Does it seem like Manhattan is a veritable ghost town on weekends? Well, we love it that way. Don’t despair that you missed the Jitney; New York holds much in store for you this weekend. Take a look.
Good Morning America Summer Concert Series: Sean Paul
8:30 a.m.–9:00 a.m.
In the Good Morning America Summer Concert Series, Sean Paul performs.
Central Park opens to the public at 6 a.m. and audience members will be permitted to enter the park starting then. Concerts are free and open to the public. Entrance is on a first-come, first-served basis, so arrive at 6 a.m. “Good Morning America” airs live from 7 to 9 a.m., with concert performances usually starting around 8:30 a.m.
Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
Shakespeare in Riverside Park: Hamlet
Join Hudson Warehouse (pictured above), the Other Shakespeare in the Park, for their production of Hamlet, a classic Shakespeare tragedy. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who murdered Hamlet’s father, the King, and then took the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother.
Performances take place at Riverside Park, North Patio of Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument (89th Street). Contact hudsonwarehouse@aol.com for more information.
Bryant Park Petanque
11:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Learn to play pétanque, the popular European game anchored in precision, patience, and camaraderie from members of La Boule New Yorkaise, NYC’s championship-winning club, in Bryant Park. The Petanque Courts are located at 42nd Street and 6th Avenue. Call (212) 768-4242 or email bcp@urbanmgt.com for more information.
Piano in Bryant Park
12:00 p.m.–1:45 p.m.
Listen to Ragtime, jazz, and more from the city’s best pianists on the park’s custom made piano in Bryant Park on the Upper Terrace. Piano in Bryant Park is presented in partnership with Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, the Music Performance Fund, and Sam Ash Music Stores. ? Call 212-768-4242 or email bpc@urbanmgt.com for more information.
Bryant Park Chess Lessons
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Learn strategies, tactics, unexpected attacks, and unusual combinations in Bryant Park from the experts at Midtown Backgammon and Chess. The Bryant Park Chess Area is located at 40th Street and 5th Avenue.
Hell’s Kitchen Summer Fest
12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Come enjoy music, games, and neighbors in Mathews-Palmer Playground! Rosie’s Broadway Kids will offer workshops and performances to celebrate the summer in their neighborhood playground. The 45th and 46th Street Block Associations with the Ryan Chelsea Clinton Health Center invite everyone to join the fun. The Playground is located between 9th Avenue and 10th Avenue with entrances on 45th and 46th streets
Exhibition: Mid-19th Century Underwear
12:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
We at Woman Around Town are dying to see this exhibit of women’s underwear from the 19th century. It will make all of our steamy romance reads all the more interesting! Take a peek at rarely seen ‘unmentionables’ of the 1850s and 60s, including a lady’s chemise, corset, drawers, stockings, and cage crinoline. Included with regular admission. Reservations not required. The exhibit is at the Merchant’s House Museum (29 East Fourth Street). Call (212) 777-1089 for more information or visit www.merchantshouse.com.
Midsummer Night Swing: La Sonora Dinamita
Damrosch Park (62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam; 6:30 pm
These Colombian cumbia legends are credited with helping to popularize the genre throughout Latin America since their founding in 1960. Re-formed by Fruko in 1975 with musicians drawn from Fruko y Sus Tesos, Dinamita’s flirtatious female singers hold their own against the explosive power of the brassy big band.
This performance is part of the Midsummer Night Swing, now in its 21st season, which heats up Damrosch Park with the rhythms that keep New York dancing.? Visit www.midsummernightswing.org for more information.
Central Park Summerstage: Bettye LaVette, The Budos Band, and the Felix Hernandez Rhythm Revue
7:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
The sophisticated soul songstress Bettye LaVette shares a bill with the NYC’s own Afro Soul band, Budos Band, and Felix Hernandez, a radio personality/soul music champion.
Located at the Rumsey Playfield, Central Park (Enter the park at 69th Street and 5th Avenue on the east side). Free. Visit www.summerstage.org for more information.
Manhattan
River to River Festival: BPC Parks’ Sunset Jam on the Hudson
7:00 p.m. Robert E. Wagner Jr. Park
Improvise on African, Latin and Caribbean rhythms in a drumming circle led by master drummers. Instruments provided or bring own. Fridays through August 28.
The River To River Festival takes place each summer from June through August, in a variety of public venues that canvas all of Downtown New York – from Chambers Street down to the southern tip of Manhattan and across the island from river to river.
Inwood Shakespeare Festival: Dracula
Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.
