Cheap and Free NYC Events, July 27-29, 2012! Olympics Edition!

Friday July 27, 2012

After months of hype the Olympics are finally happening, here are some festivities throughout the city today (scroll down to end of blog for more recs on viewing venues):

Watch the opening ceremonies today @ Granduca Di Sicilia w/happy hour specials!

Dress like your favorite Olympian-and watch the opening ceremonies at One Stop Beer Shop, plus giveaways, music, and food! RSVP here! For more Olympics viewing options in NYC, scroll down to the end of the blog!

Learn about the “Lost Waterfronts of New York” at this illustrated lecture sponsored by the Obscura Society NYC, and presented by photographer and filmmaker Nathan Kensinger! 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Observatory, 543 Union Street @ Nevins), cost: $12! Buy tkts here!

Enter the magical world of Hugo Cabret w/tonight’s screening of Hugo on the Hudson River as part of the RiverFlicks for Kids series! Movies begin at dusk, generally around 8:30 p.m., Hudson River Park’s Pier 46 at Charles Street, cost: free! *Cheap Chick Recommends*


Just in time for the Olympics the London Street Photography Exhibit opens today at the Museum of the City of New York, the Met Opera series hits Brooklyn Bridge Park tonight, the 2012 Muppets movie hits the Intrepid tonight, and it’s Animation Weekend at BAMcinématek (thru July 29)


Saturday July 28, 2012

Sing-a-long (come on you know you always do anyway, might as well enjoy a band backing you up) to the (original) Muppet Movie with Loser’s Lounge at the Celebrate Brooklyn series tonight! 7:30 p.m., Prospect Park bandshell, cost: free/$3 suggested donation!

Miss Dirty Dancing last Wed night? Never fear The Sony Wonder Technology Lab has you covered! Don’t forget to help carry over some watermelons as a thank you! 3 p.m., Sony Wonder Technology Lab,

550 Madison Ave. at 56th St, cost: free! Reservations suggested, call (212) 833-8100 to save your spot! For the exact opposite movie experience see Footnote at 12:15 p.m., same time, same place, same cost!

With the end of the summer rapidly approaching, you need to get in all the BBQ you can before Labor Day! Today Sycamore is hosting free BBQ w/$5 beers all day, and iAdventure.com is hosting their First Ever BBQ Blowout 2012 for just $25 (includes beer, 50% off beers the rest of the day, One BBQ taste (lg. bite-size servings- approx 2oz.) call 212-201-1223 to make reservations!

So you think you are one of the Americans who’s got talent? Prove it @ the Coney Island talent show! Enter into one of the following categories: circus freaks, sideshow geeks, song and dance, drag performance, and celebrity impersonators! Coney Island Boardwalk bet 10th and 12th Streets 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., cost: free!

Drag yourself out of bed before noon in the hopes of snagging free tkts to a Mostly Mozart Festival preview concert, Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, part of Lincoln Center complex near 66th and Broadway, cost: free!

The Museum of Natural History’s Spiders Alive Exhibit opens today (runs thru Dec. 2, 2012), the Bushwick Block Party is happening, Watch classic digitally remastered Dr. Who eps @ the Paley Center today w/”Resurrection of the Daleks”  *Cheap Chick Recommends*

Need more Dr. Who in NYC look here!

Give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money at the Wall Street Scavenger Hunt sponsored by Discovery Walking Tours! “The second of three scavenger hunt in our series – now in New York’s oldest area. Instead of being led through Wall Street, this time discover its history by teaming up, using a map, and answering questions by deciphering clues on plaques, markers and signs nestled away in the neighborhood’s nooks, crannies and hidden side streets. First to come back with the most correct answers wins!” 4:45 p.m., call 212-465-3331for reservations and meeting place, cost: $20

Saturday and Sunday July 28 and 29, 2012


Cool off? See if you can w/Discovery Walking Tours’ walk thru Grand Central! “Join us as we explore one of New York’s finest landmarks -- from the cooler confines of the indoors! The commuter day is so hectic, that few New Yorkers rushing through Grand Central ever really get to learn about the hidden history and lesser known lore behind this classic landmark. Here's your chance as we celebrate Grand Central with a discussion of the symbolism behind its decor and the structure’s lesser known lore. 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.” 12:45 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., Call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place, cost: $20!


