Cheap and Free NYC Weekend Events, July 29-31, 2011

Also Check out my July Summer Guide (http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/07/cheap-and-free-july-2011-summer-events.html), my Summer Museum Guide, (http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nyc-cheap-and-free-summer-museum.html) and my Summer Movie Guide (http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/06/cheap-and-free-nyc-summer-movie-guide.html )for more cheap and free NYC events going on this weekend!

Friday July 29, 2011

Don’t just read all about the news, sing about it at the Newsies sing-a-long! Mmmm (Homer Simpson-like drool) young Christian Bale! 8 p.m., The Bell House, 149 7th St., bet Second and Third Aves., $8, buy tkts here: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=3773135&pl=bellpl

Hide all bunny rabbits before going to see a screening of Fatal Attraction, 7:30 p.m., City Reliquary, 370 Metropolitan Avenue, $7 donation for flick, and $3 donation for Brooklyn Lager and $5 donation for cocktails!

If you need an evening caffeine fix take a free tour at Counter Culture Coffee NYC's La Marzocco Strada Electric Paddle espresso machine, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Counter Culture Coffee Training Center, 37 W. 26th St., free!

Saturday July 30, 2011

Celebrate Essex’s 11^th birthday with free drinks during an open bar session! 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. after 12:30 drinks will still be half-price, Essex, 120 Essex Street, free!

Ar' you ready to be a pirate? You’ve come to the right place, today’s Treasure Cove Pirate Fest (described as a Red Hook Nature and Maritime Celebration) will surely rock the boat! 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., IKEA Erie Basin Park, One Beard St., Red Hook, Brooklyn, looks free, more info here: http://emmredhookpirates.blogspot.com/

Take a walk on the tall side with a free High Line tour that covers the length of Section One, 11 a.m., meet at Gansevoort Plaza, under the High Line at the corner of Gansevoort and Washington Streets, free!

Did video games kill the film star? Decide for yourself during Rooftop Films’ Kill Screen Videogame Film Festival, Doors open at 8 p.m., with music until the movies start at 9 p.m., Roof of Old American Can Factory, Gowanus/Slope, 232 Third St. at 3rd Ave. $10 online or at the door! Buy tkts here: http://rooftopfilms.ticketleap.com/rooftop-films-kill-screen-videogame-film-festival/ (in the event of rain, the show will be rescheduled).

Did you ever raid Barry Manilow’s closet? I don't know if you have, but if can tear yourself away from the Copa, you can watch The Breakfast Club tonight, 8 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95^th Street, $7, buy tkts here: https://tickets.symphonyspace.org/public/loader.asp?target=hall.asp?event=6833

Tour Carroll Gardens with the Municipal Arts Society! “This tour covers Carroll Gardens—a name that did not exist until the 1960s. Home to a surprisingly (some say scandalously) tiny historic district, with brownstones set uniquely behind deep front gardens, as well as some of Brooklyn’s masterpieces of Greek Revival and Romanesque Revival architecture, Carroll Gardens also has a rich social and physical history, rife with mysteries and misconceptions,” 11 a.m., meeting place provided at registration, tour is nearly full as-of press time, but there are still spots available by calling 212-935-2075, $15!

Time to “follow the yellow brick road” to Lincoln Center for a Wizard of Oz Sing-a-Long, 11:30 a.m., Film Society of Lincoln Center, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 65^th Street bet. Broadway and Amsterdam, $12!

The record label Mad Decent is hosting a free block party today featuring a variety of bands, Noon, South Street Seaport, 19 Fulton St. at Front Street, free!

Test your knowledge of New York’s financial history during the Race Around Wall Street! Teams of two or more will run around the financial district solving clues to win cash and museum prices, the event begins at 11 a.m., but teams are asked to arrive bet. 10:30 and 10:45 a.m., meet at the Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall Street, cost is $25 per team in advance, with limited registration on the day of the event available at $35 per team! Pre-register here: http://www.moaf.org/events/general/evt_20110730!

Plus salute the sun with some free yoga at McCarren Park (at Fieldhouse Grass from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.), enjoy free "Great Jazz on the Great Lawn" in Central Park (2 p.m. to 5 p.m., enter the park at West 106th Street), and learn everything you wanted to know about Jim Henson at the Museum of the Moving Image's lecture in conjunction with their current exhibition (http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2011/07/30/detail/muppet-history-101 1 p.m./$10 includes admission and lecture)!

