Cheap Chick NYC, Cheap and Free Weekend Event Picks, August 27-29, 2010

Friday August 27, 2010

Take a sip of the bubbly at the Prestigious Wine and Champagne Tasting tonight at Drink (235 E. 69^th St.) 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

See Ironman (mmm, Robert Downey Jr...) for free tonight on the deck of the Intrepid at 7:30 p.m. http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/Summer-Movie-Series.aspx

Keep watch for a damn, dirty ape (wait I think that’s another movie…) on the Empire State Building during the Central Park Conservancy’s screening of King Kong tonight at 8 p.m. north of Sheep Meadow.

Will you want kids after seeing Rosemary’s Baby? You decide after catching the flick at the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center (http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/recreationcenters/M103 ) tonight at 8 p.m.

Viva Mexico! at the Queens Museum of Art’s free Passport Friday event! 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. http://www.queensmuseum.org/target-passport-fridays-mexico

Rock around the clock tonight by swing dancing to 50’s hits provided by Nick Palumbo! Get there at 7 p.m. for a free swing dancing lesson. At 8 p.m. it’s three sets of music! BAR NINE, 807 Ninth Ave. (bet. 53rd and 54th Streets), $15.

Saturday August 28, 2010

I don’t know about you, but I’d let Johnny Depp cut my hair any day, even with scissors for hands! Edward Scissorhands is playing at Symphony Space for $5, 5 p.m. http://www.symphonyspace.org/series/150?source=homepage

It’s not only a borough, it’s also a movie! See Manhattan in Central Park north of Sheep’s Meadow at 8 p.m.

It’s curtains for this season of New York Classical Theater, help them celebrate with an end-of-season party at Dive Bar, Amsterdam Ave (between 95^th and 96^th), starts at 9:30 p.m. and a $10 donation benefits New York Classical Theater.

Moonwalk your way over to Le Poisson Rouge’s (158 Bleecker) free Michael Jackson Birthday tribute, hosted by Michael T & Deryck Todd. Festivities start at 11 p.m.

Have a ‘wet, hot, American summer’ with a water balloon fight to support Greenpoint Open Studios! 3 p.m. India St. Mural (West St. and The East River), $10.

Saturday August 28, 2010 and Sunday August 29, 2010

Sail around the harbor with free tugboat rides as part of Tug and Barge Week (through Monday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.) Brooklyn Bridge Park - Pier 6 at the foot of Atlantic Avenue (past Furman Street)

Get those jazz hands ready, Governors Island is playing host to the Jazz Age Lawn party this weekend, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Directions to the island here: http://www.govisland.com/html/visit/directions.shtml

This weekend “the bird is the word” with the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival at Marcus Garvey Park on Saturday and at Tompkins Square Park on Sunday-the event is free and runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Wave Hill Honey Weekend! Hopefully it tastes like the “bee’s knees,” but you’ll have to find out for yourself at Wave Hill’s Natural Sweets: Cooking with Honey Demo and Tasting on Saturday. Learn all about honey from Assistant Director of Public Programs Laurel Rimmer, and sample recipes that incorporate the sweet treat! (http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2010/08/28/cooking-with-honey-at-wave-hill) The program is free with admission to Wave Hill ($8) and starts at 2 p.m. On Sunday make a beeswax candle ($15 for supplies as they last) 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. http://www.wavehill.org/calendar/event_2383.html

Old and New Money: Victorian Fifth Avenue and Central Park West Walking Tour, “A tour of the two great boulevards of wealth—CPW and 5th Ave--and how their architecture reflects the social aspects of the Victorian communities that lived there. Stops include the Dakota, the Prasada, and the Payne Whitney and Henry Clay Frick mansions.” 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, $18, Call 212-465-3331 for reservation and meeting place.

Sunday August 29, 2010

Makes you wonder what your neighbors are really up to…watch Rear Window at Symphony Space for $12, http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/6383-rear-window

Find romance on the LES with the Museum at Eldridge Street’s Love and Courtship Tour, 2 p.m., $15, RSVP here: http://www.eldridgestreet.org/calendar-newyork-events.html

Relive the Battle of Brooklyn (that’s the Revolutionary War, folks!) with a trolley ride through Green-Wood Cemetery. Tkts are going fast (it’s $20, make reservations here: http://www.green-wood.com/store.php/store/category/2/tour/124) There will also be free events including a re-enactment and parade! http://www.green-wood.com/store.php/store/category/2/event/6/detail

Look out for zombies at Prospect Park’s Second Annual Michael Jackson Brooklyn Birthday Extravaganza, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Nethermead.

