Cheap Chick Weekend Picks, February 19-21, 2010

Friday February 19, 2010
Kevin Geeks Out About Monkeys
8 p.m.
Don't go ape, go monkeys (hopefully not a barrelful), and attend this live show hosted by writer-comedian Kevin Maher. Tonight features monkey trivia presented by The Big Quiz Thing's Noah Tarnow, comics, poetry, and video clips. Hopefully this event will help you get that monkey off your back, but don't worry, if a simean gets fresh with you, just tell them to "Get your hands off me, you damn, dirty ape," but be careful not to go bananas!
Cheap Chick Info: $10
Location Info: 92ndY Tribeca, 200 Hudson St.
Subway: 1,A,C,E to Canal St.

The Best of Harvard Sailing Team
11:59 p.m.
Live sketch comedy show with special guests The Chris and Paul Show. Hopefully no one will be "crimson" by the end...
Cheap Chick Info: $12
Location Info: Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette bet. E4th and Astor Place
Subway: 6 to Astor Place

Winter Break Film Festival, Planet Earth
12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Commune with your wild side as you watch the Discovery Channel special.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Prospect Park, Audobon Center (Enter the Park at Lincoln Road & Ocean Avenue or Flatbush Avenue & Empire Boulevard (Willink entrance) and follow the directional signs.)
Subway: F to Prospect Park

Colum McCann Reading
7 p.m.
Hear the author speak about his latest book, which unites characters to the 1974 tightrope walk between the Twin Towers.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: powerhouse (yes the p is not supposed to be capitalized) Arena, 37 Main St.
Subway: F to York, A,C to High St.

Tumblr Reading
6:30 p.m.
Bloggers from the Internet site including Julie Klausner, Choire Sicha, Meaghan O’Connell, Will Leitch, Emily Gould, Matthew Gallaway, Edith Zimmerman, Bailey Kennedy, Halle Kiefer, Melissa Gira Grant, Foster Kamer, and Diana Viliber read at this reception.
Cheap Chick Info: Free plus open bar!
Location Info: Housing Works Bookstore, 126 Crosby St.
Subway: B,D,F,V to Broadway-Lafayette, Downtown 6 to Bleecker St.

Tonight is a Free Friday at the South Street Seaport Museum from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and you catch some Olympics ice hockey action at the Bohemian Beer Garden in Queens on the big screen (through Feb. 21.)

Saturday February 20, 2010
American Tail Sing-a-long
11 p.m.
Was there ever a cuter, little immigrant mouse? I think not...
Cheap Chick Info: $13 ticket includes one beer, buy tkts here.
Location Info: 92ndY Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street
Subway: A,C,E,1 to Canal St.

Jersey Shore Costume Party
Midnight (11:59 p.m.)
Don't forget the spray tan (or the hairspray I'm betting...) at this shindig. Show off the best the Garden State has to offer *raises eyebrows* and flex those muscles, there are prizes for the best costumes.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Union Hall, 702 Union St. at Fifth Ave., Brooklyn
Subway: R to Union St.

Celebrate Black History Month in Historic Harlem
1 p.m.
Take a special Big Onion walking tour and find out more about this historic area of the city. Stops may include the Abyssinian Baptist Church, Striver's Row, the Big Apple Night Club, and sites associated with the Harlem Renaissance, W.E.B. Du Bois, Madame C.J. Walker, Marcus Garvey, and Malcolm X.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: Meet at the northwest corner of 135th Street & Lenox (Malcolm X) Avenue D in front of the Schomburg Center
Subway: 2, 3 to 135th Street

Free Bargemusic Concert
1 p.m.
This free chamber music performance on a "floating concert hall" is part of a monthly series of free concerts through May.
Cheap Chick Info: Free, but there is no reserved seating, and I'm guessing it fills up fast, so I'd recommend getting there early if you can!
Location Info: Fulton Ferry Landing near the Brooklyn Bridge (DUMBO)
Subway: A,C to High St., F to York

Celebrate the Lunar New Year in Flushing and let your inner tiger roar, and say Hola to el Museo Del Barrio with their free Third Saturday Super Sabado special events!

