Cheap and Free NYC Weekend Events, April 13-15, 2012

Friday 13, 2012
Here’s to you Mrs. Robinson! Starting today catch screenings of The Graduate through Thurs. April 19, 2012 at The Film Forum! For more info aand showtimes, go here!

Calling all bookworms, get all the free books you could poss read (well three...) at the Spring Book Fair! 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Recreation Center Fifty-four (in Recreation Center 54)348 East 54th Street, free!

Plus the exhibit Baseball in the Bronx: Nine Innings of Bronx Baseball opens today at the Bronx Museum of the Arts! There will be special programming related to the exhibit as well! For more info go here!

Saturday April 14, 2012
BBQ for a good cause with the Williamsburg Softball League as they host a Kickoff BBQ Benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A $10 donation nets you a free beer from the Gibson and there will be all the hot dogs and burgers you can eat for free! The event will also feature beer swag giveaways, and raffle prizes, 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Gibson, 108 Bedford, free admission and free food-up to you how much you donate!

Travel back in time to the 20’s when flappers ruled and the Charleston was King during the Big Onion’s “Satan’s Seat:" New York During Prohibition walking tour! “Created in conjunction with WNET New York Public and based on the 2011 Ken Burn’s documentary Prohibition. On our walk we will discuss and explore the history, politics, culture and speakeasies of New York in the Roaring ‘20s – one of the most volatile eras in American history. Stops may include John McGurk’s “Suicide Hall”, The Black Swan, Chumley’s and sites associated with Margaret Sanger, Al Jolson, Carrie Nation, and Fiorello LaGuardia." 2 p.m. Meet at the NE corner of Bowery & Houston Street, in front of the iron-fenced community garden, cost: $18!

Celebrate the 40th birthday of Grandpa, the oldest spider monkey in the U.S., with events inc. singing happy birthday and sharing his birthday cake! Bring a gift for Grandpa and get a free zoo ticket good for a future date! Staten Island Zoo, 1:30-3:30 p.m., cost: $8 for adults, $5 for children three-14, For more info and grandpa's gift registry go here!

Flitter and Flutter over to "The Butterfly: A Family Musical," presented by Making Books Sing, "Based on the book of the same name by award-winning author Patricia Polacco, The Butterfly tells the story of a secret friendship between two girls in German-occupied France during World War II." Theater 3, 311 W 43rd St, 3rd Fl. For ages 7 and up. Cost: $15, $10 for children 12 and under. Get a discount (up to 30% off) with code B52. Buy tkts here.

“Get Carnegie Hall tkts for a show tonight for just $5! Watch as the New York City Chamber Orchestra and Masterworks Festival Chorus perform the Duruflé REQUIEM led by Dr. Alan Raines, Director of Choral Activities at Baylor University in Texas, followed by the University of Michigan's Dr. Jerry Blackstone leading works by Handel, Gjeilo, Walker, and more. 8:30 p.m. Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue! To reserve your seats at this price enter promotional code APR13596 here.” http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2012/4/14/0830/PM/The-New-York-City-Chamber-Orchestra-and-Festival-Choruses/

Go green today at the Habana Works Earth Day Expo 2012 with a day full of food workshops, a special kids corner, and movies! 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., 755-757 Fulton Street at South Portland Street, Brooklyn, free!

Practice those high kicks for Class One (C1) Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness's Grand Opening Event today! There will be free martial arts and strength and conditioning classes, you can hang out and watch, and even sign up for membership! C1, 85 4th Ave. and St. Mark's, Brooklyn, 12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m., free!

Grab your spandex, tights, and those kick-ass boots for the launch of Leaping Tall Buildings: The origins of American Comics, the party includes panel discussions and the comic book art of Seth Kushner! 3:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m., powerHouse Books, free! For a full sked of panels go here.

Do your good deed for the day by volunteering for the Canarsie Pier Beach Cleanup Hosted By Sperry Top-Sider! "There are going to be giveaways and prizes, and your breakfast, lunch, bug spray, and sunscreen is covered.” 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Canarsie pier, Directions: Take the B42 bus from the L train's Rockaway Parkway Stop, to the bus's last stop near the pier.