Lincoln Center is hosting free outdoor HD opera screenings at Lincoln Center Plaza and tonight is Roméo et Juliette at 7:30 p.m.

Pay Less for Plays in NYC, Part Three

Editor's Note: This is the third part of a multi-part series on saving money on Broadway and off-Broadway theater tkts. Part One is here, and Part Two is here.

Websites:

Another “ticket” to saving money on theater tkts is the Internet. These sites are great sources of discount and even free tkts!

Goldstar, http://www.goldstar.com/events/browse/10112 (New York City)

Playbill, http://www.playbill.com/

Theatermania, http://www.theatermania.com/

http://www.Nytix.com

Stubhub, http://www.stubhub.com/#theater

http://www.Broadwaybox.com

http://www.Lunchtix.com

http://www.Hitshowclub.com

http://www.Hiptix.com

http://www.High5tix.com

http://www.Schooltix.com

http://www.Studentrush.org

http://www.Broadway.com

http://www.livebroadway.com

Applause, http://www.applause-tickets.com/

Audience Extras, http://www.audienceextras.com

Play by Play, http://www.play-by-play.com

Theater Extras, http://www.theaterextras.com

Save with Social Media: Make “friends” and stalk, I mean “follow” your favorite venues online via Facebook and Twitter for news on their latest deals and discounts.

Cheap Chick NYC Cheap and Free Weekend Event Picks, August 20-22, 2010

Friday August 20, 2010

Housing Works Bookstore (126 Crosby St.) is playing host to a reading sponsored by the online literary journal “Open Letters Monthly” to celebrate its new print edition. The free reading runs from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

I don’t know if Olivia Newton-John will “get physical” at this screening of Xanadu, but you can find out at 92ndY Tribeca’s screening tonight at 10 p.m. Tkts are $13, buy them here: http://www.92y.org/shop/92Tri_event_detail.asp?category=92Tri+92YTribeca+Film888&productid=T-MM5FA40

“Yo!” Watch Rocky for free on the flight deck of the Intrepid at dusk (around 8:30 p.m.) http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/

Eat all the crayfish you could want (I wonder how many that could actually be…) at the IKEA Brooklyn for $10, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Grand Central’s Dining Week starts today and runs through the 29^th. Check out the food specials here: http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/info/diningWeek2010.cfm

Say au revoir to Rooftop Films’ summer season with a series of films focused on farewells. Tonight’s venue is the Old American Can Factory-tkts are sold-out for the rooftop, but you can still purchase courtyard seats: http://www.rooftopfilms.com/

Saturday August 21, 2010

For all the undead fun you could want, catch Night of the Living Dead for free on the rooftop of the LES Tony Dapolito Recreation Center at 8:30 p.m. http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/recreationcenters/M103

My third grad self sooo had a crush on Fred Savage! He can be found today at the Symphony Space’s 5 p.m. screening of The Princess Bride. $5, https://tickets.symphonyspace.org/public/loader.asp?target=hall.asp?event=79

Pick up some new duds and trade off your own at the Park Slope Co-op’s clothing swap. 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. http://www.foodcoop.com

Walk, not wok, at the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas (MOCA) Experience Chinatown walking tour. The tour is led by trained MOCA guides and includes stops such as “the oldest row house in Manhattan, a Catholic church, the oldest general store in Chinatown, and a Chinese eatery that catered to the needs of Chinatown’s turn-of-the-century “bachelor society.” The tour runs from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and costs $15. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 212-619-4785 or emailing education@mocanyc.org with your name, contact information, and number of people in your group. Meet in the lobby at 215 Centre Street.

If you have the midnight munchies, head to Queens where food blogger Jeff Orlick is leading a free (pay-for-food-as-you-go) from Woodside to Jackson Heights covering 25 blocks of Queens foodie goodness. Meet at Terraza 7 Train Café, 40-19 Gleane St. at 10 p.m. The tour runs until 3 a.m. (you’ll get a map and language guide to translate the local food language) and you’ll end up at the beer garden at Starting Gate Bar, 59-10 Woodside Ave.