Saturday and Sunday February 20th and 21st, 2010
Park Slope Book Sale
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (both days)
Scavenge through piles of books, DVD's, CD's, and even VHS tapes-yes they still exist!
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: United Methodist Church, 6th Ave at 8th Street, Brooklyn
Subway: F to Seventh Ave.

Noho and the East Village History and Dessert Tour
2 p.m.
From Discovery Walking Tours: "A historical tour of the two neighborhoods, which served as home to both immigrants and the some of the most exclusive New Yorkers of the 1800s. Stops include Cooper Union, the site of the Astor Place riots, Colonnade Row, and Grace Church."
Cheap Chick Info: $22 includes sweets
Location Info: Call 212-465-3331 for location details.
Subway: See above.

The Coffee and Tea Festival is being held Saturday and Sunday too!

Sunday February 21, 2010
Carmen Live in HD
See this performance from at Teatro alla Scala, in Milan, Italy on the big screen.
Cheap Chick Info: $21, buy tickets here.
Location Info: Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway
Subway: 1,2,3,C to 96th Street

Brunch With The Lunch Club
1 p.m.
Meet some new people as you nosh on Greek specialties.
Cheap Chick Info: Free to go, just pay for your own food. RSVP here.
Location Info: Cafe Brama, 157 2nd Ave, (between 9th and 10th)
Subway: 6 to Astor Place

Discover Tours: Prospect Park
3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Learn more about the flora and fauna of the park!
Cheap Chick Info: Free! Call (718) 287-3400 for more information.
Location Info: Prospect Park Audubon Center (Enter the Park at Lincoln Road & Ocean Avenue or Flatbush Avenue & Empire Boulevard)
Subway: F to Prospect Park

Burton Greene and Perry Robinson Jazz Concert
3 p.m.
Bring those jazz hands along with you at this Jewish-themed jazz concert!
Cheap Chick Info: $20, $12 students and seniors
Location Info: Museum at Eldridge St., 12 Eldridge St. bet. Canal and Division
Subway: F to E. Broadway, D to Grand

Colonial Chocolate Days
1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Check out a presentation on "Social Drinking in 18th & 19th Century France & America," and then watch how chocolate was made 200 years ago.
Cheap Chick Info: $20 per person, $15 for members and $10 for childrenAdvanced registration is required. Call (212) 923-8008 to register.
Location Info: Morris-Jumel Mansion, (between 160th and 162nd Streets just east of St. Nicholas Avenue)
Subway: C to 163rd

On Sunday you can celebrate Washington's birthday with a ball, and all weekend long you can check out the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Brooklyn, and don't forget the Williamsburg Fashion Weekend!

To celebrate Black History Month, the New York Transit Museum is offering special guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. that highlight the contributions of African-Americans to the city's subway!

I Love President's in the Year of the Tiger Or Weekend Picks for Feb. 12-15, 2010, Scroll Down for Saturday and Sunday Picks!

Since we're hitting three holidays in one this weekend, I'm dividing up weekend picks for Valentine's Day, the Chinese New Year, and President's Day!
Valentine's Day
Friday February 12, 2010
Open Mic Love With Kelly Tsai
Share your stories of true love, heartbreak, and compare relationship battle scars, or just watch others talk about their love lives.
Cheap Chick Info: $7 for adults, $4 children and seniors, free to members and those performing, to sign up to perform, email education@mocanyc.org..
Location Info: Museum of the Chinese in the Americas
Subway: N, R, Q, W, J, M, Z, and 6 trains to Canal Street

Nerd Night
Exercise those brain muscles with trivia and lectures onvideo games that intentionally mess with their players’ minds, forgotten vice presidents, and the tactics used by the government in their psychic experiments as part of a larger project, “Stargate.”
Cheap Chick Info: Trivia is $13, and Nerd Night itself is $10, buy tickets here.
Location Info: Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main Street
Subway: A,C to High St., F to York

Crazy in Love: A Valentine's Mixer for Gals and Gays
7 p.m.
Menage a Twang performs country music and Destiny Child's covers.
Cheap Chick Info: $10
Location Info: Housing Works Bookstore, 126 Crosby St.
Subway: Downtown 6 to Bleecker, B,D,F,V to Broadway/Lafayette

Check out a lecture on aphrodisiacs at 92nd Street Y today at noon and Basic Instinct starts today through the 14th at IFC.

