I wrote an article yesterday, Williamsburg on the Cheap - I am trying to rekindle my love for the 'hood and all its wackiness. Free people-watching, music, art and more, it's true....

Here's to Summer 2012 in NYC.

Crooked Disco Tomorrow!

First, I have to say that the Anti-Pop Consortium show was excellent - quality "nerd-rap" music styling... my friend and I even had our pictures taken by band promoters with their stickers when we walked in. (Who knows where these pics will end up, if anywhere...)

Then Thursday night I enjoyed the free music at Zebulon in Williamsburg and discovered the funk-soul band, The Moisturizers. Good stuff.

And now, for an evening with friends tonight, and hopefully tomorrow, Crooked Disco at Public Assembly (yes, also in Williamsburg!) It will be a Freaktoberfest celebration. Hmm...

Donna Summer Tonight - FREE!

UPDATE: I went to see Donna Summer - pictures and videos below!!

So I didn't make it to the last free Coney Island concert I had wanted to check out (with Blondie and Pat Benatar) but tonight I have another chance! Part of the Brooklyn Seaside Summer Concert Series, the show should begin at 7:30 pm. Limited chairs available.

Now I just have to get some work done and maybe make it a beach afternoon before the show!!

BLONDIE - Playing FREE Tonight at Coney Island!

And speaking of free things to do in the city, Blondie is playing for free tonight at Coney Island, along with Pat Benatar and The Donnas. The show starts at 7:30 pm... what time Blondie will go on is anyone's guess, but my hunch is probably closer to 10 pm or later...


The show will be at Asser Levy/Seaside Park -- address below:
West 5th Street and Surf Avenue
Coney Island/Brighton Beach
Brooklyn, New York 11206
Across from the New York Aquarium

The event is part of the Seaside Summer Concert Series, which provides a write-up on Blondie, Benatar an The Donnas as well.

Disclaimer from the Summer Concert Series website:
Performers are subject to change without notice. Call the concert hotline for updates at 718-222-0600.


I plan on being there!!

My Current TOP 10 Favorite Free Things in NYC (SUMMER Edition!)

I have greatly depleted my funds in the past few months, as I work in education and have been traveling in Peru for most of the summer. So, I've been more money-conscious and looking out for the free/cheap way of life recently! Below is my current Top 10 List. Enjoy!

10) Using my neighbors' wi-fi networks. Free internet from the comfort of my home. All the better to read up on the latest cultural and news events, job hunt and update my blog! Alternatively, I enjoy hanging at the free wi-fi cafes in Williamsburg.

9) Myopenbar.com - free drinks, free events, free mingling, free people-watching! - There are seven open bars listed in NYC for tonight alone!

8) Museums. And galleries. Many are free or low-cost, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History, which both offer a suggested donation. See a more comprehensive list here.

7) Art gallery openings, such as this one. (Leo Kesting) Free art and complimentary drinks, maybe even snacks too! Also good for people-watching.

6) PARKs - especially the free events, such as Hudson River Park's RiverFlicks and RiverRocks. Tonight they are screening Sex and the City, and tomorrow Yeasayer and Amazing Baby are playing. Both are at Pier 54 (located at the West Side Highway and 14th St). See here for the full Hudson River Park events calendar. They even have free yoga!! Also see New York Magazine's list of free and cheap movies. (Lots of parks offer free film screenings!)

5) Speaking of yoga, I really need to go back to Yoga to the People, which offers free yoga classes every day, throughout the day. (Classes are by donation, and mat rental is $10 if you need one.) They now not only are in the East Village but also offer classes at studios on 27th St. and 38 St. (See directions here.)

4) Even more convenient exercise, and an animal-bonding time, is volunteer dog walking with BARC (Brooklyn Animal Rescue Coalition) Shelter. They need volunteers from 9-12 pm and 5-8 pm every day. It's a great excuse to stroll around McCarren Park! You also get to meet and play with some lovely pooches in need and maybe some interesting doggie-lovers in the beighborhood as well! (See volunteer info here.) They also need volunteers for the cat loft!

