cultural fests / street fairs / food events / markets / shopping events (free admission, unless noted otherwise):
► thru sun: 46th annual thunderbird american indian powwow: queens county farm museum. $19 admission supports thunderbird american indian dancers scholarship fund and the queens county farm museum education program. >>
► thru sun: 115th annual st. ann’s feast (fka st. ann italian festival): 7th + jefferson streets (hoboken). >>
► fri 8-11:30pm (+ 8/15): chinatown night market’s final season: forsyth plaza. >>
► sat 11am-5pm: wax + stacks: brooklyn flea record fair: new york public library for the performing arts (uws). >>
► sat 1:30-7pm (art crawls 1:30pm + 4pm, block party 1-7pm): 12th annual stoops summer festival: stuyvesant ave + decatur st (bed-stuy). >>
► sat 2-8pm: yard mart print camp: open air artisan market + screen printing workshop: nowadays (ridgewood ). >>
► sat 2-7pm: ninth annual kingsland wildflowers festival: kingsland wildflowers green roof + community engagement center (greenpoint). >>
► sat + sun (11am-6pm): fad market: summer pop-up: st. paul’s church (boerum hill/cobble hill). >>
► sat + sun (12-7pm): african pop-up festival: summer edition: hillel plaza at flatbush/nostrand. >>
► sun 12-6pm: ballet folklórico mexicano de nueva york’s 13th annual guelaguetza festival: socrates sculpture park (lic). >>
sponsored
image by Jen Chou
The Chain Theatre is thrilled to announce the 2025 Chain NYC Film Festival. A cinematic celebration of bold voices and original storytelling, this year’s festival features over 160 films from around the globe—narratives, documentaries, shorts, web series, and animated works—plus panels, filmmaker events, and an awards ceremony.
Special Events Include:
• The Usual Rejects: a DEMOLITION MAN fan event on August 8 & 9 | 7:30 pm
A staged parody event with trivia, prizes, audience participation, and drinking games. From the team behind sold-out spoofs of Titanic, TMNT, and Star Wars. Tickets include a complimentary drink!
• Industry Panel with Geoffrey Cantor on Sunday, August 17 | 2PM
Join Geoffrey Cantor (Daredevil, The Punisher) for a candid discussion on career longevity and indie film survival. Tickets are Free. Reservations required.
Past guests have included Oscar-winning writers, Emmy-nominated creators, and industry legends like Richard LaGravenese and Richard Price. The 2025 festival continues this legacy of discovery and excellence. Chain Theatre’s past collaborators include Eric Bogosian, Jesse Eisenberg, and John Patrick Shanley sharing new work with Off-Broadway audiences.
2025 Chain NYC Film Festival
AUGUST 7-17
The Chain Theatre
312 W 36 Street, 3rd & 4th Floor (Between 8th and 9th ave)
All screenings are $13 in advance and $15 at the door
MORE INFO AND TICKETS
friday
thru 7/31: gene hackman: a week with the gene genie: film at lincoln center presents a week-long tribute to some of gene hackman’s most iconic performances. the series highlights 18-films (with 15 shown on 35mm), including hoosiers, mississippi burning, the conversation, the french connection, the poseidon adventure, the royal tenenbaums, young frankenstein, and more. >>
thru sun (various dates thru 8/9): lincoln center’s fourth annual summer for the city: lincoln center’s annual arts festival brings two months of free and choose-what-you-pay music concerts, performances, dance parties, film screenings, and more to its upper west side campus. this weekend: social dance with las karamba (fri 6:30pm), silent films with live musical scores (fri 7pm), a silent disco with mj nebreda (fri 10pm), the brooklyn flea record fair at the library for the performing arts (sat 11am-5pm), shanghai day programming featuring an artisan market, street dancing, concerts, a film screening, a silent disco, and more (sat 4-11pm), j.period live mixtape featuring the pharcyde and arrested development (sun 7:30pm), a silent disco with dj perly (sun 9pm), and more. >>
sponsored: fri + sat: flop house comedy club: nyc’s friendliest indie comedy club—with great comics, a cozy atmosphere, and no drink minimums—has some incredible lineups this weekend! save 33% with promo code ‘skint’ for any of these shows: at 362 grand street in williamsburg – tatiana frank, jordan scott huggins, carmen lagala, dina hashem (friday 8pm); mia wilson, naomi karavani, talib babb (saturday 8pm); mia wilson, bassam shawl, sabeen sadiq (saturday 9:30pm); at 83 1st ave in the east village – sam kochman, dan toomey, demetrius fields (saturday 8:30pm); chris reiter, molly brenner, dan toomey (saturday 10pm). food and drinks will be available for purchase. >>
fri various times (weather permitting): free outdoor movies:
