Just two more days, and New Yorkers get to celebrate - for the first time ever - a very special month in their city: Archtober, a month-long festival of architectural design activities, programs and exhibitions. Presented by the Center for Architecture and many, many other collaborating organizations, Archtober's program is just packed with special tours, lectures, films and exhibitions that focus on the importance of architecture and design in everyday life.

As Archtober's media sponsor, we at Archinect & Bustler have selected a few Archtober goodies you should definitely mark red in your calendar:

• Subway Exhibition Opens: New York New Work | Sat, Oct 1
  Building on the success of our past subway exhibitions, the AIA New York Chapter / Center for Architecture will open New York New Work in October of 2011 at the West 4th Street subway station.
   
• Bring to Light: Nuit Blanche New York 2011 | Sat, Oct 1
  Bring to Light is a free nighttime public festival of art in New York City that takes place simultaneously with “nuit blanche” events in cities around the world. Inviting emerging and established artists to make site-specific installations of light, sound, performance and projection art, the event creates an immersive spectacle for thousands of visitors to re-imagine public space and civic life.
   
• Around Manhattan Official NYC Architectural Boat Tour | Sun, Oct 2
  Step aboard the teak decks of the Manhattan, the elegant, 1920s style yacht, for a leisurely around-Manhattan architecture tour, hosted by architects and members of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY).
   
• Docomomo US Tour Day 2011 | Sun, Oct 9
  TOUR DAY 2011 is the fifth annual DOCOMOMO US National Tour Day providing exclusive access to the architecture and interiors of the Modern Movement. The knowledge of local experts and enthusiasts paired with the resources of the national community of preservationists, architects, and educators combine to create exciting and enriching tours. Each tour is uniquely designed to take full advantage of the Modern resources the region has to offer.
   

• The U.S. Capitol: The Continuing Evolution of an Historic Icon | Tue, Oct 11
  Join Alan M. Hantman, FAIA, 10th Architect of the US Capitol for a discussion of the design and construction of the new Capitol Visitor Center, the 9th increment of growth since 1793. His discussion will be placed within the historic context of the Capitol, its grounds, day to day Congressional oversight, and major ongoing security-based project changes.

• Curator's Tour: SUPERTALL! | Wed, Oct 12
  SUPERTALL! is an international survey of superlative towers featuring projects that have been completed since 2001, are under construction, or are expected to top out by 2016. This recent generation of giants, generally 100 stories or higher, represents a new paradigm of slender mixed-use towers that explore innovative approaches in engineering, curtain-wall and construction technologies, energy efficiency and sustainability, and concepts of vertical communities.

• 2011 MAS Summit For New York City | Fri, Oct 14
  MAS is gearing up for the second annual MAS Summit for New York City — two days of energetic and fast-paced talks, panel discussions and conversations with opportunities for attendees to network and exchange ideas. The best and most innovative city-building ideas will be presented as we consider how to make New York City more livable, from sidewalk to skyline.

• National Design Week; Design with the Other 90%: CITIES Exhibition Opening | Sat, Oct 15
  "Design with the Other 90%: CITIES," the second exhibition in the series, will examine the complex issues arising from the unprecedented rate of urban growth projected to take place over the next 20 years, primarily in the informal settlements of the global south.

• Kevin Roche and Nicolai Ourossoff in Conversation | Mon, Oct 17
  Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kevin Roche has designed some of New York's most architecturally significant treasures, including the Ford Foundation headquarters on East 42nd Street and the master plan for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Join Roche and architecture critic and cultural historian Nicolai Ouroussoff for a conversation on the architect's life and work, held in one of Roche's most celebrated spaces, the Ford Foundation building.

• Camilo José Vergara and Paul Goldberger: The Twin Towers and the City | Wed, Oct 19
  Join MacArthur award-winning photographer Camilo José Vergara and Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic, for a conversation about how the Twin Towers changed the New York City skyline over the past five decades in ways that could not have been foreseen.

• Design Like You Give a Damn: LIVE! | Fri, Oct 21
  Design Like You Give a Damn: LIVE! is a practitioners' forum of innovative panel discussions and workshops. The two-day event brings together designers, architects, philanthropists, media and business representatives under one roof to talk about the collective challenges, goals and lessons learned in humanitarian design and how to move the field forward.

• Heritage Ball / Party@theCenter | Thu, Oct 27
  Every October, architects and industry professionals join together for this annual black tie event to support the AIA New York Chapter and the Center for Architecture Foundation. Party@theCenter is the official Heritage Ball after-party that packs the Center for Architecture until late into the night. All Heritage Ball attendees are given complimentary admission. Advance and at-door ticketing is available for those attending the after-party only.

• Halloween Parade Meet-up | Mon, Oct 31
  In celebration of Halloween and the last day of Archtober, meet at the Center for Architecture dressed as your favorite building or architect before heading over to march in the Greenwich Village Halloween parade.

For the complete list of events from October 1st through 31st, head over to the Archtober online calendar, download & print the Archtober guide, like the Facebook page, or follow @Archtober on Twitter.