3) The GBH and Shaw Promotion parties. I am still an addict for NYC nightlife. Many events are free or cheap with RSVP (or if you simply know the party promoters' names or get to know the doormen). A lot of large acts play and/or DJ at these parties, and they have fantastic indie dance parties at swank, and not-so-swank, venues around the city.

2) The beach. See the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation for a list of beaches.

1) And, I must admit, my favorite free activity: riding my bike around NYC! Just too convenient -- it's a great form of exercise, active commuting and sightseeing. And check it out: NYC is having its fair share of bike share demos -- maybe bike share in the city will one day become widespread here! And downtown Manhattan is offering free bike rentals, through September: http://www.downtownny.com/bikearound.

So who said living in NYC has to be expensive? Or that you need lots of money to enjoy the city?

See also NY Mag's "78 Days of Fun: The best concerts, outdoor events, and culture happenings of summer 2009."

Pay-what-you-wish Museum Days!

So my last post was about free/cheap events, and I didn't even mention the Target First Saturdays at BAM or the Fringe Art Festival... so here I am, trying to make up for it. Check this out:

Pay-what-you-wish Museum Days!

Rachel

Friday: Art Time

This Friday I will be going to the American Folk Art Museum, on 45 West 53rd St, which I have never before visited. This museum features Free Music Fridays, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. This Friday will feature:

LORRAINE LECKIE
MySpace: www.myspace.com/lorraineleckie

RICK SNYDER
MySpace: www.myspace.com/ricksnyder

THE LOOM
MySpace: www.myspace.com/theloommusic

In addition to these musicians (none of whom I am yet familiar with), the museum exhibits are open, including the exhibit "Dargerism: Contemporary Artists and Henry Darger" (closing September 21st). For those unfamiliar with Darger, see the Wikipedia entry on him. His outsider art has become relatively well-known and influential, and it should be well-worth it to see this exhibit!

After this, I plan on attending another art gallery, Canada, located at 55 Chrystie St. between Hester and Canal St. All I know of this gallery is what's on the website, specifically that it is hosting an Opening Reception this Friday from 6-9 pm.

Summer Sunday in Brooklyn

My Sunday afternoon was a summertime whirlwind of little cultural happenings in Brooklyn. I began the day with a jaunt to Fort Greene, to find the Brooklyn Urban Arts Market, sponsored and advertised by BAM. After my initial confusion as to where exactly this market was located, I eventually found my way there, on Myrtle Ave. between Grand and Emerson (exactly as the website says, only I hadn't thought to record the address... ), behind the Pratt campus. One reason I think I was so confused? This little market was very small scale. Okay, quality not quantity, but I had expected something a little larger. It was a cute little fair with local and independent vendors and artisans, featuring a lot of local clothing and jewelry. My favorite item was the t-shirt with over-sized lips silkscreened on the the front and "Besos not Bombs" silkscreened on the back. However, I ultimately decided that the market only merited a quick perusal.

Finding my friend afterwards, we decided to experience another event we'd heard rumor of: the Fort Greene Sunday flea market. Now this was impressive. Below is the what/when/where info of the market, taken from the website, http://brownstoner.com/brooklynflea/:

Brooklyn Flea takes place every Sunday from 10am to 5pm—rain or shine—at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt Ave. The Flea features 200 vendors of vintage furniture, clothing, collectibles and antiques as well as new jewelry, art and crafts by local artisans, plus delicious food.

