Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin, Dec. 1, 2009, Holiday News

Hope you're still enjoying those Thanksgiving leftovers! I'm working hard to get a holiday guide and a gift-giving guide up for the holidays, but in the meantime there are some events coming up this week that I thought you should know about, enjoy!

Tuesday December 1, 2009
An Evening of Arts and Literature
The Cooper Union is celebrating its 150th anniversary with its "Great Evenings in the Great Hall" programs. Tonight's line-up features celebs such as Tony Kushner, Salman Rushdie, Siri Hustvedt, Olympia Dukakis presenting literary readings.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: The Great Hall, Cooper Union, Cooper Square (3rd Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets)
Subway: 6 to Astor Place, L to 3rd Ave.

Max Brenner at the Strand
7 p.m.
A must-do for chocaholics, the eponymous "Bald Man" from down the street will be on-hand tonight promoting a new chocolate-based cookbook called Chocolate A Love Story. Rumors are that some actual chocolate faves of the bald guy will be available for sampling!
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: The Strand Bookstore, Broadway and 12th St.
Subway: 4,5,6,L,N,R,Q,W to 14th St./Union Square.

Wednesday December 2, 2009
Opening Reception for Robert Frost's Annual Christmas Cards, An Exhibition & Celebration
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
This shindig celebrates a new Poet's House exhibit, which features displays of illustrated chapbooks of Frost's poetry that were sent out as holiday cards. This isn't the only time to check out the cards, the exhibition runs through January 16, 2010.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Poets House, 10 River Terrace
Subway: 1,2,3,A,C to Chambers St.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Watch the lighting of the iconic holiday symbol, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, of course there will be celebs and other musical acts there too, but be ready to fight the crowds to catch a glimpse of the stars that aren't on the tree.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Rockefeller Center, 47th/48th St. bet. Fifth and Sixth Ave.
Subway: B,D,F,V to 47-50th Street-Rockefeller Center

Thursday December 3rd, 2009
Screening of Breaking the News (This is the news part of the title.)
6 p.m.
Yo, this is for all journalists in da' house (or the blog...) The Deadline Club (the local Society of Professional Journalists chapter) has organized an exclusive showing of the documentary Breaking the News! This film is not available through Netflix; this is a special screening in conjunction with the Paley Center. This event may be of special interest to journalists (the doc details how big names in journalism like Peter Jennings, Bob Simon, Barbara Walters and others got their big stories), but is open to all.
Cheap Chick Info: $10, RSVP to rsvp@deadlineclub.org.
Location Info: Paley Center for Media, 25 W. 52nd St. (bet. Fifth and Sixth Ave.)
Subway: E,V to Fifth Ave./53rd St., N,R,W to Fifth Ave.

Cheap Chick Thanksgiving Weekend Guide for November 25-29, 2009! *More Events Will be Posted Throughout the Weekend so Check Back for More Events!

Hmmm, you could stay home and decide how many ways to prepare that turkey (there's the classic sandwich, soup, pot pie, dumplings, turkey curry, turkey loaf etc.), but you could also get out of the house and gorge on all NYC has to offer...Tough choice. Scroll below for official Macy's festivities!

Wednesday November 25, 2009
Great Gowanus Pre-Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt
7 p.m.
Explore Carroll Gardens and Park Slope and compete for prizes.
Cheap Chick Info: $5
Location Info: The Bell House, 149 7th St., Brooklyn
Subway: F,G,R to 9thSt./4th Ave.

Le Bingo!
7 p.m.
Join local drag celebs Linda Simpson and Murray Hill as they host a prize-filled night of bingo. A full menu of drinks and food is also available.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker
Subway: A,C,E,F,V,B,D to West 4th St.

Comix Thanksgiving Comedy Show
10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
The L.A.-based show Comedy Juice hits NYC, and features Pete Holmes and other special guests.
Cheap Chick Info: $15-$20, buy tkts here.
Location Info: Comix, 353 W. 14th Street
Subway: A,C,E,L to 14th and 8th

The Aspen Social Club is also offering a free open bar from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. tonight!

Friday November 27, 2009
Mallrats and Clueless Double Feature
7 p.m. to Midnight
Drag some of your favorite Bettys and Baldwins to this screening, and say hi to Jay and Silent Bob if you happen to run into them-costumes are encouraged!
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: 92nd Street Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson St.
Subway: 1,6, or E to Canal Street

Seaport Chorus and Tree-Lighting Ceremony
6 p.m.
Dive right in to the Chirstmas season with this year's first tree-lighting ceremony! Holiday songs will be performed, and you may even get to rub elbows with Mrs. Claus.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: South Street Seaport
Subway: A,C to Broadway–Nassau St; J,M,Z,2,3,4,5 to Fulton St.