Have Le Fun at Le Bingo with drag Queen Linda Simpson! 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, free (just pay for your cards!)

Travel to Japan today w/o leaving the city during The Japan Society's J-Cation 2012: Sakura event! 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, cost: $10! For a full list of proramming go here!

Saturday and Sunday April 14 and 15, 2012

Explore the NYC connection to the Civil War on the anniversary of the War Between the States with Discovery Walking Tours “Stops include sites associated withAbraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman, the attempted burning of New York in1864, bloody Draft Riots of 1863, a stop on the Underground Railroad;a Confederate prison camp.” Sat at 3:45 p.m., and Sun 2:45 p.m. Call 212-465-3331 for meeting place and reservations!

Sunday April 15, 2012

Cheer for chapbooks at the Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012! There will be "everything from personal manifestos, fiction, art, and more!" While you're there be sure to take a sip of the signature"Marzini" drink! 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Public Assembly, 70 N 6th St, free to attend, zines and other items range from $1-$10!

Park your butt at Grand Army plaza for the regular Food Truck Rally sponsored by the Prospect Park Alliance and the NYC Food Truck Association, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, free to attend, just pay for your food!

Learn about Found Objects and Forgotten Stories with Benjamin Feldman! "Historian and raconteur Benjamin Feldman traces history through objects and their owners to discover a world long gone. Join him as he follows the story of a simple leather change purse given out as swag from a Canal Street bar, circa 1920. A touching story emerges, with a surprise Broadway ending." 3 p.m., Museum at Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge Street, cost: $6 children, $8 seniors, students, $10adults! RSVP here.

For local gastronomists on Sunday...Find out about foodies buried in Woodlawn at this special tour and visit the Vegan Spring Pop-up Shop!


Plus lose yourself in rare first editions at the Park Avenue Armory's 52nd annual antiquarian book fair-admission inc a free catalog, and revel in the activities of the Umami Festival all weekend long!


Bonus Titanic Weekend Events!

Saturday April 14, 2012
Listen to the sounds of Gavin Bryars’ “The Sinking of the Titanic” created for orchestra and electronics on the exact anniversary of that fateful night. The piece will be played by the in-house orchestra as well as members of the Wordless Music Orchestra. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St., Cost $20 (standing room only-by the bar) For those who have a few extra coins to spare you can get seats for $30! Reservations req. You can buy tkts here!

Saturday April 14 and Sunday April 15, 2012
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic with Discovery Walking Tours! “As we get closer to the 100th anniversary, a new Greenwich Village tour associated with the fated White Star ship, with stops at The Seaman’s Lodge, where survivors took shelter, the Titanic Memorial Arch, and sites associated with passengers John J. Astor, Isidor Straus, and others.” Call 212-465-3331 for meeting place and reservations. Cost: $20!

Also visit exhibits at the NY Historical Society and the South Street Seaport Museum!

Don't forget, the Titanic miniseries will be airing on ABC each night!

Sunday April 15, 2012
Join the Municipal Art Society for the walking tour "Downtown at the Time of the Titanic," led by tour guide, Joe Svehlak. To mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and the 100th anniversary of Svehlak's family immigrating to America, the tour will look at what the downtown was like through the eyes of Svehlak's family and will incorporate century-old buildings including Steamship Row, the location of the White Star Line [Titanic] offices, and remnants of a lost old neighborhood. Reservations required. Please RSVP online or call (212) 935-2075. No refunds or exchanges. Cost of Tour: $20, $15 MAS members.

Lookng Ahead....
Until April 18, 2012 grab a Titanic-inspired drink such as the Bourbon-based "Unsinkable Molly Brown" and the Champagne-based "ST-705" after the number of survivors, at the Jane Hotel, where survivors took refuge after the disaster, 113 Jane Street!

Buy tkts now for Gemini & Scorpio's April 21 Drowned Ball, with tkt prices based on the different classes on the Titanic! For more details and to buy tkts go here!