Apparently the flea market just started happening a few months ago, in April. A write-up in the NY Daily News describes the very large-scale nature of the event and reports that 70% of the vendors hail from Brooklyn. The NY Times also has a write-up of the burgeoning flea market in April, "Scavengers on the Urban Savannah," describing how many vendors have left their traditional jobs for this kind of lifestyle, and how the day was a financial success for them. Yet I also found write-ups in both the Daily News and the Brooklyn Paper that detail how the flea market has heightened neighborhood tensions between the established communities and the influx of "hipsters," Pratt students and other more recent transplants to the neighborhood. Mike McLaughlin of the Brooklyn Paper wrote an article last month, "Flea market meeting gets heated," in which he calls the flea market "one of the biggest weekend hits since Sunday brunch itself" and describes how its large-scale nature has altered the vibe of the community, in ways not everyone likes. One reason for the dispute is that it takes place on Sunday and interferes with church attendance, while others simply are angered that it was an intrusion into the community; but as we know, development and changes of communities is the nature of NYC, for better or for worse. I have to say in this case, I think that it is for the better: the flea market had such a festive, friendly vibe to it, and was full of a diverse array of people, vendors and shoppers alike. My only purchase there: a $2 pair of earrings that I honestly think of as a steal.

And then the next event: after strolling around the Brooklyn Flea for about an hour, my friend and I decided to make it to the very last McCarren Pool party. This one was co-sponsored by Jelly NYC and Brooklyn for Barack. The party opened its doors at 2; we arrived a little past 4 pm to an enormously long line. Warned by friends in the area of the long line, my friend and I decided to wait anyway; it appeared to be moving quickly, and it was the very last event of this nature (and my friend had never been to any of the pool parties prior to this!) Sure enough, the line did move rapidly; and we convinced our other wary friends to join us in line. The pool was the most crowded I have ever seen it.

This meant less free space (and less free stuff), but we scored several free Topshop tanktops and enjoyed ourselves strolling, chatting, and hanging for a few hours. We didn't stay for the Yo La Tengo performance, as the last opening band (I'm not sure of its name) had a particularly grating sound -- but overall it was a great last time at the pool party! And a great Sunday out and about in Brooklyn.

This Weekend: Free Activities in Brooklyn

The past few days have been a flurry of free activities for me.

Thursday evening I went to the Myopenbar.com party at Starr Space, for the Cinema 16 series, which offered a free screening of film shorts by Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer, free Drambuie cocktails and slices of watermelon (also free). The space, located on Starr St. off the Jefferson L stop, is a large, open room with wood floors and high ceilings. For the screening, folding chairs were arranged in rows, and people who didn't attain seats (such as myself) stood to the sides or crowded at the back. Overall, it seemed to be a nerdy hip(ster) crowd, most of who managed to concentrate and stay silent for the film shorts.

I didn't make it until halfway through the film screening, at 9 pm, and the hour of the screening I was there for seemed to whizz by. The films were captivating in their eerie, experimental and sometimes quite humorous style. The only full clip I saw, entitled "The Death of Stalinism in Bohemia," was a clever collage of claymation, authentic video footage, and edited video work that featured the dissection of a replica of Stalin's head (which contained a very real semblance to human brains). The space quickly largely cleared out after this final clip, and my friends and I remarked on how impressed we were with the space, having never previously known of it. Apparently, Starr Space regularly hosts Sunday film nights, as well as Monday figure drawing sessions, yoga, and other such cultural/hipster-type activities. Maybe I should visit Bushwick more often... *And*, I almost forgot to mention, after the film screening, the space became the host to a little dance party. And a significant amount of people were actually dancing: a nice refutation of the stereotype that "hipsters don't dance."(!)

I spent my day Friday at Coney Island, walking on the boardwalk to the very end (Brighton Beach), enjoying the sand and water and yes, even a ride. Here are some pictures I took at the beach, many from the Wonder Wheel:





Friday night I attended a friend's birthday party, and today, Saturday, so far I spent the day in Fort Greene, where I strolled through the Artisan and Green Markets in Fort Greene Park and sat down to enjoy the Fort Greene Park Literary Festival. (Also see the Flavorpill write-up.) While I did not stay long enough to hear all of the writers, I was impressed by the music of the percussion ensemble which played, Indoda Entsha, and the dancers who performed with them.



Hooray for Brooklyn in the summertime!