Sunday July 29, 2012

Namaste! Strike a yoga pose at Dekalb Market’s Pop-up Yoga session today! 11 a.m. to 6 a.m., Dekalb Market, cost: free!

Coming to Queens to look for a Queen? Too bad they’re not screening the Eddie Murphy classic Coming to America in the fabled borough…Instead catch it in Brooklyn tonight, 8 p.m., Habana Outpost, 757 Fulton St # A  Brooklyn, cost: free!

Check out a different side of BBQ with a pig roast at the Summer Sunday Pig Roasts with live music! 4 p.m., Crown Victoria Bar, 60 South 2nd St., Brooklyn, cost: ? Couldn’t get a read on the price, but am hoping it is Cheap Chick-friendly…if anyone goes report back!

No cable? No problem! Halyards has you covered with back-to back screenings of True Blood and Breaking Bad on the big screen Sunday nights! True Blood starts @ 9 p.m. and BB starts @ 10 p.m., so I would get there before whatever screening you want to catch, Halyards Bar, 406 3rd Ave. Brooklyn, cost: free! (pay for what you drink etc.)

Harlem Week starts today (the 29th), and runs thru August 25!



Looking Forward…

Need more Olympics in your life? Here is NY Mag’s round-up of where to watch around the city: here!

And TONY’s Olympics list is here!

Cheap and Free NYC Events, July 20-22, 2012

Friday July 20, 2012

Remember bell bottoms, peace signs, and mood rings? Well I’m betting you will after watching AMERICAN CANDY: The Super 70s sketch comedy with a 1970s theme tonight (and come on, we all know Mad Men is slowly inching toward the “Me” decade…)! 8 p.m., South Oxford Space 138 S. Oxford Street, Brooklyn, cost: $20 (inc. open bar)

Rooftop Films celebrates the theme “Coming Home” tonight with “spirited black comedies, fraught animations and intimate documentaries offers hope for reconciliation.” 8 p.m. doors open, 8:30 p.m. live music starts, 9 p.m. the shows start! Metrotech Commons, outdoors, downtown Brooklyn, 5 MetroTech Center, cost: free! (PLEASE CHECK ROOFTOP FILMS' WS HERE IN CASE OF RAIN POSTPONEMENT! SAME GOES FOR SCREENING LISTED BELOW.)

Fireworks and running go together like peanut butter and jelly, right? Well the Free Fireworks Fridays Group Run (FGR), hosted by the Prospect Park Track Club (PPTC) certainly thinks so, with their run tonight! 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., meet in Prospect Park (Park Circle under the Horse Tamer Statues) for a six mile run down Ocean Parkway to Coney Island, hang out afterward for some “beer, singing karaoke, the Cyclone, dancing on the beach!” cost: free! (Please note that this event is repeated on Friday nights during the summer until August 31, 2012.) RSVP required here!

And…Travel to France w/o leaving NYC w/the Chelsea Triangle French Market, which opens today (and runs thru November) by featuring a wide variety of Frenchified food items, Superman, The Movie” screens for free at dusk as part of RiverFlicks for Kids at Hudson River Park’s Pier 46 at Charles Street, Star Trek screens for free at sunset on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid as part of the Intrepid Summer Movie Series tying in w/the newly-installed Space Shuttle Enterprise exhibit, where you can meet NASA astronauts (SCREENING MOVED TO SATURDAY DUE TO WEATHER), and Rooftop Films has another free screening tonight of Suite Habana outdoors at the Queens Museum of Art (remember tonight is Target Free Fridays at the museum)!

Saturday July 21, 2012

Explore the spooky side of the city with Discovery Walking Tours’ Gotham Ghost City at Twilight Walking Tour! “A tour of the historic, infamous and macabre of Greenwich Village history, laced with ghost stories along the way. Stops include Edgar Alan Poe’s home; the hanging elm, a legendary public execution site in New York City; the cemetery at St. Mark’s, and the burial ground at Washington Square. And you thought only subways ran beneath the city streets!” 6 p.m., Call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place! Cost: $20!

