Number one for me is Broadway in Bryant Park. Bring your lunch, and you can watch numbers from current Broadway shows on Thursdays from July through mid-August. As I am volunteering for the Whitney every Thursday afternoon, I won't be able to attend this year, but if you are in town, go, go, go!! Bryant Park also offers author talks (the list isn't posted yet, but in the past couple of years I've seen Candace Bushnell, Kevin Smith, Meghan McCain and Michael Ian Black, and Christopher McDougall), Wednesday night dance parties (May 4 - June 22), a book club, and lots of events for kids. Plus, you can play petanque, sunbathe on the lawn, bird watch, or just people-watch. And it's all free.
While you're in the area, stop by the New York Public Library and say hello to Patience and Fortitude, as well as the original Winnie The Pooh animals that belonged to Christopher Robin Milne.
New York is famous for its "free" Shakespeare in the Park. Free tickets are available day-of-show through four methods, including a virtual lottery. This year, the plays are Troilus and Cressida and an all-female rendition of The Taming of the Shrew. (We've seen the Donmar Warehouse do all-female Henry IV and Julius Caesar, and both were incredible. I'm not sure how they'll pull off a romance play, though. Cush Jumbo is an incredible actress, and Janet McTeer is playing Petruchio, so at least we'll have great talent giving it a go.) If you absolutely must see the show and aren't willing to risk the lines/lottery, you can reserve a seat by becoming a Summer Supporter. It will cost you $200, but your donation is tax-deductible.
Friday thru Sunday evenings at dusk, from May 7 to June 11, a group called Creative Time is presenting Duke Riley's Fly By Night in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. At the call of a whistle, thousands of pigeons with LED lights attached to their feet will swoop, glide and twirl in the evening sky. You have to register online, but it's free.
If you're a movie buff, the City offers lots of outdoor options once the weather gets nice. A full list of movies showing in the NYC parks is available online here. You can also watch free movies on the flight deck of the Intrepid Air and Space Museum in the summer. (Top Gun on May 27th!!)
Last summer, I went to Lincoln Center Out of Doors for the first time to see the Mavericks. Orkesta Mendoza was the opening act, and they were terrific, but I could listen to Raul Malo sing for the rest of my life. It was hotter than the hinges of hell, but the show was great. And I managed to get myself a front-row spot right up along the barricades. Other acts last summer included Afropunk and Lyle Lovett and his Large Band. This season, you can see Patti Smith, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Darlene Love, as well as a tribute to Lou Reed.
Other free concert options include:
- City Winery has free concerts on Tuesdays.
- Summerstage at Central Park offers a wide variety of free concerts through September. You will see me there on June 13 for the Barenaked Ladies / OMD / Howard Jones show (though that one's not free...)
- Madison Square Park Free concerts on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer
- Prospect Park Bandshell The Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival has lots of free concerts between June and August. This year's slate includes Ray LaMontagne and The Lumineers among many others.
- Bargemusic at Brooklyn Bridge Park
- There's a full summer concert list online compliments of DNA Info, though this also includes not-free options.
If you're into stargazing, you can check out the night sky every Tuesday between April and October (weather permitting) on the High Line near the 14th Street entrance. Members of the Amateur Astronomers' Association bring their telescopes out at dusk and stay till just before the park closes. (That's 10pm in spring and fall, and 11pm in summer.) I've seen Venus, moon craters, the rings of Saturn, and a lunar eclipse, among other things.
The High Line also offers lots of free events for people of all ages in the spring, summer and early fall. The full schedule of events is available online here. Join one of the docents (maybe me!) for a free public tour on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings...And if you like, while you're on their website, you can read a post from the High Line blog about me. :)
Hudson River Park also has lots of fun summer events. Bigger events like the Hudson River Dance Festival and Hudson River Flicks, as well as fishing, kayaking, and nature walks.
Lots of museums have free or pay-what-you-wish days as well. Or come wander around the art galleries in Chelsea. Emerging and established artists show and sell their work in dozens of galleries in the neighborhood, and entry is always free. They're generally open Tuesdays-Saturdays, and the opening receptions are on Thursday nights. A couple I saw today:
A piece of the really creepy The Marionette Maker at Luhring Augustine
A mesmerizing video installation by Yorgo Alexopoulos at the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery
If this isn't enough for you, The Skint is a website that posts free and cheap things daily online. It won't help you to plan in advance, but if you wake up looking for something to do, check them out. (Free lecture at the Skyscraper Museum? Why not?) Or add yourself to their e-list to get daily and weekend updates.
Almost of the above are things I've had the chance to check out while I've been here. I'm sure I'm missing tons of other cool things. For a more complete list of free stuff (or kid stuff or must-see stuff, or hotel information or...) to do in NYC, visit NYCGO.
Finally, check out my other blog posts if you're looking for my personal recommendations about what to do while you're in the City or my list of water-related amusements.
No comments:
Post a Comment