Cheap and Free NYC Weekend Events, July 8-10, 2011

This is just a sampling of all that’s going on this w/e! 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/2011/06/2011-nyc-cheap-and-free-summer-museum.html) for more cheap and free NYC events!

Friday July 8, 2011

Shake that belly (hopefully not like a bowl full of jelly) during a free outdoor belly dance session sponsored by Dodge YMCA, 7 p.m., Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1, free!

Examine autism through a different lens during Rooftop Films’ screening of Neurotypical, which examines those dealing with the condition at different stages in their lives, 8 p.m., Automotive High School, 50 Bedford Ave. at North 13th St., $10!

Take a relaxing ferry ride to that other island for free food at the Staten Island Food Truck Festival, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., Turtle Circle (in Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and Beach)
at Jefferson Avenue off Father Capodanno Boulevard, Staten Island, free!

Watch two groundbreaking pieces of cinema, A Trip to the Moon and the Real World tonight! The screening features a special Q&A with original "Real World" cast member Becky Blasband, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, $7-$10!

Start your weekend off with a quiet bang during Peace in the Park sponsored by Brahma Kumaris who will lead meditation sessions, art exhibits, and music, and dance performances, Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, 72^nd Street at Fifth Ave, free!

Listen to some of today’s most popular mystery/thriller writers discuss their chapter-by-chapter collaboration on the novel No Rest for the Dead. Writers include Jeffrey Deaver, R.L. Stine, and a personal favorite of the Cheap Chick, Diana Gabalden, 7 p.m., Center for Fiction, 17 E. 47^th Street, bet. Fifth and Madison, $8!

The Neue Galerie is free tonight as part of its First Fridays program (http://www.neuegalerie.org/), you can ride a bike for free at Governors Island today (http://www.bikenewyorkcity.com/submain.php?category=locations), and Farmageddon: The Unseen War on American Family Farms starts its run at Cinema Village today thru the 14^th (http://www.cinemavillage.com/chc/cv/show_movie.asp?movieid=2195), Don’t touch me you damn dirty…” well you can finish the sentence or watch Charlton Heston utter it during Film Forum’s Planet of the Apes revival, which starts today (http://www.filmforum.org/films/planet.html), and celebrate The Brick Theater's 3rd Annual Game Play Festival with a free preview and party tonight (http://www.bricktheater.com/)!

Saturday July 9, 2011

Discover the neighborhood around El Museo del Barrio during a free walking tour where you’ll check out sites including the Graffiti Wall of Fame, Julia de Burgos Boulevard, local murals, and more, 11:30 to 1 p.m., meet in El Museo lobby, the museum is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue bet 104^th and 105^th St., tour is free, but you need to RSVP here: http://www.elmuseo.org/en/event/el-barrio-today-walking-tour-july-9, in case of bad weather a tour of the museum’s permanent collection will be given instead.

See the best short films from around the world al fresco during the Brooklyn Short Film Concert, 7:30 p.m., Washington Park @ The Old Stone House, 4th Avenue @ 3rd Street in Park Slope, $5 suggested donation!

Take a nice evening stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge with Discovery Walking Tours as you “learn about its creation and early history, with a discussion of the dramatic sacrifice of the Roebling family that designed it and the immigrants that built it” during the Brooklyn Bridge and South Street Seaport at Twilight Walking Tour. After walking the bridge, amble “through the historic maritime district with the largest concentration of restored 19th century buildings in the city. Stops include Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, Schermerhorn Row, Cannon Walk, and the Paris Café,” 5:45 p.m., call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place, $18!

Plus there’s a free Little Red Lighthouse event hosted by the Urban Park Rangers from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (http://www.historichousetrust.org/item.php?i_id=24) today!

Saturday and Sunday July 9 and 10, 2011

See another side of life on the L line with Discovery Walking Tour’s Marking the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Raising of the Giglio tour of Williamsburg. “Take a tour of one of Brooklyn’s most colorful neighborhoods focusing on the diversity of area, from the hipster to the Hasidic. Stops include Bedford Avenue, Peter Luger’s, the landmark Williamsburg Savings Bank, and the Williamsburg Bridge. We end at the Feast on both days. July 10 is the day when 125 men raise the 85 foot tall, 3 ton Giglio in honor of St Mary and St Paulinus -- a great Brooklyn tradition.” 1:30 p.m., Call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place, $18!

Sunday July 10, 2011

Get the week started off with a laugh during a free NY Laughs comedy show tonight, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tompkins Square Park, free!

Practice saying “Domo arigato Mr. Roboto” for the Red Bull Creation Fair, where teams have competed to build the best robotic creations in 72 hours! See the results being judged today, McCarren Park, Bayard St. to Nassau Ave., bet. Leonard and N. 12^th Streets, free!

Join The Museum at Eldridge Street for their Gangster, Writer, and Rabbi Walking Tour and see how the lives of three LES men can be traced through their funeral marches, 11 a.m., meet at the Museum, 12 Eldridge St., bet Canal and Division, $15!

Watch as racers zoom by on two wheels during the Tour de Queens today in Flushing Meadows Park! (http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2011/07/10/the-4th-annual-tour-de-queens)

Plus Don’t forget that Seven Days of Harry Potter continues through the weekend! (http://www.movingimage.us/films/2011/07/06/detail/seven-nights-with-harry-potter/)