For its 10th season of free theater and music in Northern Manhattan, the Inwood Shakespeare Festival presents Dracula by Lee Kaplan and Ted Minos (based on the story by Bram Stoker). Bring your blankets and we’ll see you there.
Costumes by Catherine Bruce, fight choreography by Ray A. Rodriguez, and music by Luke St. Francis.
On the Inwood Hill Park Peninsula. Enter the park from 218 Street and Indian Road and walk west past the Nature Center to the peninsula.
Hudson River Park’s River Flicks for Kids: Ghostbusters
8:00 p.m.
Join us at Hudson River Park’s Pier 46 as we screen new and classic films for the whole family! Come to Pier 46 at Charles Street. Call 212-627-2121
Joan of Arc Presented by Gorilla Rep
8:00 p.m. FREE
Gorilla Rep will begin another summer of the finest quality of free theatre in the park with the world premiere of Joan of Arc by Robert Steven Ackerman.
The play, starring French actress Aleksandra Yermak, was commissioned by Gorilla Rep’s Founding Artistic Director, Christopher Carter Sanderson, who also directs. The production, which marks the 17th season for the highly respected theatre company, will perform on the Pine Lawn in Fort Tryon Park.
Fort Tryon Park, Meet on the Pine Lawn west of the Heather Garden. Call (212) 252-5258 for more information.
Films on the Green: Claire’s Knee
Tompkins Square Park. 8:30 p.m.
In this film a career diplomat visits an old acquaintance, perhaps a former girlfriend, on the eve of his wedding. Through her, he meets an intense teenager, Laura, and subsequently lusts after her sister, Claire. Whilst Laura attempts to flirt with him, his fantasy becomes focused on wanting to caress Claire’s knee.
SATURDAY JULY 25
Drawing on the Energies of the Garden
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. FREE
In this free adult drawing class in the garden with Barbara Slitkim, the garden itself will be a point of inspiration for all those who wish to develop perceptual and observational skills. Whether you are interested in learning to draw from life, or would enjoy exploring feelings abstractly, this series will allow for maximum flexibility and encourage personal creativity. No previous art training is required. Pencil and paper supplies will be provided, space permitting. To register, contact skrem@32@yahoo.com. Held at Dias Y Flores, 520-522 East 13th Street, between Avenues A & B.
Marina Day 2009
11:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. FREE
The Parks Department is celebrating this year’s summer on the waterfront by hosting a marina “open house” featuring guests and exhibitors from the River Project, Museum of Natural History, Hudson River Park Trust and Urban Park Rangers. The public will have the opportunity to meet the Parks Dockmasters, learn about marine ecology, gain nautical skills like knot tying, race toy Parks tugboats, and view how a dock is constructed by the marina’s dock builder. There will be Hudson River “touch tanks” where the public will literally be able to feel the living river. Free sailing trips aboard 42-foot sailing vessel Go’lightly will be offered throughout the day and the public will also be invited for deck tours aboard Parks Enforcement Harbor Patrol’s new vessel as well as Pete Seeger’s 18th century wooden tall ship, the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. Come to Riverside Park, 79th Street Boat Basin (West 79th Street & The Hudson River, Riverside Park)
Central Park Summerstage: Jerry Rivera and N’Klabe
3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. FREE
The Grammy-nominated, chart-topping salsero Jerry Rivera spices things up for an afternoon of música muy caliente. Presented in association with Globe Star Media. Rumsey Playfield, Central Park (Enter the park at 69th Street and 5th Avenue on the east side).
Amble through the Ramble
3:00 p.m.
Are you in the mood to go hiking? Did you ever wander through the Ramble in Central Park only to become completely turned around? Tour the Ramble with an expert. Pass over streams, under arches, and through the woods along a maze of pathways in this secluded 38-acre woodland respite. Meet in Central Park, Belvedere Castle (mid-Park at 79th Street).
Family Camping
5:00 p.m.
Enjoy what everyone in the suburbs does at least once. A night of camping in the backyard. Hard to do in Manhattan, but now you can enjoy a night of camping under the stars in Manhattan’s last natural forest! This will be an evening to remember, with activities and an exciting night hike. Make sure you bring a flashlight! Space limited. To register, visit http://nyc.gov/parks/rangers/register. Camping will be at the Inwood Hill Nature Center, Inwood Hill Park. Enter park at West 218th Street and Indian Road. Call 212-304-2365 for more information.
Shakespeare in Riverside Park: Hamlet
6:30 p.m.
