026
10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Athens Riverfront Park

Presented by the Athens Cultural Center, this community plein-air celebration invites regional artists to paint outdoors along the Hudson River during peak autumn color. Visitors can watch works take shape while enjoying the riverfront landscape and changing October light.

Event details from the Athens Cultural Center Athens Cultural Center

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