Lincoln and Thanksgiving
10 a.m.
This family-friendly event brings the Civil War to life, with a Lincoln re-enactor, Union army regiments, crafts, gospel choir performers, and a scavenger hunt.
Cheap Chick Info: $12
Location Info: NY Historical Society, 170 Central Park West at 77th Street
Subway: B,C to 81st St.

Central Park Cross-Park Promenade
11 a.m.
Work off that turkey dinner with an east-west walking tour of the park where some of its many secrets are revealed.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Meet inside the park at Fifth Avenue and East 72nd Street, in front of the statue of Samuel F. B. Morse.
Subway: B,C to 72nd St.

50's Sock Hop
8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Swing into the 50's with an-old fashioned sock hop-I can see the leather jackets and poodle skirts now. Nick Palumbo's provides the tunes for people as they hop onto the dance floor.
Cheap Chick Info: $10
Location Info: Connolly's, 121 W. 45th Street, 3rd Floor
Subway: N,R,W,Q1,2,3,7,S to 42nd St., N,R,W to 49th St.

The Housing Works Bookstore Black Friday sale should be hot (even though it's cold outside)! I hear they're putting out special books and unique gift items out today. Also don't forget that MOMA is free today, but I'm not sure I'd want to fight the crowds for the new Tim Burton exhibit yet. iShop Brooklyn shopping specials start today-notice that alliteration-and run through Christmas!

Saturday November 28, 2009
Thanks-4-Giving Benefit
8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
City Winery is sponsoring this music-based fundraiser to gather funds for the Food Bank for New York City, an organization dedicated to feeding the homeless. Music acts include John Hammond, Jesse Harris, Richard Julian, Bob Dobrow, and others.
Cheap Chick Info: $20
Location Info: City Winery, 155 Varick St. bet. Spring and Vandam
Subway: 1 to Houston or Canal, E to Spring

New York Harbor Light Parade
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
This is the finale to the Hudson River Quadracentennial with boats decked out in holiday style.
Cheap Chick Info: Free to watch!
Location Info: Varies according to viewing location. Info is here.
Subway: Same as above.

Floating Kabarette
Doors open at 10 p.m., show starts at 10:30 p.m.
Variety show, burlesque, and cabaret all rolled into one! Enjoy!
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Galapagos Art Space
Subway: F to York Street, A,C to High St.

Saturday and Sunday November 28th and 29th, 2009
Mark Twain's New York Walking Tour
1 p.m.
Visit sites related to the author's life in the Big Apple, though I don't think you'll see any board fences that need to be painted or frog-jumping contests...but who knows, this is New York.
Cheap Chick Info: $15, Call 927-620-5371 for reservations/more info.
Location Info: Meet at the southwest corner of Broadway and Spring St.
Subway: N,R,W to Prince St., 6 to Spring St.

Sunday November 29th, 2009
Trains and Trolleys
Check out historic transport at the park!
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Fort Greene Park, Fort Greene Visitor Center, Enter the park at Myrtle Avenue and Washington Park.
Subway: R,M to Dekalb, C to Lafayette, G to Fulton

Vanya on 42nd Street Viewing
2 p.m.
Watch the 1994 Louis Malle play within a movie starring Julianne Moore, Brooke Smith, and George Gaynes.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Mid-Manhattan Library, 40th St. and Fifth Ave.
Subway: F,D to 42nd St., 7 to Fifth Ave., 4,5,6,S,7 to Grand Central

*Remember more events will be posted throughout the weekend, so vist this listing again for more T-day weekend diversions!

Cheap Chick Thanksgiving Guide

There are a few things going on in-between turkey time, so be sure to enjoy the city if you're staying here over the long weekend! A more detailed weekend guide including other festivities will be forthcoming in the next few days!