Today's Chinese New Year event is a flower festival at Sara D. Roosevelt Park (Christie at Forsyth-F,V to the Lower East Side) from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. There will be all sorts of yummy treats and other Chinese trinkets.

I Love Presidents in the Year of the Tiger Continued!

Saturday February 13, 2010
Pre-Valentine's Party

10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

David Shapiro hosts this love it or hate it pre-V-day party complete with pool, foos ball, and ping pong complete with complimentary appetizers, and 2for1 drink specials from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Cheap Chick Info: $10 cover with RSVP here, otherwise $15 w/o RSVP. Be aware that "proper attire is required" and there is a discretionary door policy.
Location Info: Slate, 54 W. 21st bet. Fifth and Sixth
Subway: N,R,W to 23rd St.

Le Bingo
6:30 p.m.

Murray Hill and Linda Simpson prove that Bingo is not just for church groups and retirement homes. The drag duo puts their own spin on the game with tater tot specials and crazy prizes.

Cheap Chick Info: Free-but the Cheap Chick has been to LPR before and they are sneaky about requiring drink and food minimums, so be on the alert!
Location Info: Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St.
Subway: A,C,E,F,D to West 4th St.

The American Magic Lantern Theater

3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Galapagos describes this event as a "fun-filled combination of projected images, live drama, and live music that led to the movies." Love is the theme today natch, so come see the spectacle for yourselves...
Cheap Chick Info: $15 for adults, $5 for kids
Location Info: Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main St.
Subway: F to York St., A,C to High St.

Saturday Feb. 13 and Sunday Feb. 14th

Romantic Greenwich Village History and Dessert Tour

2 p.m.

Discovery Walking Tours hosts a romantic stroll to sites associated with romance in literature and history, with dessert stops along the way to take in sweets. Sites include Grove Court, which inspired O. Henry setting in The Last Leaf'; the Victorian townhouse where Woodrow Wilson proposed to First Lady Edith Galt; and the site of the first presidential wedding.

Cheap Chick Info: $22 (includes sweets.)
Location Info: Call 212-465-3331 for reservation and meeting time.
Subway: See above.

There is also a Pre-Valentine's Fest at the Brooklyn Knitting Factory, a lecture on Valentine's With Robots at Bluestockings, and a comedy show riffed off The Dating Game at the People's Improv Theater.

Sunday February 14, 2010
The Rejection Show's Valentine's Day Heartbreak Haven
8 p.m.

Live version of the cult-status show with performers including Adam Wade, Big Terrific host and AV Club contributor Max Silvestri, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon writer and Rejection Show creator Jon Friedman.

Cheap Chick Info: $10
Location Info: The Bell House, 149 Seventh St.
Subway: F,M,R to 4th Ave. and 9th St.

Valentine's Day Dinner and a Movie: It Happened One Night
6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.

I wonder if it happened again another night? I guess we'll never know, but check out what happened one night in this screwball romantic comedy with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Tell me do they talk as fast as they do on Gilmore Girls?

Cheap Chick Info: It's part of a dinner and a movie night, if you can splurge on the $64 dinner, but the movie itself is only $12.
Location Info: BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette, Brooklyn
Subway: G to Fulton, F to Lafayette

Love in the Parlors: A Valentine in Concert
5:30 p.m.
From the website: "A 70-minute program of romantic songs and arias by 19th-century composers performed in the Museum’s Greek Revival double parlors by members of the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society."
Cheap Chick Info: $20
Location Info: Merchant's House Museum, 29 E. Fourth St.
Subway: 6 to Astor Place

Wife of Bath Valentine's Festival of Erotic Poetry
8 p.m.
Just a guess here, but I'm guessing (er, hoping...) that Chaucer is involved.
Cheap Chick Info: $8
Location Info: Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery
Subway: 6 to Bleecker St.

Annual Valentine's Day Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour
1 p.m.
Sample foods from the Dominican Republic, Eastern Europe, China, Italy, and more as you walk around the LES, Chinatown, and Little Italy.
Cheap Chick Info: $20, reservations required, call (212) 439-1090
Location Info: Southeast corner of Delancey and Essex Streets, in front of the Olympic Diner
Subway: F to Delancey, JMZ to Essex

Valentine's Chocolate Walking Tour
11 a.m.
Indulge the chocolate lover inside and see if you can resist "the dark master" at four chocolate shops Mariebelle, Kee's, Vosges, and a surprise final location!
Cheap Chick Info: $5 donation to fight hunger, plus purchase of chocolates
Location Info: Meet at MarieBelle Chocolates 484 Broome St. (West Broadway)
Subway: C,E to Spring St.