Sunday August 22, 2010

Did you know that Red Hook has a Norweigian past? I didn’t! Find out more on this free walking tour! Even though the tour is free, reservations are strongly recommended. http://walkingtourlarsnilsen.eventbrite.com/

Try to keep a smile on your face as you pig out on pork and ribs and other lip-smackin’ treats at the 11th Annual Hudson River Park Blues BBQ Festival. Free, pay-for-what-you-eat, Hudson River Park, Pier 54, at 14th St. and West St.

Find out if tomatoes and ice cream go together at the New Amsterdam Market, which is presenting samples of both foods. Tickets are $20 for ice cream or tomatoes, and $35 for tastings of ice cream and tomatoes together. Buy tkts here: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/122747

Fall in love with your own “Love Bug” at Governors Island VW Car Show. Event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free. Take the ferry to Governors Island, the sked is here: http://www.govisland.com/html/visit/directions.shtml

Music and food come together at the Farm to Folk Fest Benefit concert and Artisanal Food Fair. Union Pool, a $12 suggested donation benefits the Greenpoint-Williamsburg CSA. http://greenpoint-williamsburgcsa.blogspot.com/2010/08/farm-to-folk-fest-sunday-august-22nd.html

It’s not Far and Away, but Habana Outpost is hosting a free screening of Cocktail tonight at sundown (around 8:30 p.m.) http://cafehabanablog.wordpress.com/events/

Spring cleaning? Why not summer cleaning? Trade up your clothes for new ones at Stop & Swap, A Swap-o-Rama-Rama event. $10 plus a bag of clothing, shoes, and other items to swap. You can also get in touch with your crafty side with workshops on embellishment and adornment. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nuryoican Poets Café, 236 E. 3rd St. bet B and C.

Pay Less for Plays in NYC, Part Two

Editor's Note: This is the second part in a multi-part series on saving money at the theater.

Read on for more ways to save on and off-Broadway! Part One is here.
Ushering-If you don’t mind donning black and white, then you may consider ushering to see shows for free. Here is a list of off-Broadway theaters that often use ushers (if a theater you want to usher at isn’t on the list, just go to the box office and ask!):


Manhattan Theater Club at the Biltmore Theater, http://www.manhattantheatreclub.com
The Roundabout Theater Company and Studio 54, http://www.roundabouttheatre.org
Atlantic Theater Company, http://www.atlantictheatre.org
Blue Man Group, http://www.blueman.com
Cherry Lane Theatre, http://www.cherrylanetheatre.com
Classic Stage Company, http://www.classicstage.org
The Culture Project, http://www.cultureproject.org
Drama Department, http://www.dramadept.org
Encores, City Center, http://www.citycenter.org
Here Performance Art Café, http://www.here.org
Irish Arts Center, http://www.irishartscenter.org
Irish Repertory Theater, http://www.irishrepertorytheatre.com
The Joyce Theatre, http://www.joyce.org
The Lamb’s Theatre, http://www.lambstheatre.org
The Laura Pells Theatre, http://www.roundabouttheatre.org
Lucille Lortel Theatre, http://www.lortel.org
Manhattan Theatre Club, http://www.manhattantheatreclub.com
MCC Theater, http://www.mcctheater.org
Mint Theater Company, http://www.minttheater.org
The New Group Theater, http://www.thenewgroup.org
New World Stages, http://www.newworldstages.com
New York Theater Workshop, http://nytw.org
The Pearl Theater Company, http://www.pearltheater.org
Performance Space 122, http://www.ps122.org
Playwrights Horizons, http://www.playwrightshorizons.org
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, http://www.rattlestick.org
Second Stage Theater, http://www.2st.com
Signature Theatre Company, http://www.signaturetheatre.org
Soho Playhouse, http://www.sohoplayhouse.com
Theatre Row, http://www.theatrerow.org
Vineyard Theatre, http://www.vineyardtheatre.org
Women’s Project Theatre, http://www.womensproject.org
The Wooster Group, http://www.thewoostergroup.org

Summer Savings-Summertime is a great time to save on plays, I know Summer 2010 is drawing to a close, but keep these in mind for the end of the summer and next year!:

Shakespeare in the Park (CP), as long as you’re willing to wait in line or want to try your luck with the virtual lottery, then the celeb stars of these products are worth the effort for tkts. http://www.publictheater.org/

NY Classical Theater, If you don’t mind a little exercise, follow the actors in this company around city parks to catch up on all those plays you didn’t read in high school! http://www.newyorkclassical.org

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, this is safe enough since I presume the cars have all been moved out! http://www.shakespeareintheparkinglot.org/

Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin, For Tuesday August 17, 2010, Le Soiree Rouge is back!