Wednesday November 25, 2009
3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Hopefully your ego won't be inflated when you telll your friends you've seen the balloons that will be in the eponymous Macy's parade on Thursday.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: 77th and 81st streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
Subway: B,C to 81st Street/Museum of Natural History

Thursday November 26, 2009-Turkey Day, Happy Thanksgiving!
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
People start lining up as early as 6:30 a.m., the parade starts at 9 a.m.
Cheap Chick Info: Free, but get there early and expect to stay, with no bathroom breaks!
Location Info: The parade is on a new route this year along Seventh Avenue. The route stats at 77th Street and Central Park West and go south on Central Park West. More route info is available here.
Subway: Whatever gets you closest to the parade.

Of course you can always watch the parade on TV (it will be airing on NBC), which is always free!

Cheap Chick Weekend Picks, November 20-22, 2009

Friday November 20, 2009
Lower East Side Pub Crawl with the Lunch Club
7:30 p.m.
Discover the pubs of the LES, and scarf down some grub at Katz's-do you want what's she's having?
Cheap Chick Info: $7 in advance or $10 at the door, RSVP here.
Location Info: Meet at Max Fish, Ludlow Street between Houston and Stanton
Subway: F to Delancey

Twihards Anonymous: A Meeting of Twilight Addicts
Midnight
For those of you who can't get enough of vampire-werewolf-human love triangles, this is a supportive environment where you can celebrate the release of the latest movie without being judged. Of course there's also a comedy show...
Cheap Chick Info: $5, Make a reservation here.
Location: UCB Club, 307 W. 26th bet. 8th and 9th
Subway: C,E to 23rd Street

Saturday November 21, 2009
Team America Sing-a-long
11 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Watch the 2004 movie, and well, sing! Sorry folks, I got nuthin' on this one...Pls feel free to share your more clever comments below.
Cheap Chick Info: $13, includes a free drink
Location Info: 92nd Street Y, Tribeca, 200 Hudson St.
Subway: E to Canal

Turkey Count Hike
10 a.m.
Be sure to check out this event if you want to see a turkey in the wild before it ends up on your table next week.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Pelham Bay Park, Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum (895 Shore Road)
Subway: 6 to Pelham Bay Park, then transfer to the Bee-line Bus System #45 bus

Baroque Ball
8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Like they said in Beauty and the Beast, "If it isn't Baroque, don't fix it," so hopefully there won't be anything you want to fix at this night of 18th century music and dancing. Costumes are encouraged, so you know what that means...
Cheap Chick Info: $15 in advance, $20 at the door
Location Info: 92nd Street Y (the original) at 92nd and Lexington Ave.
Subway: 6 to 96th street

Downtown's Lost Neighborhood Walking Tour
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Pay a visit to this long-along world, which was once home to Irish, Arabic and Slavic immigrants.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Meet on the steps of the U.S. Custom House (Museum of the American Indian), One Bowling Green
Subway: 4,5 to Bowling, R to Whitehall

Gangs of New York Walking Tour
11 a.m.
You may have to look hard for signs of Leonardo DiCaprio or Daniel Day-Lewis on this walking tour, but you'll definitely see the real-life sites that inspired the recent movie such as Paradise Square, and Murderers Alley.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: Meet at the southeast corner of Broadway and Chambers Street, at City Hall Park
Subway: 4,5,6 to Brooklyn Bridge, 1,2,3,A,C,E to Chambers Street, R,W to City Hall

Saturday and Sunday November 21st and 22nd
Goodard Riverside Community Book Fair
Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Start shopping for the bookworm in your life at this Mecca for book-lovers. All books and gifts are marked down up to 50 percent off, and all profits go to the center.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Goddard Riverside Community Center, 593 Columbus Ave.
Subway: C to 86th Street

Sunday November 22, 2009
Chili Takedown
4 p.m.
My 12-year-old self thinks "beans, beans, the magical fruit" will be involved in this chili contest, but you'll have to see for yourself. Come sample every type of chili you can possibly think of...and make up your own rhyme.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: The Bell House
Subway: F,G,R to 9^th St./4^th Ave.