Oink, oink baby! “Pig” out at Third Ward’s 5th Annual Pig Roast! 4 a.m. to 11:55 p.m., Thurd Ward, 195 Morgan Ave., cost: free! (BUT RSVP req. here!)

See Salmon Fishing in Yemen at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab today for free! 3 p.m., Sony Wonder Technology Lab, 550 Madison Ave. at 56th St, cost: free!

Live out your vicarious Ice Princess/Cutting Edge/Ice Castles fantasies at the free Ice Theatre of New York show! The early attendees will even get a free pass to the open skating session after the show. (around 8ish-skate rental still costs $5 tho!) 7 p.m., World Ice Arena in Queens, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, cost: free!

Even in the Internet Age, zines are flourishing! Celebrate the medium’s survival at Pete’s Mini Zine Fest! Mix and mingle with other zinesters, and cartoonists 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pete’s Candy Store, 709 Lorimer Street, cost: free!

It’s not The Artist, (which I highly recommend btw!), but an actual silent movie, Hands Up! is screening as part of "The Silent Clowns Film Series" and dedicated to silent era film star, Raymond Griffith today! As a bonus the library will be screening Dog Shy (1926) with Charley Chase. 2:30 p.m., Library of the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Bruno Walter Auditorium, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza (near 66th St. 1 stop), cost: free!

It’s the most fun you’ll have on two wheels! Today is Bike NY Pedal Stops featuring “bike checks safety instruction, ride suggestions, basic bike repair, informal bike skills, NYPD bike ID, and bike rentals through Bike and Roll.” 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., cost: free!

Relax and unwind after a hard work week with two outdoor concerts this afternoon (Hot Jazz/Cool Garden concert at 2 p.m. at the Louis Armstrong House Museum-$15 inc. house tour) , and tonight (New Juilliard Ensemble at MoMA’s Summergarden free concert in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at 8 p.m.; galleries closed during the concert.)

Get in touch with the hip-hop side of the Bronx on a special Urban Farm Trolley Tour With Hip Hop Perspective of South Bronx! “Meet farmers as they tend to their plots of land, and see chickens that roam freely producing Bronx farm-fresh eggs. The day includes a garden related workshop, healthful lunch, and a fish fry. RSVP required. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Meet at The New York Visitors and Convention Bureau, 810 Seventh Avenue at 52nd Street, Manhattan, cost: $20-inc lunch/fish fry (email bronxfoodsummit@gmail.com or call (718) 817-8026 to reserve your spot on the tour!


And…The Harlem Book Fair, hits NYC shelves, Sculpt sand castles at Coney Island, The New Museum takes to the streets today with its New Museum Block Party (inc entertainment and free admission to the museum all day, it’s Super Sabado at El Museo del Barrio, Watch rare and never-before-seen footage of the Muppets, Sesame Street, and other childhood favorites at Nitehawk with special Muppet guests, the 411 is that you can see Clueless as part of the Bell House’s Party like it's 1999: Clueless in July Edition, and don’t forget PS1’s Warm-up is tonight (Queens residents get in free!)

Saturday and Sunday July 21 and 22, 2012

Are you a poet and don’t know it? Perhaps you are and you know it! Either way you should go to The 2nd Annual New York City Poetry Festival! Governors Island, Colonel’s Row, 11 am. to 5 p.m., cost: Day-of tickets: $5 per day! (in case you still don’t know where Gov Island is, you take the ferry from the Gov Is ferry station, right next to the SI Ferry Terminal.)