My friends over at Red Productions are bringing back the salon/party known as Le Soiree Rouge tomorrow (Tuesday) night!

This (free!) party starts at 8 p.m. and runs to 1 a.m. and "beyond!" at People Lounge on the LES (163 Allen St. bet Stanton and Rivington)

In-between mingling, eating, and drinking (don't forget to don your nightclub black with a touch of rouge-red for those of you who missed out on high school French) the night's entertainment features:

SWING DANCING TO THE MUSIC OF MISS SARAH HAYES AND THE PROHIBITION PLAYBOYs AND THE VIRGINIA MARCS SWING ENSEMBLE

SELECT OPERA ARIAS WITH MISS BROOKE EDWARDS AND MISS VIRGINIA MARCS

A Reading of Scenes from a New Play By Gordon Farrell “Threshold: Stories From Girls Who Broke the Rules”

And The Featured Event Of The Evening: THE WORLD PREMIER SCREENING OF A NEW SHORT FILM BY JON CAZARES “THE IMPOSSIBLE DEMONSTRATION” An account of the meeting between Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Cheap Chick NYC, Cheap and Free Weekend Event Picks, August 13-15, 2010

Friday August 13, 2010

The multi-arts Fringe Festival starts today and runs through the 29^th, http://www.fringenyc.org/

If you thought it’s been hot this summer, wait until you see Al Pacino’s Dog Day Afternoon at Freebird Books. The movie begins at sunset, http://freebirdbooks.blogspot.com/

Rooftop Films is screening Last Train Home (a documentary of Chinese migration from the cities to the countryside during the new year) at the Old American Can Factory. Doors open at 8 p.m., tkts are $10, buy here: http://www.rooftopfilms.com/2010/schedule/39-last-train-home

Could Deep Impact really happen? Find out tonight at 7p.m. during this screening and lecture given by Columbia’s Astronomy Program! This free event is being held at Columbia’s Pupin Hall (Subway: 1 to 116^th St.) and includes stargazing on the roof.

Practice your Portuguese for the Queens Museum of Art’s Passport Fridays! Tonight you're traveling to Brazil! 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. http://www.queensmuseum.org

Saturday August 14, 2010

Couples are invited to relive that famous 1945 kiss today in Times Square, with events honoring World War II veterans, makeup for the big smooch by Maybelline, and a “re-enactment of the legendary lip-lock” at noon. There will be free sailor hats or roses for the first 200 participants and prizes will be awarded for the best-themed couples. Admission is free and the event is running from 10 (doors open) to 12 p.m. at the Military Island, at the Broadway and 7th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets. For more info and to register, click here: http://timessquarenyc.org/about_us/events_vjday.html

Don’t you wish you could dress up as a shower for Halloween? If so, be sure to catch Symphony Space’s screening of (the original) Karate Kid. Did you do any waxing before the movie? Just checking! 5 p.m., http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/6415-the-karate-kid-the-original-?source=calendar

Take a walking tour of Harlem “from the beautiful homes of Hamilton Heights to the row houses of Strivers’ Row, from the night clubs and speakeasies of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance to the famous Apollo Music Hall, Sugar Hill, and The Schomburg Center. Walk the streets where Langston Hughes, Madame C.J. Walker, A’Leila Walker, Florence Mills, Countee Cullen, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and other luminaries once lived.” Meet at the NE corner of 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. $15

See Paul Simon’s Capeman, a musical based on the life of Salvador Agrón for free at the Delacorte Theater (through August 16^th.) Tkts available via distribution at the theater and online virtual ticketing, more info here: http://shakespeareinthepark.org/?nav=specialEvent

Break out that can of spinach for 92YTribeca’s Popeye screening (surely Robin Williams' pivotal role, no?) during the Nilsson Schmilsson: A Tribute to Harry Nilsson event. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tkts are $12, $18 for screening and musical show. Buy them here: http://www.92y.org/shop/92Tri_event_detail.asp?category=92TRI+92YTribeca+Harry+Nilsson888&productid=T-MM5FA38

