Cheap Chick Weekend Picks, August 14-16th, 2009

Friday August 14th, 2009
New York International Fringe Festival
Various times and locations (starts today and runs through August 30th, 2009)
Be sure to check out this mult-arts festival with more than 200 shows. For more info regarding specific prices and venues click here.
Cheap Chick Info: Varies
Location Info: Varies
Subway: Varies

Labyrinth screening with Cheryl Henson (yes-she's related to Jim!)
9:30 p.m.
See the 1986 film starring Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie and introduced by Cheryl Hensen (see if you can find out from her how grouchy Oscar the Grouch really is, or the truth about Bert and Ernie ;-)
Cheap Chick Info: Free with $7 bar tab
Location Info: Rubin Museum of Art, 17th Street and 7th Avenue
Subway: A,C,E,L to 14th Street/8th Ave.

White Wedding 80's Dance Party
11 p.m.

You can't "just say no" to this party with this rockin' 80's tribute band.

Cheap Chick Info: $10

Location Info: B.B. King's, 237 West 42nd Street@8th Ave.

Subway: N,R,Q,W,S,7,A,C,E to 42nd Street/Times Square

Slavic Soul Party
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Listen to a variety of music with Gypsy and Balkan tones during this Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Damrosch Park (near Lincoln Center)
Subway: 1 to 66th Street

Lobster Bake
6 p.m.
Feast on a whole Maine lobster, corn, and choice of coleslaw or potato salad while listening to music.
Cheap Chick Info: $22, includes food and shell cracker, tickets available through wantickets.com
Location Info: BKLYN Yard, 400 Carroll Street
Subway: F,G to Carroll Street

Saturday August 15, 2009

Little Red Lighthouse Tours

1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Visit the iconic lighthouse that inspired the children's book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, by Hildegarde H. Swift.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Little Red Lighthouse, Fort Washington Park, 178th Street and the Hudson River, enter the park at 181 Street & Plaza Lafayette
Subway: 1,A to 181st Street

Souperdouper Soup Kitchen Sandwich Special
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Dine on delectable soup and sandwich combinations during this cook-off to benefit the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen. Bike valet parking will also be provided.
Cheap Chick Info: $10 suggested donation at the door
Location Info: T.B.D bar, 224 Franklin Street, Brooklyn
Subway: F to 15th Street/Prospect Park

Floating Kabarette
Doors open at 10 p.m., show starts at 10:30 p.m.
Trapeze, burlesque, and chorus girls! What more could you want?
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main Street, DUMBO
Subway: F to York Street, A to High Street

Don't forget that Carrie is screening in Coney Island tonight! http://www.coneyisland.com/films.shtml

Sunday August 16th, 2009
Kayaking on the Hudson and Brunch With the Lunch Club
Paddle the waters and enjoy the views, but watch out for mysterious floating objects...
Cheap Chick Info: Kayaking is free, Brunch is pay-what-you-order, and the Lunch Club fee is
$7 in advance or $10 at the door. RSVP here: http://www.thelunchclub.com/clubhouse/calendar.php?do=viewlcevent&e=2296
Location Info: Boat Basin Cafe, 79th and the Hudson River
Subway: 1 to 79th Street

Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tour
11 a.m.
Get a little too close to underground dwellers during this walking tour of this former subway passage.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: Meet at the southwest corner of Court Street and Atlantic Avenue
Subway: F,G to Bergen Street, R to Court Street

India Day Parade
12 p.m.
Watch out for Suzzane from Slumdog Millionaire during this fete celebrating India independence!
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: 48th Street to 28th Street on Madison Avenue
Subway: 6 to Grand Central, 50th Street

Mad Men premiere
10 p.m.
Watch the season 3 premiere of this sultry 60's series with hundreds of your closest friends on a big screen in Times Square. Costume contest begins at 8 p.m.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Broadway between 46th and 47th Street
Subway: C,E to 50th Street, R,W to 49th Street

Also stop by the High Line for free coffee drinks from Crop to Cup near the 16th Street entrance to the park, at the Chelsea Market underpass.

Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin, August 12, 2009, For Thursday August 13, 2009

One Terrific Thursday...
There's just so much going on Thursday that I had to get it all down here. Enjoy!