See if you can actually melt a heart of ice with a heart-shaped sculpture on display at Times Square, check out a free exhibition of love poetry at Poet's House (thru Mar. 13, 2010), learn about 19th century courtship at the Mount Vernon "Tokens of Love" exhibit (through March 14, 2010), take a Romantic Ghosts of New York walking tour, and take a Poetry-inspired hike through Central Park-meet at 11 a.m. at Belvedere Castle.

Roar in the Year of the Tiger With...
Saturday February 13, 2010
Preparing for the new year in Chinatown Walking Tour
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
See how the neighborhood is preparing for the upcoming holiday and discover the traditions and customs associated with the new year. Sponsored by the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas.
Cheap Chick Info: Tickets range from $8-$15, reserve tkts here.
Location Info: Museum of the Chinese in the Americas, 215 Centre St.
Subway: N, R, Q, W, J, M, Z, and 6 trains to Canal Street

Big Onion Chinatown Walking Tour
1 p.m.
From the website, "Learn about Chinese immigration as our tour could stop at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the Church of the Transfiguration, the Lee Family Association, outdoor markets and the Lin Zeju and Confucius statues."
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: Meet at the southeast corner of Grand & Chrystie Street, at Roosevelt Park
Subway: B,D to Grand St.

Chinese Paper Cutting
2 p.m.
Hopefully this is easier than cutting out paper snowflakes! 2-D and 3-D crafts options are available for experimentation.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle
Subway: 1,A,C,D to 59th St./Columbus Circle

President's Day
Revoluntionary New York Walking Tour
1 p.m.
Find out about NYC's connections to the Revolutionary War. Stops may include Fraunces Tavern, the graves of Alexander Hamilton and General Richard Montgomery, Federal Hall, and sites associated with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay and Albert Gallatin.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: Intersection of Broadway and Murray Street, at gated entrance to City Hall Park
Subway: 2,3 to Park Place, 4,5,6 to Brooklyn Bridge, R, W to City Hall

Don't forget that the Met is open today! Pay-what-you-wish is a beautiful thing, a $1 will do! The New York Historical Society is waiving the admission fee through Feb. 21st, 2010-a great excuse to view their Abraham Lincoln exhibit! You can also test your knowledge of that high-ranking office with presidential limericks at the Big Quiz Thing.

Editor's Note

Apologies all, due to technical difficulties, there are delays to the weekend picks, please check back for Friday's listings.

Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin for TONIGHT Feb. 10, 2010!

If you've had to work in the city today, or are tired of being cooped up all day, consider coming out to the Deadline Club's screening of "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism." It's still being held rain or snow, so come on down to Jimmy's No. 43!

Here are the details!
http://deadlineclub.org/events/0202-movie-night

Cheap Chick Weekend Picks, Feb. 5-7, 2010

Friday February 5, 2010
RuPaul Signing
See if you can drag yourself to this event where RuPaul will be promoting her latest book WORKIN' IT! RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style!.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Borders, Columbus Circle
Subway: A,C,1,2 TK to Columbus Circle

Lit magazine Launch
From Housing Works, "the literary journal of The New School’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program presents the best contemporary writing by influential poets and authors of today and tomorrow."
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Housing Works Bookstore, 126 Crosby St.
Subway: B,D,F,V, downtown 6 to Broadway-Lafayette

Interactive Roman Art Seminar
6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Learn more about Roman art from curators and educators from the museum.
Cheap Chick Info: Free with museum admission (remember it's suggested, so a $1 will do!), to register, email observanteye@metmuseum.org, space is limited to 25 people.
Location Info: Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Subway: 4,5,6 to 86th St.