UrbanGlass Open House
Tours on the hour 12-4 p.m.
I'm thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to throw stones while you're touring a glass-blowing facility. You can take a free tour, watch demonstrations, and maybe even participate in a half-hour workshop. Today's open-house is holiday-inspired...starting the shopping soon, anyone?
Cheap Chick Info: Free, though tours are first-com, first-served, and the workshops have a fee.
Location Info: UrbanGlass, (at Rockwell Place) 3rd floor
Subway: B, M, Q, or R to DeKalb Avenue, C to Lafayette, and G to Fulton Street

Rooftop Farms Sale
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Pick up some tasty Thanksgiving treats (see how I used alliteration here? Isn't that cool?) at this urban farm, which is usually just open to professional chefs.
Cheap Chick Info: Depends on purchase
Location Info: 44 Eagle St. between Franklin and West Sts., Brooklyn, Greenpoint
Subway: G to Metropolitan/Lorimer

Dumpling Making Workshop
1 p.m.
Learn to make those yummy snacks! Dumpling is not just a pet name anymore.
Cheap Chick Info: $10, you may need to RSVP (valyn@chinesedance.org), and there was a Nov. 15 deadline given, but it's been listed a few places since then, so I would try to check it out!
Location Info: NY Chinese Cultural Center, 390 Broadway (between Walker and White sts) 2nd fl.
Subway: 6,N,R,Q,W to Canal St.

Brooklyn Pie Bake-Off Benefit
1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Hopefully these competitors will find the contest as easy as pie! All proceeds will benefit Bags of the People. Course when you leave you can say, "Bye bye, Miss American Pie."
Cheap Chick Info: $10 and includes free drinks, ice cream, and two pie slice tickets.
Location Info: SPACECRAFT, 355 Bedford, Brooklyn
Subway: L to Bedford

Free screening of American Splendor
2 p.m.
Help fill the void between Comic-cons, by watching the 2003 pic about the life of Harvey Pekar. It stars Paul Giamatti, who incidentally, I loved in Sideways.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Mid-Manhattan Library
Subway: D,F to 42nd Street, 7 to Fifth Ave.

Also a Norwegian craft fair is going on at a local church, watch flicks at the New York Horror Film Festival, ride the smArt shuttle in Brooklyn, and there's a Cupcake Crawl on Sunday.

Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin, November 16, 2009

If you want to party like a native New Yorker, then crash this soiree...
Tuesday November 17, 2009
Not for Tourists 2010 Guide Release Party
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Get a free book, as well as free drinks and the chance to win prizes from Economy Candy, Exit 9, Idlewild, and Cafe Grumpy.
Cheap Chick Info: Free, but you need this flier in order to get the free books.
Location Info: Fontana's, 105 Eldridge Street
Subway: F to Delancey Street

Cheap Chick Weekend Picks, Nov. 13-15, 2009

Friday November 13, 2009
Rouge Soiree
6 p.m. to 6:50 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 7:50 p.m.
Sample holiday colors for the lips and nails as well as the latest Bacchus red wines. Also be entered in a raffle to win a spa service!
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: Lancome Boutique, 201 Columbus Ave.@69th Street
Subway: 1 to 66th St.

1-Night Stand Music Festival
Various Times
Check out seven clubs, and 30 bands in one night!
Cheap Chick Info: Pay $10 at one club and get into the other six for free!
Location Info: For showtimes and bands, as well as venue info, visit http://www.myspace.com/djmisterx
Subway: Varies

Art Battles
7:30 p.m.
This event is almost like Project Runway except with paint. Teams of two create masterpieces in just three hours as music plays in the background.
Cheap Chick Info: $7
Location Info: M1-5, 52 Walker St.
Subway: 6,J,M,Z,A,C,E,Q,W to Canal St. (remember the R isn't running below 34th St. this weekend.)

Samurai Cinema Series
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
In honor of the museum's exhibit, "Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156–1868, the Met is screening a number Akira Kurosawa's movies including tonight's showing of The Hidden Fortress from 1958, which I'm told was an inspiration for Star Wars.
Cheap Chick Info: $15, tickets can be purchased in advance here.
Location Info: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Subway: 4,5,6 to 86th Street

Saturday November. 14, 2009
Transfer: A Seminar With Naomi Shahib Nye
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
This is a round-table discussion for adults about how poetry can help people through different stages of life.
Cheap Chick Info: $10, $7 for students and seniors, free to Poets House members
Location Info: Poets House, 10 River Terrace
Subway: A,C,2,3 to World Trade Center

My Dinner With Andre Screening
2 p.m.
Feast on this 1981 Louis Malle film, where Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory dine and converse about their lives-I hope they get dessert too! A cocktail reception and a conversation with Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn, and Bob Balaban follows the screening.
Cheap Chick Info: $10, main theater is sold out, but other tkts may be available day of show, and the cocktail reception is open to all.
Location Info: Maysles Cinema, 343 Lenox Ave.
Subway: A, C, B, D, 2, 3 to 125th St.