Saturday and Sunday July 30 and 31, 2011

Cool off with an indoor tour of Grand Central with Discovery Walking Tours! “Stops include Grand Central's "whispering arch"; Vanderbilt Hall; a secret apartment used as a speakeasy during the 1920s; JM Hewlett’s classic ceiling mural with its mysterious constellations painted in reverse; and Jules Coutan’s Roman group god sculpture -- a crowning masterpiece to the structure,” 11:45 a.m., call212-465-3331 for meeting place and to RSVP, $18!

Don't slam it before you attend it! Governors Island is hosting the first-ever NYC Poetry Festival! Should be a great event and will include around a 100 poets, more than 30 reading series, reps from groups like the Bowery Poetry Club, TypewriterGirls, Nuyorican Poets Café, KGB, and the Poetry Project, and vendors on-hand selling food, drinks, and crafts! 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Governors Island, directions here: http://www.govisland.com/html/visit/directions.shtml, free!

Traverse the water to Governor’s Island with Discovery Walking Tours! “You will see the location of Reagan and Gorbachev’s last summit; the site of a Revolutionary War fort, a Confederate prison camp, and the homes of two Civil War heroes – both candidates for the presidency,” 1:30 p.m., Call 212-465-3331 for meeting time and registration, $18!

Sunday July 31, 2011

Find some Floo powder and a fireplace (make sure it isn’t boarded up!) and head to a Harry and the Potters Concert, 7 p.m., Knitting Factory, 361 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, Tkts are $10 in advance and $12 at the door! Buy them here: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/42619?utm_medium=api

It will probably be the smartest party you ever attend! Brooklyn Brainery is celebrating the anniversary of the first SAT (According to the website The 110 year, 1 month, 1 week and 1 day anniversary, to be exact) with crawfish, cheap drinks, mini classes, plus take a difficult standardized to win free classes, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Reservations are required and can be made here: http://brooklynbrainery.com/blog/123-Summer-Party-Explosion-Sunday-July-31, free!

Sweeten your sweet tooth with a walking tour to four Chelsea, Village, and Soho chocolate makers hosted by Walking Tours Manhattan, 11 a.m., meet at the Lulu Bake Boutique, 8th Ave. bet 15th and 16th, $5 donation to the Food Bank of New York for the tour and then pay-as-you-go for chocolate treats!

Plus all weekend long take in a Native American Pow-Wow at the Queens County Farm Museum (http://www.queensfarm.org/events.html, scroll down for event info), catch performances of the "Merry Wives of Windsor" (re-imagined in 80’s Brooklyn http://bravenewworldrep.org/current-season/), and "Hamlet" (performed in a parking lot (http://shakespeareintheparkinglot.com/#hamlet), and it’s Animation Weekend at BAM (http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=3361)!

Free NYC Concerts and Tickets: The Early Bird Gets the Worm!

If you don't mind setting your alarm early, then you might want to get up tomorrow to score free seats at these events!

Journey at Rockefeller Center for Today Show Concert, 7 a.m., but I would get there well before 7 a.m. Don't stop believin' (!) http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/3041478/


Those 80's icons Debbie (or Deborah) Gibson and Tiffany are playing a free concert at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield as part of the Good Morning America Concert Series, 8:30 a.m., again get there early! http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/SummerConcert/



And if you want to sleep in a little later, Lincoln Center is handing out free tkts on Friday the 29th, for its Mostly Mozart free concert on Saturday at Avery Fisher Hall, 10 a.m. Friday for concert on Saturday (just want to make sure that's clear!) http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=213992411972596


If you want to channel your roller derby fantasies, the first 500 people to enter the new roller rink under the High Line get in free (otherwise $12 gets you in and covers skate rental! http://www.thehighline.org/the-lot/high-line-rink

Cheap and Free NYC Weekend Events, July 22-24, 2011

Check out my July Summer Guide (http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/07/cheap-and-free-july-2011-summer-events.html), my Summer Museum Guide, (http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nyc-cheap-and-free-summer-museum.html) and my Summer Movie Guide (http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/06/cheap-and-free-nyc-summer-movie-guide.html )for more cheap and free NYC events going on this weekend!