Get down and dirty with The Waste Land, a documentary detailing artist’s Vic Muniz’s experiences in Rio’s biggest landfill, which is being screened on the rooftop of El Museo del Barrio tonight at 8 p.m. Tkts are $10, and reservations are strongly recommended: http://www.elmuseo.org/en/event/waste-land

Dance the day away with Battery Dance Company’s free dance festival, http://www.batterydanceco.com/

When you attend Wave Hill’s cooking demonstration (A Salute to Plant Families), you’ll definitely want to eat all your vegetables! You’ll learn how certain plant families are related (this week, beans and peas), can enjoy food prepared by chefs from Great Performances, and take a tour of the garden with Horticultural Interpreter Charles Day. Event is free and starts at 2 p.m. http://www.wavehill.org/calendar/event_2380.html

Sweeten your Saturday with a free Crumbs cupcake! The new Brooklyn location is giving away 1,000 today at their new Brooklyn location, http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/21135

If you’re feeling nostalgic for those childhood summers then head to Governors Island to play Capture the Flag this afternoon! http://levysuniqueny.com/events/zombies-vs-commandos-governors-island/

Saturday and Sunday August 14 and 15, 2010

The Brooklyn Inked Tattoo and Arts Convention is being held at the Shangri-La Studio at 100 Sutton Street (I just hope that no one named Rusty Needles is leading a session!), brooklyninked.com, cost is $15 for a day and $25 for a weekend pass.

Sunday August 15, 2010

The Urban Park Rangers are sudsing it up today with a free tour of Brewer’s Row in Brooklyn, once the home of a number of brewing companies. Tour begins at 11 a.m., meet at Bushwick and Montrose Avenues, take the L to Montrose.

You may think it’s easy as pie to pick the winners at Prospect Park’s Pie in the Park competition, but it sounds like a tough decision to me! Tasting ($10) begins at 2 p.m. and the contest will be held across from the tennis house at the south end of Long Meadow.

Pay Less for Plays in NYC, Part One

Editor's Note: This is the first entry in a multi-part series on saving money on Broadway and off-Broadway tkts. Enjoy!

In NYC, the play's often the thing, but unfortunately not when the cost of tickets upstage the contents of your wallet. Never fear, the cheap chick is here with a variety of suggestions to save money when buying theater tickets!


TKTS booths-At these NYC standards, you can stand shoulder to shoulder with tourists wearing hip sacks and wait in line to get up to 50% off ticket prices. http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56

Lotteries-Many Broadway and off-Broadway shows offer a lottery for discount tickets on the day of the show. Be sure to check the show’s website to see if they offer a lottery, and note the time you must arrive in order to be entered into the drawing. Lotteries are great, but often involve waiting in line and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get tickets, but if it works, you have attained the Holy Grail of theater-going.

Student IDs-I’m here to tell you that if you still have your college ID and bear at least the slightest resemblance to your picture, then I beg of you, please use it to get discount tickets. All you have to do is take your student ID to the box office (and cash-many of the theaters don’t take debit/credit cards for student rush deals) to purchase these tkts for about $20-$25 each. Generally you need to buy these tkts when the box office opens or a few hours before the show starts.

Show websites-Before you decide to stand in line at the TKTS booth, you may want to check the show’s actual website, many offer discounts and the option of signing up for email lists to keep on top of upcoming specials and deals.

Craigslist: You can find a job, love, and bookshelves on craigslist. Why not check it for theater tickets here? http://newyork.craigslist.org/tix/

Rush tickets-Got some time before the show starts? Wait on line at the box office 20-30-minutes before the show starts and see if there are any cheap tkts available from the no-shows. Their empty seat is your gain!

Stand and Believe!-If you don’t mind using your own two legs to earn cheap theatre tkts, you can buy standing-room only tkts for most Broadway shows. You can only get these tkts on the day of the show and only if it’s sold out, but the price ranges only from $15-$25 and you may get to view the show right behind the orchestra. Check with the box office for info on individual shows.

Cheap Chick NYC, Cheap and Free Weekend Event Picks, August 6-8, 2010

Friday August 6, 2010

Get ready for boozy bingo with the Underground Rebel Bingo Club! Be primed to yell B-I-N-G-O from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. at a secret location revealed when you buy tkts ($15), http://www.meanredproductions.com/current.php

The tale of star-crossed lovers unfolds under the stars in Hudson Warehouse’s free production of “Romeo and Juliet!” 6 p.m. at West 89th and Riverside Drive

Raiders of the Lost Ark screens for free on the Intrepid at 8:30 p.m.

