Best Things To Do In New York This Weekend August 5-6
By Jessica Allen
In case you haven't noticed, summer is flying by. F L Y I N G. But August means three glorious Saturdays of Summer Streets. Read on for our recs for what else to do besides sashay down a car-free Park Avenue this weekend.
Mostly Mozart
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
10 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY 10023
(212) 875-5456
www.lincolncenter.org
Every summer Lincoln Center celebrates the transporting music and tremendous legacy of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Throughout the multi-week festival, you can hear Mozart, as well as Schubert and contemporary work, performed by such professionals as the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Young People's Chorus of New York City, Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Danish String Quartet. Along with concerts there will be stage productions too. Simply glorious! Now through Sunday, August 20; see schedule for details;tickets required.
Summer Streets
Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park
From Lafayette and Chamber Streets to Park Avenue and East 72nd Street
New York, NY
on.nyc.gov
Inspired by car-free events in Colombia and France, New York began Summer Streets a few years ago. This year, some seven miles will be open for folks to bike, stroll, saunter, sashay, run, jog, cartwheel, and just move from Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge and back. Scheduled activities along the route include a giant inflatable water park, a 165-foot-long zip line, an interactive art installation, concerts, historical walking tours, yoga, meditation, bike-helmet fittings and cooking demos. Saturday, August 5; 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.; see schedule for details; free.
The Last Picture Show
Nitehawk Cinema
136 Metropolitan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11249
(718) 782-8370
nitehawkcinema.com
This weekend you can catch Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show on the big screen. Set in a tiny Texas town in the early 1950s, the Academy Award-winning movie (and the book on which it was based) tell the semi-autobiographical story of Sonny, who's just trying to come of age with minimal damage to himself or anyone else. The brunch screening includes a live preshow concert of Hank Williams covers by Kaw-Liga, as well as Nitehawk's great eats (we recommend the tater tots). Saturday, August 5; movie begins at 11 a.m.; tickets required.
Hindu Lamp Ceremony
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Pebble Beach
Brooklyn, NY 11201
www.brooklynbridgepark.org
There's a lot to love about summer in the city, and we're not only talking about the way it was immortalized by The Lovin' Spoonful. No, we're talking about the amazing programming that takes place in parks throughout the five boroughs (we're looking at you, SummerStage). On Saturday you can participate in the Aarati, a Hindu ceremony that helps inspire gratitude, peace, and harmony. You can decorate your own palm leaf lamp, then offer a prayer and launch your creation into the East River. Saturday, August 5; ceremony starts at 4 p.m.; free.
Ecofest
Times Square
New York, NY 10036
(212) 496-2030
www.ecofest.com
The 29th annual Ecofest takes over Times Square on Sunday for a family-friendly festival of environmentalism. There will be discussions, lectures, pet adoptions, demos of alternative-energy vehicles, musical performances, health and wellness screenings, and info about making sustainable changes in your life that can have a far-reaching, uber-positive impact. We're most excited about the Eco-Fashion Show, featuring clothing made with recycled and organic materials. Reduce, reuse, recycle, and re-wear, indeed. Sunday, August 6; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; free.