Pat Benatar/Blondie/The Donnas
7:30 p.m.
I know I'm not the only blogger/writer to mention this concert, but this is too good to miss. Be careful y'all, remember "love is a battlefield" "one way or another."
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Asser Levy Park/Seaside Avenue, Coney Island/Brighton Beach across from the NY Aquarium
Subway: N or D trains to the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station, For Q to West 8th Street

Mad Square Reads-Food as Fuel and Memory
6:30 p.m.
As you get your Top Chef Masters on, and await the premiere of the regular Top Chef (what can I say, I'm Bravo's bitch), check out this program featuring Moira Hodgson and Tim Stark. Hodgson is the author of the memoir It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time and is the restaurant critic for the New York Observer. Stark is an accidental urban farmer and author of Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Madison Square Park
Subway: 6 to 23rd Street, N,R,W to 23rd Street

The Cheese Chronicles book signing + after-party
Book signing: 7:30 p.m. After-party: 9 p.m.
Learn the cheesy process of how cheese is made from the Cheese Chronicles and meet author Liz Thorpe at each event.
Cheap Chick Info: Signing is free! At the after-party you can get samples of three cheeses plus a beer for $15
Location: Signing: Barnes & Noble Park Slope, 267 7th Avenue (Brooklyn) After-party: Beer Table, 427 7th Avenue (Brooklyn)
Subway: F to 7th Avenue

Don't forget that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is at Brooklyn Bridge Park! http://brooklynbridgepark.org/go/programs-/-events/movies-with-a-view

Also the cast of Robot Chicken including Seth Green and Breckin Meyer will be hosting a free roller skating party at Riverbank State Park (at Riverside Drive at 145th Street) from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Subway: 1 to 145th Street

Cheap Chick Weekend Picks, August 7-9, 2009

Friday August 7th
Full Swing Friday at Dance Manhattan
8 p.m. Free introduction class starts, partying starts at 9:30 p.m.
Jump, jive, and wail with West Coast and East Coast swing dancing!
Cheap Chick Info: $10 or less depending on certain dance affiliations
Location Info: Dance Manhattan, 39 West 15th Street, Fifth Floor
Subway: 4,5,6,N,R,Q,W,L to Union Square

MMP Party
10 p.m.
The two M's in this party do NOT stand for Mickey Mouse, but rather pop music icons Madonna and Michael Jackson. The P is for Prince. Hmmm, sounds like the start of a music alphabet...Anyway DJ DeeJay will be mashing the tunes of these artists so you can get down with your bad self on the dance floor.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street
Subway: A,C,E,V,F,B,D to West 4th Street

A Midsummer Night's Dream in Riverside Park
6:30 p.m.
Perhaps you'll see a fairy or two in the forest...just don't be an ass as you check out this performance by Hudson Warehouse!
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Riverside Park, North Patio of Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument (89th Street)
Subway: 1 to 86th Street

American Classics Wine Tasting
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Sample and learn about a variety of American wines.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Astor Wine, 399 Lafayette St at East 4th St.
Subway: 6 to Astor Place

Saturday August 8th
Metropolitan Museum of Art Scavenger Hunt with the Lunch Club
2 p.m.
How well do you really know the museum? Have you been to the rooftop cafe? Can you find Madame X? The Costume Institute? Do you know what kind of graffiti is on the Temple of Dendur? Find out the answer to these and many other burning questions during this Lunch Club scavenger hunt.
Cheap Chick Info: $10 in advance or $15 at the event, join the club's meal plan and it's only $4. Join as a monthly member and it's free! RSVP here: http://www.thelunchclub.com/clubhouse/calendar.php?do=viewlcevent&e=2244
Location Info: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Ave@82nd Street, Meet at the south side of the main stairway
Subway: 6 to 86th Street

Fungus Tour with Paul Sadowsky of the NY Mycological Society
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Find out if you can you spot fungus among us during this walk in search of edible, inedible, or poinsonous mushrooms.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Inwood Hill Park, Payson Playground (Dyckman Street and Payson Avenue)
Subway: 1 or 9 to 215th Street

Saturday August 8th and Sunday August 9th, 2009
Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Say hi to Puff (I mean the literal dragon btw) for me if you see him lurking around the long dragon boats. Other cultural activities include demonstrations, crafts, and food.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Subway: 7 train to Mets-Willets Point Station

Civil War History Weekend on Governors Island
Travel back in time to the 1860's with living history demonstrations, music and other programs.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Governors Island
Subway: Take the 1 to South Ferry, or the R to Whitehall Street and then take the ferry to the island. The ferry terminal is almost right next door to the Staten Island Ferry terminal.

