cultural fests / street fairs / food events / markets / shopping events (free admission, unless noted otherwise):
► sat 11:30-9pm: 25th jersey city pride equality march/rally and festival: rally starts at 11:30am; march kicks off at 1pm; the festival runs 1pm-9pm. >>
► sat 1-6pm: japan village summer festival: japan village at industry city, brooklyn. >>
► sat + sun: great jones distilling co. fourth anniversary: $4 one-hour distillery tours with tastings. >>
► sat + sun (1-10pm): planet brooklyn: a new two-day music festival featuring ticketed shows at barclays center, brooklyn paramount, and bam, plus a block party in front of bam (fort greene). >>
► sun 10am-6pm: 48th annual brighton jubilee: brighton beach avenue between corbin place + coney island ave. >>
► sun 11am-6pm: 41st pakistan day parade: madison ave between e 38th st to e 27th st. >>
two film fests / series:
► thru 9/4: night at the movies: an m. night shyamalan retrospective: 2-for-1 double bills placing shyamalan’s features alongside a film of his choosing, with shyamalan in-person at select screenings. film at lincoln center (uws), $17 general, $14 students, seniors, persons with disabilities. >>
► thru 8/28: summers of change: aftersun, call me by your name, do the right thing, summer with monika, and more. bam (fort greene), $17. >>
sponsored
friday
thru 9/1: the metropolitan opera summer hd festival: the met’s 16th summer hd festival features 10 free outdoor screenings of the company’s live in hd opera series productions, plus a special showing of bradley cooper’s 2023 bernstein biopic maestro. held at lincoln center’s josie robertson plaza with seating for 2,500, screenings are rain or shine, but will be canceled in the event of thunder, lightning, or high wind. >>
thru 8/28 (8:30pm): seven scenes at little island: choreographers bobbi jene smith and or schraiber join forces with composer-musicians caroline shaw and danni lee parpan (known together as ringdown) for an outdoor evening of dance and live music at the amph at little island (meatpacking district). $10 standing, $25 seated. >>
thru sun (various times): summerstage: charlie parker jazz festival: summerstage hosts the annual charlie parker jazz festival for three evenings: ron carter’s great big band and april may webb at marcus garvey park in east harlem (fri 7-9:30pm); the branford marsalis quartet, nicholas payton quartet, bertha hope quintet, and more at marcus garvey park in east harlem (sat 3-7pm); dee dee bridgewater + bill charlap, gary bartz: nu troop, the jazz gallery all-starts, and more at tompkins square park in the east village (sun 3-7pm). free admission. >>
thru sun (5-9:30pm): fifth annual rockaway beach surf music festival: catch a wave and ride three nights of twangy guitars at the fifth annual rockaway beach surf music festival, featuring nine east coast surf bands. food and drinks will be available for purchase. free admission. >>
fri + sat (opening reception fri 6pm): howlin’ – a pop-up by jappy agoncillo: all st. gallery (east village) hosts a two-day pop-up exhibit by queens-based illustrator and muralist jappy agoncillo, along with collaborations from 30 guest artists. opening reception fri 6pm. >>
fri various times (weather permitting): free outdoor movies:
atlantis: the lost empire at the intrepid musesum’s flight deck (hell’s kitchen) >>
rent at highbridge park (washington heights) >>
space jam: a new legacy at commodore barry park (fort greene) >>
fri 4-10pm (season ends tonight): warm up 2025: kick off your summer weekends at moma ps1’s warm up, the popular outdoor music series spotlighting underground and emerging electronic talent from around the world. dance in ps1’s open-air courtyard, featuring yto barrada’s installation le grand soir, and explore the museum’s exhibitions until late. tonight: dj stingray 313, dj travella, natural wonder beauty concept, and xexexe\halfpet. moma ps1 (lic) $25+ general, $20+ students. >>
fri 7pm: tale storytelling show: harmon leon (this american life, the new yorker) hosts an evening of performances by some of the city’s best storytellers, including kedra cunningham, rory scholl, fabiana mattedi, and calvin cato, with music by amelia bathke. the red room at kgb bar (east village), half price online with promo code ‘discountskint’ or if you mention the skint at the door (reg. $15), plus a two-drink minimum. >>