Hop on the PATH train for a visit to the Garden State just in time to celebrate St. Ann’s Feast with Discovery Walking Tours in Hoboken! “St. Ann’s Feast comes but once a year. Visit the feast and explore Hoboken – the Square Mile City and “sixth borough” – rich in history, with stops at the homes of Frank Sinatra, photographer artist Alfred Stieglitz, and composer Stephen Foster (Swanee River, Camptown Races) as well as the birthplace of baseball and locations associated with Edgar Allen Poe, Gen. William T. Sherman, Woodrow Wilson, and the film, On the Waterfront. Along the way, sample foods from the Italian district there and visit the Feast of St. Ann.” Call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place, cost: $26 (inc. food).

Plus Stillspotting nyc: Staten Island continues both days (and next w/e as well!)

Sunday July 22, 2012

Learn all about Prison Ships during the Revolutionary War during a walking tour with the Urban Park Rangers! 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Fort Greene Park Visitor Center Myrtle Ave., De Kalb Ave. bet. Washington Park and St. Edward's St., cost: free!

Prepare for the long, cold winter ahead (I know it’s hard to imagine in this heat!) by learning how to can tomato sauce! 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West (Between 2nd and 3rd streets, Brooklyn, cost: $20 (inc jar to take home)! Participants should bring recipes, your questions and interests, and knife/ cutting board. BSEC will provide the rest. Space is limited, so register here now!

Can women be as funny as men? Or funnier? Decide for yourself at the "Saw Her Stand-Up There" comedy show! 6:30 p.m., Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Ave., Wiiliamsburg, cost: $5!

Did you know that Jewish people migrated to the UES? This special walking tour is sponsored by the LES Jewish Conservancy. From the conservancy, “Urban historian Barry Feldman will lead us past the Beaux Arts mansions of the Fifth Avenue 'Gold Coast' to the east end at York Avenue. We will discuss the evolution of this significant Jewish community: its prestigious sacred sites - Central and Park East Synagogues & Temple Emanuel; the unique 92nd Street Y, and glamorous architecture. Our conversation will contrast the serenity of life on the tree lined Upper East Side with the tenement and pushcart congested LES.” 10:45 a.m., meet at NW corner of E. 68 St. and Lexington Avenue, cost: $12 in advance, $14 day of tour. Buy tkts here!

Get your reggae and cookout all in one day! The event includes Stoli Sno Cones, tacos, and more! Plus live performances by JUDAH and EL! 12 p.m., The Paper Box, 17 Meadow Street, bet. Waterbury and Bogart, cost: free!


Also tonight…the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra hits Brooklyn Bowl, dance under the stars with Hudson River Park’s Moondance and the Los Hermaes salsa band!

This w/e marks the last chanc  you’ll have to see "Twelfth Night" with NY Classical Theater at Battery Park, and Honor what would have been Gene Kelly’s 100th b-day this w/e with Lincoln Center’s Invitation to Dance: Gene Kelly @ 100! 

Looking Forward…

Monday July 23, 2012

It’s no longer Spaghetti Westerns anymore! It’s a perfect marriage of spaghetti and movies at Bar Toto on Monday nights! Tonight’s picture (I love the word picture to describe movies, I think it’s a shame it’s gone out of style.) is Matrimonio all’italiana (Marriage Italian-Style), a 1964 comedy starring Sophia Loren. Spaghetti and meatballs are just $11, plus you get to enjoy the picture! 9 p.m., Bar ToTo, 411 11th St at 6th Ave, Park Slope, Brooklyn, cost: buying something off the menu!

Tuesday July 24, 2012

Can you find your match made in wine heaven? You may not find your soulmate, but you may find a wine to keep you busy in the meantime ;-). Intrigued? Fill out this Questionnaire (http://ww3.efs-survey.com/uc/Grapepointwines/) to find your perfect wine match. Then come to Grapepoint Wines for a special mixer featuring wine tasting, cheese sampling, and a raffle for your wine match! 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Grapepoint Wines, 155 Norman Ave (corner of Newel Street), Greenpoint, cost: free!

Cheap and Free NYC Events, July 13-15, 2012, Happy Bastille Day Weekend!

Happy Bastille Day Weekend NYC! Check out all these great cheap and free NYC BastilleDay Weekend Events!


Friday July 13, 2012-Hope you don’t have bad luck today!