Plus a few suggestions on cheap and free places to cool down! http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/

Friday July 22, 2011

Oh, tell me more about those summer nights! Spend one at the Frick, which is hosting a new Summer Night program tonight featuring live music, and curator lectures, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Frick Museum, 1 East 70th Street at Fifth Ave., free!

That’s flamenco the dance (not to be confused with those pink birds of a similar name) that will be gracing the city tonight! Watch Rebeca Thomas perform her moves tonight while enjoying $5 food and drink specials, Sets are at 8:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., 9:45 p.m., and 10:30 p.m. (reservations for a specific set are required), The Wine Spot, 127 Macdougal Street, $5 cover charge per set, per person, email Info@wineandteaspot.com or call 212-505-1248 for more info and reservations!

Regress to summers past and keep cool with Sprinkler Fest! 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, 1000 Richmond Terrace, (Directions here: http://www.celebrateatsnugharbor.com/directions.html) free!

Worse than Scrooge? Decide for yourself during an outdoor performance of Moliere’s comedy of manners, “The Miser,” 8:30 p.m., Old Stone House, 336 3rd Street, Piper Theater, Brooklyn, free!


Pair chocolate and wine together during a night of networking, entertainment, and fundraising (part of the proceeds will be donated to "Love Her Heart" a campaign that brings awareness to women and heart disease) at the Chocolate, Wine & Gratitude Tasting, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Samsung Expereince, Time Warner Building, 10 Columbus Circle, bet. 58th and 59th Streets, $20, buy tkts here: http://adochocolateandwine.eventbrite.com/

I think it’s one of those things where you can’t have one without the other…dating and food converge tonight (along with literature-some of the best things in life, I think!) at the Approximation of Pi(e) Singles Mixer (7/22 is apparently the approximation of pi-the math kind, not the edible kind), which is being sponsored by WORD Bookstore’s Between the Covers literary matchmaking board, and The Brooklyn Kitchen’s Foodie Matchmaking Board, 7 p.m., The Diamond, 43 Franklin St., Brooklyn, free! Go here for a link to the FB page: http://www.wordbrooklyn.com/event/approximation-pie-singles-mixer-diamond

Sadly (?) bid farewell to Borders as liquidations begin today at all the store’s NYC locations-this means discounts! (http://www.dnainfo.com/20110719/upper-west-side/borders-close-time-warner-center-store-all-other-locations)

Friday and Saturday July 22 and 23, 2011

Not just for cars anymore, parking lots now have another lease on life! Catch a free performance of Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” put on by Shakespeare in the Parking Lot’s company, 8 p.m., parking lot at Ludlow and Broome, free!

Saturday July 23, 2011

Gather your gal pals together to brunch and swap up for some new summer duds, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Galway Hooker, 7 E. 36 Street, $18! Gets you brunch (includes tax, tip, one entree and two drinks), and access to the swap, the group asks that you please bring the exact amount in cash, for more info and to RSVP, visit their website, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/someofthegirls

The DeKalb market opens today with BBQ, antiques, and vintage clothing on the menu! Free beer and wine spritzers will also be served, Looks like 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. , Flatbush and Willoughby in Brooklyn, pay for what you buy, free drinks! (after today the market will be open seven days a week!)

Ditch those Kindles and head out to the Harlem Book Fair for real, live books plus author panels, events, and workshops, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., West 135th Street between Malcolm X Blvd. (Lenox Avenue) and Fredrick Douglas Blvd. (8th Avenue), looks free! Here is the official website for more info: http://www.harlembookfair.com/

Hopefully none ends up in your face at the Daisy Flour Pie Competition at Brooklyn Kitchen! Compete or just taste-test, with all proceeds from the event benefitting the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Brooklyn Kitchen, 100 Frost Street, $5, buy tkts here: http://www.thebrooklynkitchen.com/web-store/index.php?product=07-23+PIEINTHESKY&c=1

Cool off with a magical flute performance given by Robert Mirabal, 2 p.m., Museum of the American Indian, Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, 1 Bowling Green bet. Slate and Whitehall Streets, free!