Radio Happy Hour
2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
An old-time radio show that features interviews, performances, and trivia. Today's event includes Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, and Chuck Klosterman.
Cheap Chick Info: $10 in advance, $12 day of show, 18+ only
Location Info: Le Poisson Rouge, 358 Bleecker
Subway: A,C,E,D,F to West 4th St.

Chelsea Art Gallery Hop With the Lunch Club
2 p.m.
Mingle with the arterati (is there such a word?) and don't forget your berets and black clothes.
Cheap Chick Info: $10 in advance or $15 at the door. RSVP here.
Location Info: Meet at Westside Tavern, 23rd bet. 8th and 9th
Subway: C,E to 23rd St.

Firefighter Auction
7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Things are sure to heat up with some of New York's hottest firefighters are auctioned off to the highest bidder! FDNY members will also sign their "City of the Brave" calendar.
Cheap Chick Info: Free, plus $3-$5 drink specials, but be careful on how much you bid ;-)
Location Info: Turtle Bay, 52nd and 2nd
Subway: E,6 to 51st and Lex.

Saturday November 14, 2009 and Sunday November 15, 2009
New-New Sale at Brooklyn Indie Mart
11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Start your pre-Thanksgiving holiday shopping at the Indie Mart with new artists' wares on display.
Cheap Chick Info: Free to attend, make your own purchases, but here's a link to a 10% off coupon!
Location Info: Smith and Union Streets in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Subway: F,G to Carroll Street

Sunday November 15, 2009
Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment
1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
I don't know if there will be any Oompa-Loompas, but I'm sure imagination will be used to create some interesting treats!
Cheap Chick Info: $20, get tkts here.
Location Info: Bell House, 149 7th Street, bet 2nd and 3rd Avenues
Subway: F,G (the R isn't running past 34th Street this w/e) to 9th St./4th Ave.

233rd Anniversary of the Battle of Fort Washington
12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Travel back in time to the American revolution and visit a recreation of a Continental Army camp, complete with musket demonstration. Historic photos and maps will be on display and there will be a blacksmith demonstration, and bagpipe performance.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Fort Tryon Park, Fort Washington Avenue, north of West 190th Street Cafe Lawn in Fort Tryon Park. Enter the park at Margaret Corbin Circle and take the path on your right to the first lawn.
Subway: A to 200th Street

Dutch Bouwerie, Irish Ale House, and the Yiddish King Lear-Historic Diversity in the East Vilage
1 p.m.
This 2-hour walking tour is led by Joyce Gold, a history teacher at NYU and the New School. Stops include McSorley's, Cooper Union, the Yiddish Rialto theater, and the sites of the Astor Place Opera Riot, and the General Slocum disaster.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: Meet at St. Mark's in the Bowery, E. 10th and 2nd Ave.
Subway: 6 to Astor Place

Here's a link to a coupon for 30% off at Banana Republic, Gap, and Old Navy. Plus Housing Works is having a sale on cookbooks!

There are tons of events going on in honor of Five Dutch Days, see what "uncanny" structures there are at Canstruction, and a new Sesame Street exhibit has started at the Brooklyn Public Library.

Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin, Nov. 10, 2009

Kick-off Party for Independent Bookstore Week
7-10 p.m.
Mingle with local authors including Kurt Andersen (Heyday), Jennifer Egan (The Keep), Michael Greenberg (Beg, Borrow, Steal), Josh Neufeld (A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge) and Sharon Zukin (Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places) and get down with your bad self to music by Jones Street Station. Independent Bookstore Week will run from Nov. 15-21st, 2009, check here for info on the week's events.
Cheap Chick Info: Suggested donation of $10
Location Info: PowerHouse Arena, 37 Main St., DUMBO, Brooklyn
Subway: F to York Street, A,C to High Street

Cheap Chick Weekend Picks, Nov. 6-8, 2009

Friday Nov. 6, 2009
Vermeer: Art in the Making
6 p.m.
Lecture about Vermeer's style and techniques in conjunction with Vermeer’s Masterpiece "The Milkmaid."
Cheap Chick Info: Free with museum admission (admission is pay-what-you-wish, you can pay as low as $1, or a little less, just tell the cashier you'd like to make a donation and hand over whatever you can afford to pay.
Location Info: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd Street, Meet in the Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall in the Uris Center for Education
Subway: 6 to 86th Street

Film Screening: Border Cafe
7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Watch an Iranian movie about a woman who runs her late husband's cafe even though she is threatened by the local male population. This event is presented in conjunction with the Global Film Initiative
Cheap Chick Info: $7 members/students/seniors; $11 nonmembers
Location Info: Asia Society Museum, 725 Park Avenue
Subway: 6 to 68th Street

Saturday Nov. 7, 2009
House of Diehl's Style Wars
10 p.m.
Calling all Project Runway fans! You'll be wondering if you are hearing Tim Gunn saying, "Make it work," when you see designers duke it out over vintage materials and present their creations on the runway. A celeb panel judges the competition, but you can snark amongst yourselves about who you think should be auf'ed.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: Don Hill's, 511 Greenwich Street
Subway: C,E to Spring St.