Join Hudson Warehouse, the Other Shakespeare in the Park, for their production of Hamlet, a classic Shakespeare tragedy.
The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who murdered Hamlet’s father, the King, and then took the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. Performance takes place at Riverside Park, North Patio of Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument (89th Street). Contact Hudsonwarehouse@aol.com for more information.
Midsummer Night Swing: Harlem Renaissance Orchestra w/Houston Person
6:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
This jewel of Harlem revives the music of the Big Band era, with a tribute to jazz tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet. Soulful saxophonist Houston Person revels in the true spirit of Harlem jazz. This performance is part of the Midsummer Night Swing, now in its 21st season, which heats up Damrosch Park with the rhythms that keep New York dancing. Damrosch Park is at 62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam. Call 212-721-6500 or visit www.midsummernightswing.org for more information.
DJ at Dusk
7:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. FREE
Come out to the Riverside Park and enjoy a summer evening dancing to the soulful sounds of Jota the Mixologist. This event is free of charge and takes place at 151st Street Arcade below Riverside Drive. Call 212-870-3070 for more information.
Washington Sq. Summer Fair
Bleecker St. from Broadway – 6th Ave.
Vanderbilt YMCA 2nd Avenue Festival
Second Avenue between 42nd and 55th Street
SUNDAY JULY 26
Nautica New York City Triathlon
6:00 a.m.
Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be a Tri-athlete? Well, it may be too late to participate in this weekend’s Triathlon, but you can still have fun following the participants from event to event. Come and cheer these phenomenal athletes. The Nautica New York City Triathlon is an Olympic Distance race consisting of a 1500m swim, a 40k bike, and a 10k run.
Each year over 3000 athletes brave the waters of the mighty Hudson River before biking along Manhattan’s West Side highway. Finally, athletes put on their running shoes for a run through New York’s famed Central Park. Locations are Central Park, Riverside Park at 99th Street on the Hudson River. Visit www.nyctri.com for more details.
Le Carrousel Magique at Bryant Park
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Voilà… It’s magique with fun-filled tricks of all kinds in Bryant Park. Meet at the beautiful Le Carrousel in Bryant Park, 40th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.
Harlem Meer Performance Festival: Mambo by Orlando Marin
2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Join the Central Park Conservancy for the 2009 season of this popular FREE concert series that features the best in local emerging and established Latin, Jazz, World, and Gospel artists. Performances take place at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center (110th Street between Fifth and Lenox Avenues, inside the Park). Please call (212) 860-1370 or visit www.centralparknyc.org/performancefestival for more information.
NY Laughs: Laughter in the Park 2009
2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Who couldn’t use a laugh? Laughter in the Park is New York’s only free outdoor comedy series. Every week, NYLaughs presents two hours of comedy at one of six different city parks. This week they are at Tompkins Square Park, Old Bandshell Lawn, 7th Street between Avenues A and B.
NYLaughs, Inc. is a unique non-profit that wants to change the cultural landscape of the Big Apple through humor. We seek to elevate the comic arts and provide laughter for free to New Yorkers on a consistent basis by producing free live comedy shows in New York City’s public spaces; from its parks and streets to its subways. We want to make New York a better place through laughter!
Central Park Summerstage: Ginuwine, Joe, & Chico DeBarge
3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
A full afternoon of R&B legends will perform at the Rumsey Playfield, Central Park. Enter the Park at 69th Street and 5th Avenue. Presented in association Kedar Entertainment & Globe Star Media. Visit www.summerstage.org for more information.
Moondance: Los Hermanos Colon
6:30 p.m.
Whether you’ve been dancing for years, or want to learn how to boogie like a pro, Hudson River Park’s MoonDance is your chance to strut your stuff under the stars! No experience necessary. Featured styles include swing, tango, and salsa. Free dance lessons begin at 630 p.m. courtesy of Dance Manhattan. Live Bands go on at 7 p.m.! Located at Pier 54.
Summer on the Hudson: Acoustic Sundays – WAAW Band
7:00 p.m.
Enjoy spectacular sunsets over the Hudson as you listen to some of New York’s best jazz, R&B, and world music. This week, the WAAW Band performs Mbalax music, which comes from the Wolof people in Senegal, West Africa. Acoustic Sundays take place at Riverside Park South, Pier I at 70th Street.
52nd Association Jazz Festival
52nd St between Lexington and Seventh Aves. 10am–6pm.
Theater District Festival
47th St between Eighth and Ninth Aves.11am–6pm.