Find out what lurks behind the shadows (aside from muggers) during Discovery Walking Tour’s Gotham Ghost Tour at Twilight Walking Tour! “A tour of the historic, infamous and macabre of Greenwich Village history, laced with ghost stories along the way as only New Yorkers would know them. Stops include Edgar Alan Poe’s home; the hanging elm, the legendary public execution site in New York City; the burial ground at Washington Square and the cemetery at St. Mark’s. And you thought only subways ran beneath the city’s streets,” 5:30 p.m., call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place, $18!

I believe we all wish we could be beamed away from this heat, perhaps this outdoor screening of Star Trek will help? Come out for music and Trekkie trivia with food and beverages available for purchase, pre-event activities begin at 7:00 p.m., movie starts at 8 p.m., bring a blanket to Firefighters Field on Roosevelt Island, free! More info here: http://www.facebook.com/notes/roosevelt-island-operating-corporation-of-the-state-of-new-york/summer-movie-series-star-trek-72311/234840039880897


Nerd Alert! Watch Weird Science tonight and participate in a happy hour after the movie, 8 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, Tkts are $7 and can be bought here: http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/6907-weird-science


Is beating the heat wave really an example of mind over matter? (the Cheap Chick doesn’t agree…), but decide for yourself at Turtle Bay’s Christmas in July party, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Turtle Bay Bar, NW corner of 52nd and Second, free to enter (pay for drinks), and rsvp to erin@turtlebaynyc.com, free open bar from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. if you dress as Santa (the Cheap Chick might recommend changing there…)



Sunday July 24, 2011
Maybe you’ll feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven when you visit the New York Marble Cemetery, which is open specially to the public today, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., 41 1/2 Second Avenue, free!


Jump, jive, and wail at Hudson River Park’s Moondance Event, dance lesson at 6:30 p.m., band goes on at 7 p.m., Pier 84 at W. 44th St., free!


Oy, get in touch with the LES’s feminine side during the Museum at Eldridge’s Street’s Yiddishe Mamas Walking Tour! Stops include sites related to the area’s historic female personalities such as “Emma Goldman, Henry Street founder Lillian Wald, and mikvah operator Gittel Natelson. Visits will also be made to the “Lower East Side’s old red light district, NYC’s oldest operating mikvah, and former famed shops and eateries,” 11 a.m., $15, please RSVP here (scroll down) http://www.eldridgestreet.org/index.php/july

Plus all weekend-long…

Watch the best in queer performance and culture at The 20th Annual Dixon Place HOT! Festival (http://www.hotfestival.org/)

And…See the theatrical result of adult/child collaborations at the 52nd Street Project as they present ten plays created by these young-old duos, Fri. & Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m., Five Angels Theater, 789 Tenth Ave., bet. 53rd and 54th, free, but reservations are required and can be made by calling 212-642-5052. Admission is free!

Cool (and Cheap) Places to Beat the Heat in NYC!

Don't sweat the latest heat wave with some of these brief suggestions of places to cool off (esp if you don't have A/C (like the Cheap Chick!)


1. Movie theaters
2. Museums (Met is always pay-what-you-wish, Museum of the Moving Image is free today from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., MOMA is free today from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and the Morgan is free from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and that's just to name a few!)
3. Dip a toe into one of the city's free swimming pools (http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/pools) or beaches (http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/beaches)
4. Starbucks
5. Libraries (http://nypl.org, http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org, and http://www.queenslibrary.org)
6. Fast food restaurants
7. Bookstores

And just in case, here's a site where you can find official cooling centers in the city (http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/hazards/heat_cooling.shtml)


From my friends at Time Out New York Kids, check out sprinklers and fountains (http://timeoutnewyorkkids.com/things-to-do/58175/best-fountains-and-sprinklers), boat rides (http://timeoutnewyorkkids.com/things-to-do/60673/best-boat-rides) frozen treats (http://timeoutnewyorkkids.com/things-to-do/62138/best-ice-cream-for-nyc-kids), and cool drinks (http://timeoutnewyorkkids.com/things-to-do/60927/cool-drinks)!


For a splurge I would head out to College Point's Spa Castle, with an ice sauna and plenty of pools, as well as cool drinks, you're bound to cool off here! (http://nyspacastle.com/eng/main/main.php)

Got any other places or ways to cool off that are cheap and free? Let us know!