Get an early start on the Bastille Day festivities with a Pre-Bastille Day Wine Tasting! Drink small family estate wines poured by Michel Abood from Vinotas Selections! Mr Wright's Wine and Spirits, 1593 3rd Avenue, cost: free!

See a performance of "Twelfth Night" performed by New York Classical Theater. Tonight’s performance is dedicated to the residents of Lower Manhattan, 7 p.m., Castle Clinton, Battery Park, cost: free! (after tonight’s performance attend a special after-party at Battery Gardens Restaurant - Beer Garden (children are welcome.)

“Groovy.” Watch a young Bruce Campbell chase his hand around a cabin in The Evil Dead II at a late night screening tonight, Midnight, Lincoln Center, cost: $8-$13, buy tkts here!

Celebrate the Book Launch and Photography Exhibition: TRUE Hip Hop by Mike Schreiber tonight with a special reception. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Powerhouse Arena, 37 Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn, cost: free!

Learn about the Jewish side of France in honor of Bastille Day with writer Toni L. Kamins, author of The Complete Guide to Jewish France including a Kabbalat Shabbat services followed by a pre-Bastille Day celebration featuring wine, French cuisine, and a talk by Kamins. 7:00 p.m., Greenpoint Shul, 108 Noble St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn, cost: $18-$20!

The Superdupermarket pop up opens at 410 West 16th Street starts today and runs through Sunday, see Spiderman outdoors on the deck of the Intrepid, Persepolis screens tonight at Riverside Park’s Pier I at 70th Street as part of the Films on the Green series, and Christian Marclay’s The Clock goes on view for free at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium (through Aug. 1)!

Saturday July 14, 2012

Remember that awesome Got Milk? commercial where the guy has a ton of Alexander Hamilton/Aaron Burr stuff around his apartment gets a phone call from a radio contest about the duel, but when he answers Aaron Burr, the announcer can’t understand him cuz he’s just taken a big bite of a peanut butter sandwich? Then when he goes to drink some milk only a few drops come out of the carton? I don’t think it will be anything like that, but Hamilton Grange is hosting a remembrance of the 208th anniversary of the Alexander Hamilton-Aaron Burr duel, 11 a.m., Hamilton Grange, Saint Nicholas Park in Manhattan. It is located at 414 West 141st Street, between Convent Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue, cost: free!

Did you know that poetry and architecture mesh? Find out how at the We’re Floating: An Interactive Poetry Walk With Artist and Poet Jon Cotner . “Each hour he leads dialogues with participants while strolling through Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City. The work of Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō is mapped onto the landscape and put into play, bringing everyone closer to this floating world. Jon Cotner is an artist and poet. Recent projects have been celebrated by Bookforum, Good, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal. He is coauthor of Ten Walks/Two Talks, and teaches at the Pratt Institute.” Walks starting at 4:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., Poets House, 10 River Terrace (directions here!), cost: free!

Meow, meow, Ruff, ruff! Join Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters at Broadway Barks (sponsored by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS) and many other Broadway stars as they strive to find homes for the city’s homeless animals. The event will feature “a sampling of pets from several New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies.” 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., (celebrity presentations of pets from citywide animal shelters beginning at 5 p.m.) Shubert Alley, between 44th and 45th Streets, just west of Broadway, cost: free!

This is your last chance to really immerse yourself in Chinatown with the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas during their "Chinatown: A Walk through History walking tour!" “Uncover the history of one of New York City’s oldest neighborhoods! This walking tour focuses on how everyday buildings and places of historical significance reflect and shape a community from its origins as a Native American village of Werpoes Hill in 1600 to one of the fastest growing immigrant communities of present day New York City. Highlighted sites include the oldest row house in Manhattan, a Catholic church, the oldest general store in Chinatown and a Chinese eatery that catered to the needs of Chinatown’s turn-of-the-century “bachelor society.” 2:30 p.m. meet at museum, 215 Centre Street, (bet Howard & Grand Sts, cost: $15 (does not include museum admission, $7. ) You must buy tkts in advance, buy them here!

