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)!