Best Things To Do In NYC This Weekend
It's Valentine's Day! And President's Day! Hooray! Celebrate by attending a pow-wow, running around in your underpants for charity, and/or catching a movie at a film festival. Read on for details—and have a great time! By Jessica Allen.
This year's Dance Concert and Pow Wow includes performances of an Iroquois smoke dance, a hoop dance, a Hopi eagle dance, a Yaqui deer dance, and a "jingle dress" dance from the people of the Northern Plains. All told, more than 10 tribes from the Iroquois and Native Peoples of the Northeast, Great Plains, and Southwest regions participate in the annual event, held by the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers. Friday, February 5, through Sunday, February 14, see schedule for details, $10, tickets required.
If you think Thriller, Singin' in the Rain, and Step Up represent the absolute pinnacle of dancing on film, then the Dance on Camera Festival will be a tremendous learning experience. Co-presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Dance Films Association, the annual film festival screens features, shorts, experimental films, documentaries, and a whole lot more devoted to the amazing art form that is dance. Friday, February 12, through Tuesday, February 16, see schedule for details, tickets required.
Looking for something a bit different to do with your sweetie to celebrate Valentine's Day? Try Bloody Valentine's Weekend, a haunted house that will get your pulse racing in a decidedly different way. There'll be axes and gore and missing teeth and various other things straight out of your nightmares. Nothing says "I love you" quite like getting the you know what scared right out of you. Friday, February 12, through Sunday, February 14, see schedule for details, $30, tickets required.
Putting the "hilarity in charity," the annual Cupid's Undie Run features folks running around the streets of the city in their skivvies. This mile-or-so fun run raises money for the Children's Tumor Foundation, a very unfunny organization that helps kids suffering from neurofibromatosis. Expect thongs, push-ups, cleavage, jockstraps, boxer briefs, and NSFW images. Saturday, February 13, party starts at 12 pm, run starts at 2 pm, must be 21+.
To usher in the Year of the Monkey, Better Chinatown USA is sponsoring the New York Lunar New Year Parade, for the 17th year in a row. The parade is lively and fun and packed, ensuring that the new year begins on a wonderful note for all. Traditional dancers and craftspeople will be on hand, as will food vendors. Many folks believe that the amount of dumplings you eat correlates to the amount of money you'll earn the rest of the year. So go hungry. Sunday, February 14, 1 pm, free.