See both Clueless (12:15 p.m.) and Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol (3 p.m.) at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab today! Sony Wonder Technology Lab, Sony Plaza at 56th Street and Madison Avenue, cost: free! (but RSVP strongly suggested, call (212) 833-8100 to secure your spot!)

You have your choice of a Rooftop Films Brooklyn double-feature tonight, sorry due to times, you can’t do both! There is THE ARGENTINEAN LESSON  or Bound for Glory, which honors the life of Woody Guthrie at Coney Island (free!)

Still need to cram more books into your small studio apartment? Greenlight has you covered! The indie bookstore is hosting a massive sidewalk sale w/tons of carts and shelves stuffed full of bargain books! 12 p.m. Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, cost: pay for the books you buy!

Dance the day away with free dance lessons in Hudson River Park! 10 a.m., Pier 46, Charles St. and West St., cost: free!


Also today catch the 4Knots Music Festival at Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport, Water, water everywhere and nary a drop to drink during City of Water Day, stillspotting nyc starts today on Staten Island, Party with the Skint at their Bastille Day party tonight, catch a performance by Oneohtrix Point Never, David Lang and A Far Cry Orchestra at the World Financial Center Winter Garden, the R-rated version of Saturday Night Fever complete with a BeeGees tribute band hits Celebrate Brooklyn tonight, and

attend the Brooklyn Pretzel Factory Grand Opening with a variety of pretzels and other Brooklyn treats such as Nathan’s, Gabila's potato knishes, egg creams made with U-bet syrup and cherry lime rickeys! 

Saturday and Sunday July 14 and 15, 2012

Just in time for the Bronx Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel! Join Discovery Walking Tours and “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.” 3:30 p.m., call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place, cost: $27, includes food!

Sunday July 15, 2012

Observe Bastille Day with two special celebrations today! One is the French Alliance's official Bastille Day Street Fair on 60th Street between Fifth and Lexington Avenues (12 p.m. to 5 p.m.) or the soiree in Brooklyn featuring North America's largest pétanque tournament at the Smith Street Block Party (11 am. to 10 p.m.)!

Get started on some noshing with the Eldridge Street’s Synagogue’s Lower East Side Nosh and Stroll! "Eat your way through history on this delicious neighborhood walking tour. Once home to the largest Jewish population in the world, the Lower East Side still bears traces of Jewish life from the turn of the last century. Visit synagogues, Yiddish newspaper buildings, socialists hot spots and more while sampling treats from local vendors, including the best pickle shop in New York City.” 11 a.m., For more info and to buy tkts here!

Do a different kind of noshing at Prospect Park’s Food Truck Festival! 11 am. to 5 p.m., Prospect Park , Grand Army Plaza, cost: free, but pay for what you buy!

Learn all about Fort Greene from the point of view of the author of “Leaves of Grass” via the Walt Whitman's Fort Greene Tour! “Walk around Fort Greene Park, a greensward that owes its existence in large part to Walt Whitman's editorials written for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and learn about this poet's intimate connection with Brooklyn's first official park. The afternoon includes discussions about the park, its role in the American Revolution and Civil War, the Wallabout Martyrs and the monument dedicated to their memory. New this year, the tour will end at Museum 92 in the Navy yards.” 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., presume you’ll meet somewhere in Fort Greene Park, ask/find out when you RSVP to info@fortgreenepark.org!

Catch Arlo Guthrie and family performing with family in honor of his dad Woody tonight! 7 p.m., Central Park Summerstage, cost: free! For more info and directions go here!

If you haven’t seen “Tales: The Narrative Image, an art installation that will transform downtown windows into a giant architectural storybook,” you should head down to One New York Plaza Art Space (Concourse, Water St. between Whitehall and Broad Streets.)



All weekend...cheer on Universal as they turn 100 at Film Forum's Universal 100 series (runs thru Aug 9), worship Grace Kelly at BAM's Grace Kelly: A Cool Blonde retrospective (thru July 26), and don't get hit by cars at Shakepeare in the Parking Lot's performance of "The Merry Wives of Windsor Towers!"