Cheap and Free NYC Weekend Events, July 15-17, 2011

Check out my July Summer Guide (http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/07/cheap-and-free-july-2011-summer-events.html), my Summer Museum Guide, (http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nyc-cheap-and-free-summer-museum.html) and my Summer Movie Guide (http://cheapchickinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/06/cheap-and-free-nyc-summer-movie-guide.html) for more cheap and free NYC events going on this weekend!

Friday July 15, 2011

Grab some floo powder and arrange for a portkey and head to the Kirk Cameron Repertory Players’ Harry Potter Musical, 7:30 p.m., Upright Citizens Brigade, 307 W. 26th, $10, advance tkts are sold out , but tkts will be available in a stand-by line!

If you’ve had the opening to A Tale of Two Cities memorized or can recite each Oompa-Loompa song from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory then you should come out to Literary Karaoke. Tonight’s theme is Greatest Hits of the 90’s, 6:30 p.m., WORD Bookstore, 126 Franklin Street, free!

Catch a double feature of Disney’s first animated movie Steamboat Willie and Time of the Wolf, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, $10, buy tkts here: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/169106

Friday/Saturday July 15 and 16, 2011

Turn up the crazy with Improv Everywhere’s MP3 Experiment! Get the MP3 on Friday from the website (http://www.improveverywhere.com) for instructions. Then meet at the secret location and get crazy with whatever stunt the group has planned! Meet on Saturday at 8:30 p.m., location TBD with MP3, free!

Saturday July 16, 2011

Ole! Party it up at El Museo del Barrio’s block party today, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., El Museo del Barrio, 1230 5th Avenue, free!

Drink up free beer samples, eat free tacos, and take in a French burlesque/band in honor of Bastille Day at the Fourth Ave. Immersion! Get your free immersion card, which will be available starting at noon on Saturday at Cherry Tree (65 4th Ave.) and Oaxaca (250 4th Ave.), 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., all along in Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, free!

Salute the sun as it shines on you at the beach during an hour-long beginner hatha yoga class, 8 a.m., Rockaway Beach (at Beach 108th Street), free!

Saturday and Sunday July 17, 2011

See the “original” Little Italy during Discovery Walking Tour’s The Bronx’s Little Italy: The Arthur Avenue History and Tasting Tour! “Stroll through one of the Bronx’s most colorful neighborhoods during its most important time of year – The Bronx Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel -- and discover the history behind its rich ethnic background while sampling some of the community's culinary specialties, from fresh Belmont bread and pizza to cannolli! Stops along the way include Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, the corner where Dion and the Belmonts sang their way to fame; and the Enrico Fermi Cultural Center,” 1:30 p.m., Call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place, $26, includes food!

Sunday July 17, 2011

Eat food from trucks during the Food Truck Rally! Vendors from Red Hook Lobster Pound, Cupcake Stop, and Rickshaw will be handing out delectable noshes today, 11 a.m., Grand Army Plaza, 1 Grand Army Plaza, free!

Celebrate Central Park’s birthday with Discovery Walking Tours. “In July 1853, the New York State Legislature approved a bill to designate a park in the middle of Manhattan. Now take this tour to discover Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted’s emerald gem, noting its hidden places and early history, comparing the original intention of the designers with that of the park today. Stops include Strawberry Fields, The Ramble, Literary Walk, The Arsenal, Wagner Cove and Bethesda Fountain,” 5:30 p.m., $18!

Join Hudson Warehouse for their production of Chekov’s “The Seagull,” al fresco in Riverside Park, 6:30 p.m., seats are available on the along the steps and benches around the North Patio of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and you can bring your own blanket/chair, free!

It’s all Greek to me-though not quite as you’ll find during the Municipal Arts Society’s walking tour of Astoria! “We’ll explore Astoria from its important transportation arteries: Steinway St. (a former trolley route), 31 St. (under the elevated train), the Grand Central Parkway (which bisected the neighborhood 70 years ago), and 30 Ave., a café-lined promenade,” 10:30 a.m., Meet at NW corner of Broadway and Steinway St., $15!

Plus all weekend long stock up on “summer beach reads” during Housing Works’ Summer Fiction Sale (http://www.housingworks.org/events/detail/summer-fiction-sale-30-off-all-day-july-15th-18th)!