NY Open Center Open House
6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Participate in workshops and nosh on free foods and drinks.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: New York Open Center. 22 E. 30th St. at Madison Ave.
Subway: R, W to 28th St., 6 to 28

Saturday February 6, 2010
Central Park Winter Jam
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Calling all snowbunnies! The park will be transformed into a winter wonderland where you can ski, snowboard, (lessons are available) and snowshoe, plus sample special snacks, and see high-flying trampoline acrobats.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Central Park, bandshell area-enter at 72nd St.
Subway: C to 72nd St.

MOMA Art Book Swap
12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Trade out those coffee table tomes you never look at anymore for another artsy alternative.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Museum of Modern Art,
Subway: E to Fifth Ave./53rd St.

Scavenger Hunt at the Natural History Museum With the Lunch Club
1:30 p.m.
Don't knock down any dinosaur bones, I don't know if all the king's horses and all the king's men could put them back together again...but discover TK about the museum, and make a few new friends too.
Cheap Chick Info: $10 in advance or $15 at the door, plus museum admission (remember it's suggested!) RSVP here.
Location Info: Ameican Museum of Natural History, 79 Street And Central Park West, Meet on the steps of the main entrance of the museum, on the north side
Subway: C to 81st St./The Museum of Natural History

Argentine Tango Party
8 p.m. to 2 a.m., lesson at 8, party starts at 9, and a performance at midnight
Couples and singles are welcome to dance until they're dirty, or something like that, and light refreshments will be served.
Cheap Chick Info: $15
Location Info: 92nd St. Y, 1395 Lexington Ave.
Subway: 6 to 96th St.

Don't forget that tonight the Brooklyn Museum is free as part of its First Saturday program, celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Asia Society, and view fun films at the Iron Mule Film Festival.

Sunday February 7, 2010
Today is Super Bowl Sunday, be sure to watch the commercials, they're the best part, but if you must watch the game, enjoy! Or check out some alternatives!

Kakande at the Queens Public Library
3 p.m.
Listen as Famoro Dioubate plays the balafon, a wooden-keyed percussion instrument of West Africa and leads an ensemble including vocals, guitars, flues, and cellos, in a performance that the library describes as, "lush vocals, sinewy guitars, flutes, and cellos meet the virtuosic balafon of this master griot from Guinea."
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Queens Public Library, Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Boulevard
(at 89th Avenue)
Subway: F to 169th Street

Jennifer 8. Lee
2 p.m.
The author discusses her book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles
Cheap Chick Info: Free with museum admission ($10 suggested donation)!
Location Info: Museum of the City of New York, 1220 5th Avenue@103rd St.
Subway: 6 to 103rd St.

Criminals, Caps, and Capers
11 a.m.
Learn about the history of the NYPD, and crazy crimes of the city's past.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Fort Greene Park, Fort Greene Visitor Center, Fort Greene Park, Enter the park at Myrtle Ave. and Washington Park
Subway: C to Lafayette, G to Fulton

Super Bowl Party
4 p.m. to midnight
Watch the commercials (I mean the game) with drink and food specials galore! Munchies include wings, ribs, flatbreads, burgers, and more. All football fans will be entered to win free VIP tickets to see a Who tribute concert at Carnegie Hall and access to the after-party.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: City Winery, 155 Varick St.
Subway: 1 to Houston, C,E to Spring St.

Looks like Brooklyn Bowl is also having a Super Bowl Bash!

Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin, February 1, 2010

Back to the future! Check out these upcoming cheap and free events!

Monday Feb. 1, 2010
Indie and Music at Housing Works Bookstore!
http://www.housingworks.org/events/detail/indie-presses-and-indie-music-ugly-duckling-presse-fractious-and-franklin-b/

Tuesday Feb. 2, 2010
La Soiree Rouge, cultural evening with music and a play reading! http://www.redproductionsnyc.com/upcoming.html

Wednesday Feb. 3
The Upper East Side Music Festival starts today and runs through the 27th. Buy tkts here: http://www.myspace.com/djmisterx

Meet the cast of the upcoming movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, based on the popular book series (limited wristbands available with book purchase) at the Borders at Kip's Bay.

Farther out, on Wednesday Feb 10, watch Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism and join a discussion after the film with the Deadline Club. DC members are free, others pay $5 and there is a 2-drink minimum (includes non-alcoholic beverages.) For more info visit deadlineclub.org, and RSVP to rsvp@deadlineclub.org.