Looking Forward…

Monday July 16

The Jazz in July Festival begins today, the GuacRock party is tonight, and play trivia at Last Exit Bar at 9 p.m. tonight!

Tuesday July 16

Attend a charity happy hour and mixer, benefiting East Africa Children's Hope, a charity which funds education for some of Eastern Africa's most vulnerable children. Complimentary appetizers and happy hour specials, including $6 martinis. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., The Ainsworth, 122 W. 26th Street, cost: $20 in advance through the website or $30 day of the event! Buy tkts here!

Cheap and Free NYC Events, July 6-8, 2012

Friday July 6, 2012

I don’t know if there will be jelly on-hand at the Happy Hour with Peanut Butter and Co. tonight, but I’m guessing there will be milk-based cocktails to wash down all that peanut butter! 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., The Astor Center, 399 Lafayette St, cost: $10!

Another Films on the Green movie (Tell No One) screens tonight! 8:30 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. Pier I, Riverside Park, cost: free!

Hi-yah! Time for Kung Fu Panda 2 as part of the NYC Parks Summer Movie Series! 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Betsy Head Park (Brooklyn), Betsy Head Memorial Playground, cost: free!

Rooftop Films is honoring the best from the borough that is Brooklyn w/their New York Filmmakers Short Film Program tonight! 8 p.m. doors open, live music at 8:30 p.m., and 9 p.m. the movies start, METROTECH COMMONS, outdoors, downtown Bklyn, 5 MetroTech Center (Please note in the event of inclement weather, the event will be postponed, please check the Rooftop Films website for updates), cost: free!

"Israel Horovitz One-Acts," plays culled from a half-century’s of the playwright’s work, is runnung through July 15, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., The Flea Theater, 41 White Street (bet. Broadway and Church Streets), cost: $20, buy tkts here!

The Paley Center’s Summer TV Mixtape series is underway w/their first installment, Summer “Camp,” running through the month of July, The new Ricky Powell photography exhibit opens today and runs through July 14 at the Klughaus Gallery, The Museum of The Moving Image’s “See it Big” series begins today with 2001: A Space Odyssey (also screening tomorrow) and runs through September 9, 2012 ($12 admission includes museum access reg admission is $10, free on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.), and “Xanadu,” a play adaption of the cult classic 1980 film starring Olivia Newton-John is playing tonight at Park Slope’s Old Stone House (and upcoming Thursdays and Fridays in July) at 8 p.m. Directions here!

Dowload the free Nook book Meet the Annas via Barnes and Noble's Free Friday Nook Download! Get the book here!

Friday and Saturday July 6 and 7, 2012

Catch some midnight screenings both nights with Star Trek Two: The Wrath of Khan at Landmark Sunshine, and the classic Taxi Driver (12:15 a.m.) at Nitehawk!

Saturday July 7, 2012

Be a history detective during a Greenwich Village Scavenger Hunt with Discovery Walking Tours! This new event gives you a chance to “learn its history by teaming up, using a map, and answering questions by deciphering clues on plaques, markers and signs nestled away in the neighborhood’s nooks, crannies and hidden side streets. First to come back with the most correct answers wins!” Cost : $20, call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place!

Time to update your wardrobe with a good ol’ fashioned clothing swap! Closetraid is the answer to your clothing prayers with their swap today, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Projective Space, 72 Allen St, cost: $5!

Join the fifth annual Kaleidoscope Renegade Art Parade with a rooftop after-party featuring aerialists, fire-spinning, a big band orchestra, and djs tonight! Meet at 6 p.m., parade starts at 6:30 p.m., 290 Vesey, cost: free!

Try to beat the heat in Central Park (I know it sounds like an oxymoron), but that’s what Discovery Walking Tours is offering today! “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.” 1 p.m., Call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place! Cost: $20!

Watch Grease outside as part of Roosevelt Island's Outdoor Summer Movie series! 8 p.m., Roosevelt Island, Southpoint Park, cost: free!