Brooklyn Electronic Musical Festival
4 p.m. (Saturday) and overnight to 4 a.m. in the morning
Check out this outdoor music festival with more than 40 different DJs.
Cheap Chick Info: $25 in advance
Location Info: The Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street at Third Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn
Subway: F, G to Carroll St; M, R to Union St.

Sunday August 9th
Sunday Afternoon In Harlem, A Celebration of Cultural and Historical Harlem
12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Enjoy an afternoon of walking tours with architects, historians, and local residents. More specific info on the tours can be found here: http://www.culturenow.org/HarlemNOW/index.php?page=events
Cheap Chick Info: $20, includes all tours, a copy of the HarlemNOW cultural and historical map, and reception. Purchase tkts here.
Location Info: West Harlem Piers Park, 132nd St & the River
Subway: 1 to 137th Street

Dominican Day Parade
12 p.m.
Watch revelers celebrate the Dominican Republic from 36th Streets to 56 Streets on Sixth Avenue.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: See above.
Subway: D,F,N,Q,R,W to 34th Street Herald Square

Star Wars Screening
8 p.m.
Light sabers, Luke, and Leia, oh my! Don't find yourself in a garbage chute at this free screening!
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: 757 Fulton St. at S. Portland St, Brooklyn
Subway: C to Lafayette

Remember that Housing Works is having a $1 sale (http://www.housingworks.org/social-enterprise/bookstore-cafe/), and BAM is honoring Carey Grant with a schedule of movie screenings (http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=1409)

I know I'm not the only blogger saying this, but I highly recommend catching a showing of Julie/Julia. I was able to see a free sneak preview (yes the Cheap Chick has connections :) and I thought it was a fun, light two hours, and Meryl Streep channeled the spirit of Julia Child delightfully. Though there are actually some parallels between Julie Powell and myself-we're both bloggers (I will say I found the story of her blog inspiring!) and we both live in Queens, I found her character a bit whiny at times-my friend said she thought it made her realistic, I'm not so sure...

Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin, for Tonight, Thursday August 6, 2009, Purple Rain Sing-along

Purple Rain Sing-along
7:30 p.m.
Come "get your Prince on" with this Celebrate Brooklyn Event! Watch Purple Rain and sing to captioned lyrics on the screen. Don't forget dress festively with inspiration from the movie!
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Prospect Park Bandshell
Subway: F to 15th Street/Prospect Park

Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin, August 3, 2009 (For Today!), Macbeth

Instant Shakespeare
This is Shakespeare shaken, not stirred, into an instant play. Readings of the Bard's plays are being performed at the Mid-Manhattan Library. Tonight's performance is The Tragedie of Macbeth, so make sure you wash your hands before attending...and make sure you get a good "spot" for the performance!

On August 17th, escape the stormy weather and attend a performance of The Tempest.

Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Mid-Manhattan Library, 40th Street and Fifth Avenue (not to be confused with the lions
Subway: B,D,F,V to 42nd Street, 7 to Fifth Ave.

Lovley LIC (Long Island City)

OK, I'm returning with actual entries, and the promise of more to come! Alright back to your regular blogging schedule...(please also scroll down for a Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin for an event on August 5, 2009-RSVP required.)

P.S. 1
First stop was P.S. 1's summer Warm Up program, a weekly Saturday night party, which I am sorry to say I have never attended despite living in Queens for years. Most of the action this year is centered under cave-like structures covered with fur that, as my friend pointed out, paid homage to Planet of the Apes. As we felt a cooling mist fan our faces, we could people-watch as revelers stood in line at the bar, and ordered barbecue. Toward the museum entrance a DJ rocked some tunes, and people stood around in too-cool for school groups, some with tatts up and down their arms and clad in ripped jeans, while others sported designer dresses, though all danced, and tossed beach balls around graduation-day style.

Once you enter the museum you immediately get a whiff of its schoolroom past, with narrow hallways and doors, brick walls, water fountains, tile floors, and gym-like rooms, where you can almost see phantom ropes hanging from the ceilings. I have to say that one of the first things we saw was one of the coolest exhibits there, IMHO. It was a small rectangular swimming pool where you could look down and see the people on the floor below you, and conversely you could look up and see the people on the floor above you with the illusion of no bottom to the pool.

