Thursday, May 24, 2012

Cheap and Free NYC Events, Happy Memorial Day Weekend! May 25-28, 2012

Friday May 25, 2012

Don’t lose that lovin’ feeling as you watch Top Gun screen on an actual battleship! How apropos! Doors open @ 7:30 p.m., movie begins @ sunset, The Intrepid Battleship, West side of Manhattan on Pier 86, 12th Ave. and 46th Street, free!

See the ”evil side of animation” at Rooftop Films’ Dark ‘Toons movie night, music provided by Softspot and after-party @ R Bar (218 Bowery @ Rivington), Open Road Rooftop, LES, 350 Grand Street, Go here for complete listing of flicks and to buy tkts in advance go here, cost: $12 online or at the door!

Who will make it to Coney Island first? The Gramercy Riffs or the Warriors? Find out @ the midnight showing of The Warriors, Midnight, IFC Center, Sixth Avenue at West Third Street, cost: $13, buy tkts here! Repeats Sat and Sun @ midnight as well!

Saturday June 26, 2012


Sayonara sake @ the Union Square Wines and Spirits Sake to Me Tasting! Travel around Japan by sampling a variety of the fermented rice drink! 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Union Sq. Wines and Spirits, 140 Fourth Avenue, cost: free!

Aw shucks! It’s time for $1 oysters Redux! 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Brooklyn Oenology, 209 Wythe Avenue, cost: $1/oyster +drink specials

Dig into Chinatown with the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas From Coffee Houses to Banquet Halls Walking Tour. Explore the Chinatown as it was when it catered to the turn-of-the-century "bachelor society,” and as it grew to encompass Chinese restaurants and a variety of food customs. 1 p.m., meet at the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas, 215 Centre Street between Howard and Grand Streets) cost: $12 students/seniors, $15 adults! (repeats on the third Sat of the month thru the summer.) Buy tkts here

Time travel to Midlevel times w/o entering the chain restaurant @ the3rd Annual Pentecost Festival! Once celebrated by the knights of the round table today you can chomp down on giant turkey legs, watch sword fights, drink up mead and beer, and watch Medieval-themed movies! 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., The Drink, cost: free, but RSVP here!

Get intimate w/the bike in your life @ the Brooklyn Bicycle Fetish Day today! The day’s festivities are v. bike-centric and will feature Biking activities, bike competitions, and bike rides. There will also be bicycle advocacy groups on-hand, a BBQ grill for tasty treats, local artists selling their goods, and a bike contest w/various categories inc. Vintage, Mutant, and family! 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., City Reliquary, Havemeyer Street between Hope and Grand. cost: free!

Ever wandered through all eight miles of the Strand? Then you’ll never know what you’ll find in the stacks…until now that is! Join other bibliophiles as you participate in the Strand’s Treasure Hunt today! There will be five treasures hidden in the bookstore and you must solve the clues in order to claim the prizes. Clues have been appearing on the store’s FB page since Monday May 21, 2012 (here), and live updates will be posted on FB and Twitter pages , and in the store as the hunt progresses and items are claimed. 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., (you can start your hunt anytime during the day, but keep in mind that there are only five treasures and once they’re claimed, the items are gone! Strand Bookstore, B’way and 12th, cost: free!

Plus Governors Island opens for the season today as do the city’s public beaches, and w/e and holiday kayaking! Plus the DanceAfrica Bazaar starts today and runs thru Monday, and get $1 smoothies and frappes @ Burger King (thru Mon!)

Saturday and Sunday May 26 and 27, 2012

Don your shades and slouchy hat for Discovery Walking Tours’ Famous Movie Sites of the UES Walking Tour. “Nearly 20 famous film locales will be spotted including the Breakfast at Tiffany's townhouse, a James Bond getaway scene, the site of Marilyn Monroe's subway grate pose, the Midnight Cowboy apartment, and locations from Mad Men and two Woody Allen films.” 1 p.m. Call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting location, cost: $20!

Join the revolution as Discovery Walking Tours takes on the Brooklyn Bridge, the War of 1812, The American Revolution, and The Civil War with thir walking tour today.”For Memorial Weekend, a walk across the bridge to discuss the layout of the Battle of Brooklyn and a walk with stops associated with all three wars, including places connected to Lincoln, Walt Whitman, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Castle Clinton, and 1812 Naval hero James Lawrence.” 3:30 p.m., Call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting location, cost: $18!

Plus picnic up a storm at the Governors Island 5 Boro Picnyc! The cheap seats are $25, but include beer, food sampling, and music! 11:30 am. to 4:30 p.m., buy tkts here!

Sunday May 27, 2012

Get truckin’ down to the Food Truck Festival @ Prospect Park, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Prospect Park Grand Army Plaza, free!

Walk with the undead at the Brooklyn Zombie Crawl! /


Monday May 28, 2012, Happy Memorial Day 2012!


Enjoy the free annual NY Philhamonic Memorial Day concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, conducted by Alan Gilbert, 8 p.m., 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, one block east of Broadway, free, but ticketed. Tickets will be handed out at the church at 6:15 p.m.

Vote on the best storyteller in all the land during the Moth Story Slam! 7 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. stories begin, The Bitter End, 147 Bleecker Street, cost: A limited number of presale tickets will be available for $16, buy tkts here! Otherwise $8 at the door!

Wave Hill and the Met are both observing holiday Mondays and are open today!

Take 30% off already discounted books, DVDs, and CDs at Housing Works Bookstore today! 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., HW Bookstore, 126 Crosby St.!

Remember the reason behind the three-day weekend with the Big Onion Memorial Day: Revolutionary New York Walking tour. “A special holiday tour of Lower Manhattan visiting sites associated with our nation’s War of Independence and New York’s role in the early Republic. Unlike Philadelphia or Boston, New York’s Revolutionary Era is hidden behind modern buildings and obscure signs. We’ll uncover layers of history to reveal the Patriot/Loyalist conflict within New York as the nation was only beginning to develop. We’ll visit the site where the Declaration of Independence was first read to a New York audience, we’ll see the graves of Revolutionary War General Richard Montgomery and first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, the site of President George Washington’s Inaugural Address, Fraunces Tavern and the target of the Stamp Act mob in Bowling Green.” 2 p.m., meet @ Broadway and Murray Street, at the gated entrance to City Hall Park, cost: $18!

Catch a free Memorial Day concert performed by the ISO Symphonic Band in Green-Wood Cemetery! The group will play songs by composers buried in the Brooklyn cemetery. 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Green-Wood Cemetery, 500 25th Street, Directions here, cost: free, but reservations required, make them here!

And finally it wouldn’t be Memorial Day w/o BBQ, so if you didn’t make it out to Governors Island Saturday or Sunday, or are still craving that smoky flavor head to Huckleberry Bar’s 6th Annual Memorial Day BBQ & Garden Party or  grab Beats and BBQ at LP N’ Harmony!




Also…The 17th Annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts is happening Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this w/e, Quiet please! Enjoy silent films during the Quad Cinema Classics Program  program (thru May 31st,), Lincoln Center honors the works of Ridley Scott by screening his films (thru June 3), $13/tkt or $10 if you create your own double feature, and Anchors aweigh, be sure to welcome sailors to the Big Apple during Fleet Week!







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