Today is also free first Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum, Bank of America cardholders get free admission to a variety of NYC museums inc. the Met, Whitney and New-York Historical Society, MoMA PS 1’s Warm-Up begins tonight, free performances of “The Island of Dr. Moreau” are at the Old Stone House (8 p.m., also on the 14, 21) see directions on Friday's listings, Rooftop Films is hosting The Madness of Production Short Film Program tonight, and "JAWS the Musical" "resurfaces" tonight as well as tomorrow and next weekend at the Broadway Comedy Club!


Saturday and Sunday July 7 and 8, 2012


Housing Works is hosting their regular 30% off books, movies, and music sale today! 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Housing Works Bookstore, 126 Crosby Street, cost: pay-for-what-you buy!

Cook Out NYC hits Governors Island both days, it is a little costly for the Cheap Cick budget, but does inc food and other activities featuring a kimchi-eating contest!

Sunday July 7, 2012

Learn about Hudson River Park today during the Hudson River Park Wild waterfront walking tour! “Enjoy a meandering waterfront walk while hearing about and viewing the park’s flora and fauna, including some of the 85 different species of birds identified within the park. Peek into the park’s gardens to discover the many different butterflies, dragonflies and other interesting insects. Come to learn about the native plants that continue to grow in unexpected places in and around the river’s edge. Each nature walk is unique and offers a one-of-a-kind treasure hunt-like experience. Nature walks last approximately one hour. Please wear comfortable shoes and dress appropriately for the weather conditions. Participants can expect to walk about 1 ½ - 2 miles. Loud noises and barking tend to startle wildlife and reduce viewing opportunities - please be considerate and leave your dog at home” 9 a.m., Hudson River Park's Pier 40, 353 West Street, cost: free!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Grab a spoon and dig in at the Bell House’s Brooklyn Ice Cream Takedown, 2 p.m., Bell House, 149 7th Street, Brooklyn, cost: $15!

Laugh up a storm w/a comedy show today! 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Central Park at Mineral Springs, cost: free!

Sit back and relax with the New Juilliard Ensemble at MoMA’s Summergarden outdoor concert series! 8 p.m., (please note galleries are closed dur the concert), MoMA, 53rd bet. 5th and 6th, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, cost: free!

Joe’s Pub is also hosting a one-night only Broadway benefit tonight titled the “TRL Generation: Broadway Sings the '90s, a benefit for Broadway Impact,” featuring performances by current B’way stars! 7 p.m., Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, cost: $20, buy tkts here!

Learn about Jewish Harlem w/a special tour led by urban historian Marty Shore! Visit "the sites of Jewish religious life in the remarkable urban settlement of Harlem, once the second largest Jewish community in the United States. In 1917, it was home to more than 175,000 Jews. Delight in the exteriors of grand synagogues that remind us of Harlem's Jewish past. Including the Ethiopian Hebrew Synagogue called "The Commandment Keepers." You will walk by the former homes of Temple Israel of Harlem, Congregation Shaarei Zedek, The Oheb Zedek Synagogue-home to Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt in the 1910-1920's." 10:45 a.m., meet at NE corner of Adam Clayton Powell Blvd and 125th Street, in front of the statue of Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., cost: Adults: $18; seniors and students: $16, ($2 additional day of tour) buy tkts here!

Say bonjour to French Restaurant Week, which starts today and runs through July 15th, watch Wayne's World at Habana Outpost tonight at 8 p.m., and Celebrate Brooklyn welcomes Sweet Honey in the Rock as part of an Ezra Jack Keats family concert at 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.! 

And all weekend long…the CBGB Festival is running through Sunday!

Looking Forward…

Monday July 8

Calling all Bookworms! Tired of watching movies under the Bridge? Check out the new Books Beneath the Bridge series, which kicks off tonight!

Wednesday July 11

Actress Amber Tamblyn (127 Hours, House M.D.) and special guest read from the Archives of The Paris Review at the Strand. Wine will also be served. 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Strand Bookstore, B’way at 12th, cost: buy a copy of The Paris Review or a $15 Strand gift card!

Thursday July 12

The SummerNights Concert Series at the Jewish Museum begins w/live bands, open bar, and free ice cream courtesy of Chozen!