As we made our way through the museum, the other exhibits ranged from the amusing (a sparkling pink and multicolored flag decorated with glitter) to the touching (photos from Vietnam and Iraq.)

There is a space where you can hear the voice of Marilyn Monroe, a white bed with Gertrude and Alice are written on it in black and white, and a TV that plays a cigarette burning slowly. In one area there is a piano playing by itself as black and white images from a silent movie play in the background.

On one wall a picture of Albert Einstein dominates and is surrounded around pictures of presumably famous vegetarians. Another display that caught my eye was a VCR with videos labeled with the days of the week, with Saturday missing, and listed on-screen. I think one of the most disturbing images I saw was a clip of Leni Riefenstahl (a filmmaker famous for the Nazi propaganda movie, Triumph of the Will) claiming that she at least "didn't drop any atomic bombs on anyone" and "was not anti-Semitic."

Cheap Chick Cheap Trick: Queens residents in certain zip code areas get in for free! If you visit MOMA, save your tkt and you can enter P.S. 1 for free up to 30 days later.

Pio Pio Riko
After we left the museum we headed to Pio Pio Riko, a Peruvian restaurant that states on its menu that it has, "the best rotisserie chicken," and as this is what I sampled, I am pretty close to agreeing with their statement. You can't argue with the prices, they are very Cheap Chick-friendly, my chicken with beans and rice was only around $4, and was very tasty, though I'm not sure if it's the best rotisserie chicken in the city (in my head a little place down in Brooklyn is still a contender for that title...)

The complimentary appetizer was delicious, little round, hot nuts, with a yummy green dipping sauce, but we had to wait awhile for our food. As mentioned above, the prices are v. reasonable, most entrees are in the $12-$17 range, and the servings were so generous that a couple of the guys at our table couldn't finish their meals (though that might have been the second bowl of nuts we ordered...) There is an emphasis on seafood such as squid, shrimp, and fish, though there are some salad and meat options on the menu, and of course the "best rotisserie chicken."

The Water Taxi Beach
After dinner we headed to the Water Taxi Beach, one of the few places in New York City where you may actually want to walk around barefoot due to the yards of sand on the ground. Wooden picnic tables dot the landscape where you can enjoy amazing views of the Manhattan skyline, grab a hot dog, or sip one of the bar's special mixed drinks. Solid floors can be found under a tented area where you can dance your butt off to (somewhat loud) DJ music at night-I think I may have even seen some glow sticks there...Electric palm trees (yes, they're as tacky and cool as they sound) light up the beach area (remember don't bring your bathing suit, you can't go into the water) and you can cool off via a sprinkler system on the fence that sprays water every so often. During the day, there is space for sunbathing, sand castle building, and playing with beach toys. Shovel anyone?

P.S. 1 Warm-Up
Cheap Chick Info: $10, most Queens residents get in for free or save your MOMA tkt, good for free admission to P.S. 1 for up to 30 days.
Location Info: 22-25 Jackson Ave at the intersection of 46th Ave
Subway: E, V to 23rd Street/Ely Avenue

Pio Pio Riko
Cheap Chick Info: Soups, salads, and appetizers range from $4-$13. Entrees range from about $4 to about $23.
Location Info: 45-23 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside (FYI: this restaurant isn't actually that close to PS1, we actually had a car that night, so this might need to be a separate outing.)
Subway: 7 to 46th Street

Water Taxi Beach
Cheap Chick Info: Admission varies based on events, we got a coupon at PS1 for $5 off a $10, but there are also free events there too.
Location Info: 2 Borden Avenue, LIC
Subway: 7 to Vernon-Jackson Aves.

Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin, August 2, 2009, Career Seminar on August 5, 2009

If you're not sure where you're going, (and I don't mean any confusion caused by being below 14th Street or which subway you need to take) in your career then you might want to check out this free seminar:

Clearing a Path to Your Career
Wednesday August 5, 2009
7 p.m. to 8 :30 p.m.
Official info:
"Betsy Capes will teach you the tools forMTC S setting powerful goals and
taking strategic steps to build a lifelong career in the entertainment
industry. In this hour and a half long seminar you'll gain the focus
you need to stop feeling stuck and move forward with your career in a
proactive way."
Cheap Chick Info: Free! BUT space is limited so RSVP to info@capesco.com
Location Info: MTC Studios, 311 West 43rd Street, 8th floor, Studio 4
Subway: A,C,E to 42nd Street