The good news is: there is a lot happening in New York right now!! The bad news is: there is a lot happening in New York right now!! Without a reliable time-travel machine (have yet to see any souped-up DeLoreans listed on the used car market), it is, I regret to report, impossible to get to everything you’d like to try.
However, I prefer to think of weeks like this as a version of those old-school children’s “choose your own adventure” books, where a good portion of the fun is picking a lane for the day and seeing where it will take you (a key departure here is that you’ll never end up stranded with a villainous pirate, Abominable Snowman, etc).
So choose a page, commit, and report back what you tried!!
❓Quick Question
What’s an event that you were dreading but ended up being unexpectedly fun?! Weddings don’t count LOL
🎭 greeks, gays, and intergenerational trauma
You heard it here first – writer and performer Chloe Kounadis is the next Nia Vardalos. Check out her semi-autobiographical one-woman show, Approachable Face this weekend at the Matthew Corozine Studio on W36th St for a crash course in surviving showbiz, wedding planning, and Greek family drama. Opa!
🎲 category is: bingo
Head to Tito Murphy’s tonight for a rousing game of Drag Bingo (featuring performances by Anida Tension) to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Tickets are now available at the door!
🎨 art in the wild
Opening tonight on 9th Avenue, the Fountain House Gallery presents “Animal Crossing”, a multi-artist exhibition exploring “conceptions of animality in the contexts of domesticity, wildness, and spirituality.”
🎹music(a) makes me lose control
Get out your dancing shoes! After a few fits and starts, the revamped Musica Club is reopening on 12th Avenue this Saturday with multiple floors of partying and DJ sets by VanNee.
🚴♀️ i want to ride my
Celebrating its 10th anniversary as an inclusive cycling event promoting women in the sport, the Fancy Women Bike Ride pedals again this Sunday morning, starting in Times Square and riding to Washington Square Park via 5th Avenue and Broadway.
🚮 season’s cleanings
The Hell’s Kitchen Litter Legion hosts another neighborhood cleanup event this Saturday, celebrating World Cleanup Day and featuring sweet treats for participants!
🍿 and the award goes to…
A brand-new film festival honoring filmmakers who masterfully highlight and celebrate the inspiring strength, creativity, and power of children across the world, the Children’s Resilience in Film Award screens its finalists this weekend at the Bryant Park Hotel.
🎨 sidewalk sale!!
Stop by Manhattan Plaza (W43rd Street between 9th and 10th Avenue) this Saturday for the MPTA Block Festival. There’s plenty to see, featuring plentiful trinkets for sale and art from local creators like Janet Restino — you might even catch a glimpse of former Manhattan Plaza resident and current celeb Timothée Chalamet, who has been spotted there in years past 👀!
🎭 the kids are alright
Entirely youth-written, world-premiere political climate drama If Bells Would Ring runs for three shows only this weekend at The Tank. Bonus! If you were able to check out The Tank’s previous environmentally themed show, Before the Flood – stay after the September 17 performance for a special talkback with Flood playwright Emily Bice and Bells author Elson Bankoff will moderate an event on climate justice art.
🎹 études in the city
Enjoy a romantic garden concert al fresco on W50th St at Sounds of the City’s Chopin by Candlelight this Saturday, featuring Ukrainian-born pianist and composer Anna Bogolubova and raising money for war relief!
🎤 summertime sadness
Bid goodbye to a carefree New York summer with a series of free musical events in Hudson Yards! First up, radio station Z100 presents an end of summer bash tonight featuring headliner Ellie Goulding, followed by the “Goodbye Summer” two-day music festival in Bella Abzug Park Saturday and Sunday presented by Colored Colors local arts initiative!
👯♀️mambo, mambo, go!
West Side-based Ailey Extension hosts a free, beginner-friendly mambo workshop with artist Katherine Jimenez this Saturday as part of National Dance Day!
🥯a bagel on a plate full of onion rolls
Like me, BagelFest founder Sam Silverman has been described as a “bagel-tarian.” Respect!! join fellow bagel-tarians at this weekend’s festival in City Point for endless carbs and schmear!!
💃no ballads
Aside from therapy (lol), a great playlist is the thing that can turn my day around the quickest. Lose yourself in Fun Music Friday at Le Poisson Rouge featuring a set list from Dj K Styles and the Fresh Kids with nothing but bangers from the 70s through today!!
🎨 super-fine, superfine!
For even more gallery fun, check out the Superfine Art Fair, described as not your average high-brow art fair” and opening tonight at The Market Line. Exhibiting over 130 independent artists (including W42ST friend and photographer Cid Roberts!) and featuring live dj sets, a Sunday brunch, and opening cocktails this evening!
🦸♀️avengers, assemble!!
Eagerly awaiting the next ComicCon? Head to Inwood Hill Park this weekend for the Uptown Comics Fest, hosted by Word Up Community Bookshop and featuring all-day panels, comics workshops and special guests!
🎨 the 18th annual museum day
While New York’s museums do frequently host free admission days throughout the year, several local cultural institutions are participating in Saturday’s Smithsonian Institute Museum Day and nixing admission sales for the day! If you’ve never been to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Hell’s Kitchen, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side or the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum in the Bronx, now’s your chance!!
🔥Hot tip
Zeppole fans, come through! The Feast of San Gennaro returns to Little Italy tonight and runs through September 25, featuring open-air food stands, concerts and of course, cannolis! Mangia!
⚠️ Omg I forgot to tell you
The New York Latino Film Festival Hosts a Dyckman Block Party this Sunday
The Letter H opens at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts tonight
Amy Schumer plays the Madison Square Garden Hulu Theater tomorrow night!
That’s it for now! Call me beep me if you want to reach me! (sarah@w42st.com)
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