fri 7pm: bryant park picnic performances: bryant park’s annual summer performance series is back with 25 evenings of free live music, theater, and dance in the heart of midtown. bring your own picnic or purchase food and drinks from on-site vendors. blankets and bistro chairs are provided for use. next up: eight-time grammy award-winner arturo o’farrill leads the afro latin jazz orchestra. >>
fri 7:45pm doors (closing night): rooftop films presents: the popular rooftop films series, one of the word’s longest-running and largest outdoor showcases for indie film, returns for its 29th season. tonight’s season closer: a night of short films with filmmaker q+a, live music from mandy valentine, and an afterparty. green-wood cemetery (brooklyn), $20. >>
fri 8pm: laugh it off: bring your problems to the laugh it off show, where audience members submit their everyday problems and comedians try their best to ‘fix’ them. boyb. melrose podcasts (east village), $16. >>
fri 8:30pm: bitches brew comedy show: this women-produced and-hosted comedy show conjures up big laughs in the back room of halyards (gowanus). tonight’s performers include kylie vincent, nick viagas, cansu karabiyik, dean david, and prince arora. free admission (a tip jar will be passed around at the end of the show). >>
fri 11pm: take me to your best friend’s house: an indie sleaze dance party: dance to indie rock, dance-punk, and bloghouse bands like bloc party, crystal castles, gossip, hot chip, interpol, justice, mgmt, peaches, phoenix, the rapture, the strokes, yeah yeah yeahs, and more spun by djs nick marc and chase coppins at baker falls (les). $5. >>
saturday
sat thru 9/21 (weekends 12-5pm): 4heads art fair: portal rockaway 2025: 4heads presents its latest edition of ‘portal,’ an annual exhibition of new painting, drawing, indoor and outdoor sculpture, interactive projection, and more by 35 artists at rockaway artist alliance studio 7 gallery in fort tilden. opening reception 8/23 5-8pm. free admission. >>
sat + sun (2-6pm): 33rd annual jazz at the mansion: legendary harlem jazz pianist marjorie eliot and parlor entertainment present two days of free jazz performances on the grounds of the oldest surviving house in manhattan, the morris-jumel mansion in washington heights. bonus: the mansion will be open for free self-guided tours 2-4pm. free admission (donations welcome). >>
sat 7am-3pm (season ends today): nyc summer streets festival:the annual summer streets festival turns nyc into a car-free playground, with over 400 blocks open for walking, running, biking, and exploring across five saturdays. enjoy free performances, fitness classes, kids’ activities, and more. today: brooklyn (eastern parkway between grand army plaza and buffalo avenue) and the bronx (grand concourse between east tremont avenue and mosholu parkway). >>
sat 11am-3pm (+ 9/13): a delacorte theater sneak peek: to celebrate the renovation of the delacorte theater, home of the public theater’s free shakespeare in the park, visitors are invited to explore the refurbished space and discover its new design, accessibility features, and sustainable upgrades over two saturdays. free admission, no rsvp required. >>
sat 12-3pm: 18th annual south slope derby: the south slope derby brings over 100 kids and their homemade soap box carts to brooklyn’s 17th street for a gravity-powered eco-showdown. built from recycled materials and found objects, each car rolls downhill and gets judged on creativity, design, engineering, and speed. food and drinks will be available for purchase. 17th street between 5th + 6th aves in south park slope, free admission. >>
sat 4pm: modern whitney: where comedians interpret art: a panel of comedians give their own unique takes on interpreting a piece of art—before a professional expert swoops in to set the record straight. caveat (les), $14.64 with promo code ‘mapplethorpe’ (reg. $20-23). >>
sat 4pm (+ 8/30): barefoot shakespeare company: unrehearsed the comedy of errors and a midsummer night’s dream: shakespeare meets improv sport comedy in barefoot shakespeare company’s outdoor productions of the comedy of errors (sat) and a midsummer night’s dream (8/30). here’s the twist: the cast had just 30 days to learn their lines, and were not allowed to rehearse together. watch as a referee calls ‘foul’ and flags actors for missed cues, flubbed lines, and ad-libbing. summit rock in central park, free admission (tips are encouraged). >>
sat 5pm: relationsh*t: storytelling about all kinds of relationships, and on-stage therapy from actual therapists collide at lynn bixenspan and morgan pielli’s relationsh*t show. q.e.d. (astoria), $12. >>