Enjoy traditional West African music with Papa Susso at the Bartow-Pell Mansion’s First Fridays event, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., http://www.bartowpellmansionmuseum.org/events/calendar.php#papa

Sip cocktails at the Cooper-Hewitt garden from 6 to 9 p.m. (Free with museum admission, $15) http://events.cooperhewitt.org/ (cash bar)

What’s in box number two? Find out at Starbox’s free performance installation with more than 20 performers and a special surprise star hiding in a box! Bryant Park’s Fountain Terrace, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Doomed Love and the Devilles at Rooftop Films tonight, $10, http://www.rooftopfilms.com/2010/schedule/36-doomed-love-and-the-devilles

Don’t forget that Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors is still going strong this w/e! http://new.lincolncenter.org/live/index.php/lc-ood-2010

New York Classical Theater’s production of “Much Ado About Nothing” (is there such a thing as too much ado?) in Central Park (103^rd and Central Park West) begins at 7 p.m. tonight! (Runs through August 29, 2010.)

Visit the Middle East at the Queens Museum of Art’s Passport Fridays! Starts at 6:30 p.m. http://www.queensmuseum.org/tagged/passport-fridays-2010

Do they or don’t they? Prefer blondes that is…Find out during the Film Forum’s run of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes that starts tonight and runs for a week! http://www.filmforum.org/films/gentlemen.html

Saturday August 7, 2010

You too could channel Morticia and Gomez Addams (?) at tonight’s Argentine tango party! $15 gets you a group lesson during the first hour and light refreshments. 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the 92^nd Street Y. Buy tkts here: http://www.92y.org/shop/event_detail.asp?productid=T-AD5DP01

Isn’t it romantic? Find love on the LES at the Museum at Eldridge Street’s Love and Courtship Walking Tour at 2 p.m. $15, make reservation here: http://www.eldridgestreet.org/calendar-newyork-events.html

Pretend you’re a hot child in the city with Summer Streets 2010, when area streets are temporarily closed on Park Avenue and connecting streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park!

There’s more to Coney Island than hot dogs! Learn the history of the historic amusement park from urban historian Joe Svehlak and even take a swim afterward if you want. Pay $15 at tour, meet at 10 a.m. at the NE corner of Stillwell and Surf

Aw shucks! Learn the art of shucking oysters from chef Nick Korbee, and then dig-in to a brunch including Penn Cove oysters and other treats all for just $18! 11:15 a.m., Smith & Mills, 71 North Moore St.) more info here: http://www.smithandmills.com

Together for Haiti is the theme at this month’s Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturday party. http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/first_saturdays.php

Help decide who Mr. Cyclone will be in a contest hosted by Murray Hill and Miss Cyclone, Angie Pontani, taking place at, where else? The Cyclone! Noon to 3 p.m., free!

Sunday August 8, 2010

Keep on truckin’ at the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market with the Gourmet Food Truck Bazaar! Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, W. 39th St. (at Tenth Ave.) 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Celebrate Peace Prayer Flags in the World at the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art (on Staten Island, take the S74 bus to Lighthouse Avenue after leaving the SI Ferry) with a lecture on the history of the prayer flags from artists Joseph L. Vasile and Phagyab Rinpoche and the chance to make your flags. 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., $10 donation.

Free admission to Historic Richmond Town today as part of their Community Day Festivities! http://www.historicrichmondtown.org/component/eventlist/details/319

Saturday and Sunday August 7 and 8, 2010

This isn’t the Triwizard Tournament, so no dragons of the fire-breathing breed will be on-hand, but you can still cheer on the participants of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Saturday and Sunday this weekend. More info here: http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/keyword+dragon+boat/

I don’t know if you’ll learn to make a dress out of curtains, but there will be soldiers and other re-enactors sharing the way life was lived in the Civil War at Governors Island, http://www.govisland.com/html/visit/this_week.shtml

Housing Works Bookstore is having another 30% off sale Saturday and Sunday as well! http://www.housingworks.org/events/detail/monthly-30-off-sale-all-day-august-7th-and-8th/