Good afternoon, this is W42ST Lifestyle Editor Sarah Beling with “Make Way For The Weekend” — your curated guide to the best of New York events in one convenient newsletter!
Last week, I found myself living out an extremely New York Moment. Sweating through my hastily assembled business casual duds on break from jury duty (yes, I was tempted to pull a Carrie Bradshaw and tell them that before 10am, everyone is guilty but I did not), I wandered over to the lovingly-worn blue tables of the Landmark Coffee Shop for a truly perfect burger and pleasant conversation with staff who treated me like an old friend.
“That place always makes me feel like a Real New Yorker,” texted my friend who I’d thanked for the lunch break tip. I couldn’t help but wonder (lol sorry, my problematic love for Sex and the City can never be extricated) — what does makes you feel like a Real New Yorker?
Is it developing an appreciation (and long-term, steady relationship) with your local bodega? Is it never blinking an eye at forking over $15 for a cocktail? Is it sipping a beer in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium, even if you’re a Red Sox fan 👀? Is it meeting a friend on a park bench for overpriced salads with the only agenda being to complain for three hours? Is it jury duty? Yes, it’s definitely jury duty.
I do think, however, that I feel most like a Real New Yorker when I can spontaneously jet out to something happening in town without it being a big thing. Outdoor concert in Central Park on a Monday? No problem. Catch an art show opening downtown on Tuesday? Why not! And of course, we will stop by the bodega or the diner on the way home. See you there!
❓Quick Question
What’s the place that makes you feel most like a New Yorker?? NO CHAINZ ALLOWED
🧍♀️🧍♂️thank you for being a friend
If you enjoy this newsletter, why not forward it to your friends with the subject line “the girl is weird but she has good suggestions” and see if they want to join the party. thx!!!
🌈 where have all the cowboys gone
All hail the return of the Pride Garden Party, held right here in Hell’s Kitchen at Pier 84 this Tuesday. Enjoy snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, and a sunset concert on the Hudson where you can belt along to Sophie B Hawkins singing Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover and Paula Cole singing I Don’t Wanna Wait (hello, Dawson’s Creek fans) and Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? (they’re at Flaming Saddles, duh).
👯♀️ uptown revelations
Legendary Alvin Ailey Dance Theater company (based out of W55th Street!) plays a limited engagement of performances at Lincoln Center through this weekend! Led by choreographer Robert Battle, the revered repertory company known for their exquisite artistry and impeccable technique will perform classics (Revelations 😭!!!) as well as world premieres, including a new piece from resident choreographer Jamar Roberts. For those attending this evening, enjoy an additional gala celebration featuring Ailey II company members and Ailey School students followed by a soiree on the plaza!
🎺 swing time
Speaking of Lincoln Center, if you’ve walked by the plaza lately, you may have noticed a pretty legit outdoor dance floor setup beckoning you from Amsterdam Ave — stop by this Friday evening for a night of swing dancing under the stars to the dulcet tunes of Rachael & Vilray (Rachael, btw, is Rachael Price of the band Lake Street Dive and any chance to hear her sing is not to be missed). Bonus! If you head over early, Mark Morris Dance Company is holding free swing dance lessons designed to be accessible to all!
🟥⬛️🟩honoring Juneteenth
🎶 Carnegie Hall hosts a powerful evening of performers “reimagining togetherness” at the legendary concert venue this Sunday. Emceed by acting icon David Alan Grier, the event will honor activists Opal Lee and Sonia Sanchez and feature dance and music from the Ebony Ecumenical Ensemble, Joseph Joubert, Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, and more!
🎭 Back in Times Square, the Broadway League will sponsor a free, outdoor concert entitled Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth this Sunday hosted by Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin, Hamilton, Memphis), honoring legendary performers Ben Vereen and Leslie Uggams (!!), and featuring star turns from (very!) recent Tony Award winner Myles Frost (MJ), Tony nominee Jared Grimes (Funny Girl), and Black performers across the boards of Broadway!
👯♀️ And across W42nd Street, the Bryant Park picnic performance series will highlight Juneteenth with a special celebration from tapper Josh Johnson, tap company Music From The Sole, Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, and more this Saturday!
🏆 should you answer in the form of a question??
Hell’s Kitchen’s bartender and Jeopardy champion Austin Rogers hosts a trivia tournament this Wednesday (and the next!) at the Gaf Bar West. First prize wins $250 — what is, the next round of beers is on you?
🎤the crown jewels
“If J-Pop and French Pop had a music baby,” thy name would be Emergency Tiara, the quirky, delightful trio of musicians led by Juri Jinnai playing Soho’s Special Club tonight through Saturday. There will be wigs, there will be airtight harmonies, and there will be joy!
🎻 cue the violins
Love a matinee but don’t want to waste a minute of sunshine? Head uptown to Fort Tryon Park Sunday afternoon where the New York Scandia Symphony plays a series of string quartets on the lawn overlooking the Hudson River as part of the city’s free Scandinavian Music Festival. Hot tip — stop by Dutch Baby on the way to the park for pre-performance picnic pastries!!
🎭 real new yorkers wait in line
Yeah, yeah, you could enter the newly-minted digital lottery for this year’s Public Theater free Shakespeare in the Park, which begins performances of Richard III this Tuesday — but why not suffer (a little) for your art and camp out for tickets the old fashioned way, by chilling on the ground in a very long (but usually fruitful) line? Now is not the winter of our discontent!! Just bring snacks!! It’ll be fine!!
💐no longer the secret garden
You’ve got to hand it to librarians for their lexicological dexterity — and the team at the Morgan Library and Museum deserves extra credit for their “punny” work on the Garden Family Fair and Free Community Weekend this Saturday and Sunday. Featuring guided tours of the library’s restored outdoor space, concerts, and readings, the event also features activities titled “That’s a Bit Mulch…” and “Father of the Pride”, and “Compose Yourself!” A+.
🎭 “yes and” baby!!
Once upon a time, I (like many an unemployed actor) took an improv class in hopes of jump-starting my career. While I fully bombed almost the entire class (though I did get to study with someone who would become very famous, write me back to find out who it was 😉), it did give me a lifelong appreciation for those who are good at improv. Why not try a lower stakes version of my 2011 adventure by joining Improv Everywhere on their Mp3 Experiment, a fun and free top-secret participatory audio mob convening this Saturday evening in the Meatpacking District. Every mission is different, but if uncertainty scares you, check out a previous experiment here!!
🔥Hot Tip
Too conflict-avoidant to elbow your way to the bar? You’re in luck! Many of the city’s hottest watering holes now require a reservation, making it easier than ever to happy hour with the SNL cast at Pebble Bar.
⚠️ Omg I forgot to tell you
The regular TriBeCa Festival passes are obnoxiously expensive, but you can snag $26 tix to individual screenings for the closing weekend
Trumpeter Chris Botti is playing Sony Hall this Saturday
Want to feel old👀? NYC payphones are part of a historic exhibit called Analog City now showing at the Museum of the City of New York
Clean up litter in the neighborhood and be rewarded with free snacks🍦 at Treats for Trash event hosted by the Hell’s Kitchen Litter Legion this Saturday. Sign up here!
The Lumineers play Forest Hills Stadium this Saturday. HO-HEY!
Can’t decide which concert is for you? Go to a whole bunch of them all around the city this Tuesday on Make Music Day!
That’s it for now! Call me beep me if you want to reach me! (sarah@w42st.com)
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