Comic Relief: New York's History in Funny Pages and Capes
11 a.m.
From the parks website, "Join us as we see the role NYC has played in the formation of the superhero myths and see the impact those caped crusaders have had on the very world around us."
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn
Subway: R,Q to Dekalb, C to Lafayette

Multiverse Playground

6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

3rd Ward and Paper Garden Records wants to challenge people's perceptions on music and art. Are you game? This "hypnotic and seductive" event includes a conceptual art performance, stand-up comedy, and of course, music.

Cheap Chick Info: $15 in advance, $20 at the door

Location Info: 3rd Ward, 195 Morgan Ave. bet Meadow and Stagg

Subway: L to Grand

Downtown Scramble Scavenger Hunt

2 p.m.

Those cell phones will finally pay off for you if they help you win the first prize of tickets to the Rock of Ages musical. Described as "mind bending" this hunt will have you running all over the downtown area all the way up to the Flatiron building. Wear some comfortable shoes and a bottle of water. Sounds like a good way to meet some new people!

Cheap Chick Info: $15-$20

Location Info: Meet at the Cube at Astor Place, Astor Place and Lafayette

Subway: 6 to Astor Place, N,R to 8th Street

Saturday Nov. 7 and Sunday Nov. 8, 2009
King Con Brooklyn
Freaks and geeks will gather in Brooklyn for the borough's own comic and animation convention and possibly seek out "new life," "strange new worlds," and perhaps someone in a Princess Leia in a gold bikini. There will be exhibitors, vendors, panelists, and signings. Some featured guests will be Act-I-Vate's Dean Haspiel, Northlanders' Brian Wood, illustrator Molly Crabapple, Matt Manning, Bob Greenberger, and and many others. Official website is here.
Cheap Chick Info: $7 per day or $10 for the weekend.
Location Info: Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 4th Ave., Park Slope
Subway: R to Union St.

Sunday Nov. 8, 2009
Who Does She Think She Is? screening and panel discussion
2:45 p.m.
Follow female artists from around the country as they juggle their artistic passions and roles of being wives and mothers. This film was created by the Academy-Award winning co-executive producer of Born Into Brothels, Pamela Tanner Boll. After the screening, a live interactive panel featuring Boll and the artists will originate at Symphony Space. The panel will be moderated by Courtney E. Martin, the award-winning author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: How the Quest for Perfection is Harming Young Women.
Cheap Chick Info: $11, $7 for members, $9 for seniors
Location Info: Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street
Subway: 1,2,3 to 96th Street,

BRUCE (Brooklyn Underground Chili Extravanganza)
Did not get a time, assume you should show up before 8 p.m.
There is more than one way to warm yourself up on a warm winter's night...that's right, you know what I'm talking about. And it's not the TK. Or anything else you might be thinking of that involves warm bodies, it's chili. Come sample chili from 10 competitiors. If you come before 8 p.m. you can enter to win a judge's slot.
Cheap Chick Info: Hmm, didn't get a price either, assume it's free...
Location Info: Barcade, 388 Union Ave., Williamsburg
Subway: G to Metropolitan/Lorimer

Madison Avenue Holiday Expo
10 a.m.
Don't you just love how retailers skip right over Thanksgiving and straight to Christmas and Hannakuh? My neighborhood in Queens already has tinsel decorations up, and Starbucks is serving in their special holiday cups...anyway if you want to get a jump-start to holiday shopping before you've even bought your turkey, then check out crafts and other goodies on the Ave.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Madison Ave. bet. 42nd and 57th Street

Subway: Varies, but the 6 to Grand Central should give you a good start!

Remember that the Bryant Park ice skating rink opens this weekend with special festivities, it's free on First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum, and at Housing Works Bookstore save 30% on books, CDs, and DVDs.