sat 6pm: beach sessions dance series: the annual beach sessions dance series brings movement to the rockaway shoreline with a new, site-specific commission from choreographer kim brandt, performed right on the sand at beach 112 street. free admission. >>
sat 7pm: friend island comedy: castaway your worries at the friend island comedy show, hosted by pals by alex murdoch and kevin mulharin. featuring performances by jamie wolf, olivia carter, amanda gordon, joe palana, and clare donaher. fiction bar/cafe (williamsburg), $10 adv, $15 door. >>
sat 8pm: bad movies and brews: samurai cop: sip a cold one and revel in the badness of 1991 direct-to-video action film samurai cop with other bad movie lovers at wild east brewing (gowanus). food will be available for purchase from an on-site vendor, and outside food is also welcome. free admission. >>
sat 10pm: sandwich comedy: comedians serve up slices of freshly assembled material at gastor almonte and jess salomon’s sandwich comedy show. featuring caitlin peluffo, marito lopez, danish maqbool, and cansu karabiyik. union hall (park slope), $10 adv, $15 door. >>
sunday
sun thru 9/14: dream up festival: theater for the new city’s annual dream up festival returns for its 13th year with 21 new plays from around the country. theater for the new city (east village), $15-20. >>
sun various times (weather permitting): free outdoor movies:
love, brooklyn at brower park (crown heights) >>
moonstruck at athens square (astoria) >>
sun 1pm: i know you are, but what am i? a pee-wee universe look-alike contest: today’s secret word is ‘fun’ as coney island usa celebrates paul rubens’ birthday and the 40th anniversary of pee-wee’s big adventure with a look-alike contest honoring pee-wee herman and his world. come dressed as pee-wee, one of his playhouse pals, or a character from his movies for a chance to win prizes. registration begins at 12pm in the freak bar, and the contest kicks off at 1pm on west 12th street. free to compete, free to attend. ahhhhhhhhh! >>
sun 2-6pm (season ends today): union pool’s 13th annual summer thunder concert series: williamsburg’s union pool hosts free afternoon concerts every sunday thru summer. the season ends today with the sun ra arkestra. >>
sun 5pm: the dog show: a benefit show for rescue dogs: people and pups are both welcome to qed’s backyard for an afternoon of comedy, with ticket and raffle proceeds benefiting brixie’s rescue. feel free to bring your dog, and/or pet the adoptable puppies on-site. qed (astoria), $15 admission. >>
monday
mon thru 10/15 (closed sundays): how many roads: bob dylan and his changing times, 1961-1964: the first-ever traveling exhibition from the bob dylan center in tulsa, oklahoma comes to nyu’s gallatin galleries (greenwich village). featuring photographs, films, and archival materials, how many roads traces dylan’s journey from his arrival in new york city as a young, unknown musician to his sold-out carnegie hall concert in october 1963. opening reception 9/3 6-8pm. nyu gallatin (greenwich village), free admission >>
mon 7pm: such great heights: the complete cultural history of the indie rock explosion: stereogum managing editor chris deville presents his debut book chronicling the rise of 21st century indie rock—from iron + wine and death cab for cutie to phoebe bridgers and st. vincent—in a conversation with billboard executive director of music jason lipshutz at the powerhouse arena (dumbo). free admission with rsvp, $5 admission includes a store gift certificate, $29 ticket option includes a copy of the book. >>
mon 7pm: gravid water: at stephen ruddy’s gravid water show, actors perform scenes from classic and contemporary plays—with a twist: their scene partners are improvisers who have no prior knowledge of the script and react to them for the first time on stage. tonight’s guests include scott adsit (30 rock). craig bierko (the music man), jeff hiller (somebody somewhere), tami sagher (shrill), sherri shepherd (sherri), and brian stack (colbert. ucb (east village), $10 adv, $15 day of. >>
mon 7:30pm: not a boy, not a girl comedy show: will morrison hosts an lgbtq+ comedy/variety show featuring comics, musicians, and drag performers at crystal lake (williamsburg). tonight’s lineup features jenny matthews, jonnea herman, che kabia, sweet princes, lena horné, and jp. $10. >>
ongoing
our roundup of 70+ ongoing events: u.s. open fan week, free shakespeare in the park, snl ticket lottery, friday night fireworks in coney island, and more. >>
stay safe and healthy
– the skint
Photo: Ballet BC; photo by Michael Slobodian