a good person at highbridge park (washington heights) >>
paddington in peru at bensonhurst park (brooklyn) >>
the abyss at the intrepid musesum’s flight deck (hell’s kitchen) >>
the wild robot at southpoint park (roosevelt island) >>
fri 4-10pm (fridays thru 8/22): 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: sarz, dj q, john glacier, and tati au miel. moma ps1 (lic) $25+ general, $20+ students. >>
fri 6pm (+ 8/8): sounds at sunset: brooklyn bridge park’s intimate outdoor music series returns for four nights this season. tonight: brooklyn americana music festival presents lauren housley + the northern cowboys, jan bell + the maybelles, rams motnero with tiger orchid. free admission. >>
fri 6-8pm (+ 8/22, 9/26): intrepid museum’s free friday with astronomy night: the intrepid museum extends its hours for a series of free evenings featuring talks from astronauts, engineers, and scientists, plus film screenings, and activities and demos led by museum educators. >>
fri 7pm: poets house’s summer nights: poetry meets music outdoors at the second installment of poets house’s summer nights. hosted by urayoán noel at the pavillion in rockefeller park (battery park city), tonight’s event features performers include tongo eisen-martin, latasha n. nevada diggs, and 79.5. free admission. >>
fri 7pm + 10pm: abolish everything: a fast-paced, low-stakes comedy debate show: comedians roast their pet peeves, a panel of improvisers grills them with questions, and the audience decides what gets abolished. hosted by chandler dean (the new yorker, mcsweeney’s). tonight’s shows will be taped for nebula. $15.67 with promo code ‘abolishtheskint’ (reg. $26+) >>
fri 7pm: bryant park picnic performances: new york guitar festival presents: 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: carnegie hall’s citywide series presents jazz vocalist cécile mclorin salvant, a three-time grammy award winner and macarthur fellow. >>
ri 7pm-midnight: jazz + gin: speakeasy soirée: hot jazz, dancing, and cocktails await at prohibition productions’ speakeasy soirée, held in a former 1920s brooklyn speakeasy—now an art nouveau salon. the evening features live music by eyal vilner hot five and adrien chevalier, dj sets by dj andrius, and more, plus a free swing dance lesson (at 8:30pm). the urbane arts club (ditmas park), $20 with promo code ‘skint’ (reg. $25-30). >>
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 katrina davis, dean david, marty cunnie, ben katzner, dom grayer, and caroline hanes. free admission (a tip jar will be passed around at the end of the show). >>
fri 8:30pm: brass meets world: dance and sing along to brass covers of your favorite 80s, 90s, and 00s hits performed by brass meets world, an eight-piece brass band, at lower east side game bar sour mouse. free admission. >>
fri 9:30pm: group chat approved: a live dating show: watch as three contestants compete in a series of raunchy and flirty games to win a date with an eligible single. the twist? their friends have the final say on who gets the match. a singles mix-and-mingle will follow the show. flop house comedy club (williamsburg). $10. >>
fri 10pm: dungeons and comics: roll for performance: dungeon master nonye brown-west leads a band of brave comics through a dungeons and dragons-inspired comedy show, where the roll of the dice decides what happens next. featuring usama siddiquee, vannessa jackson, kendra cunningham, avery mason, and andy ward. union hall (park slope), $12 adv, $15 door. >>
saturday
sat + sun 5pm doors (thru 8/17): rise up nyc: the rise up nyc summer concert series returns with 10 free outdoor concerts across the five boroughs. this weekend’s staten island edition features lisa lisa, cece peniston, brenda k. starr, and rob base (sat), and stevie b., doug e. fresh, and frankie cutlass (sun) at midland beach. >>
sat + sun (sat 5-10pm, sun 6-10pm): summerstage: summerstage presents a pair of free outdoor shows this weekend: nems presents: gorillafest featuring busta rhymes, onyx, m.o.p, dj drewski + friends, scram jones, statik selektah, and dj perly at coney island amphitheater (saturday), and femi kuti + the positive force, dead prez, elida almeida, rich medina, and alhanislam at rumsey playfield in central park (sunday). >>
sat + sun 6pm (+ 8/2-3): shakespeare in the garden: stag + lion theatre co. presents their take on shakepeare’s as you like it in west side community garden’s floral setting. free admission. >>
sat various times (weather permitting): free outdoor movies:
moana 2 at poor richard’s playground (east harlem) >>
selena y los dinos at brooklyn army terminal (sunset park) >>
the fire inside at kaiser park (coney island) >>
sat 7am-3pm (saturdays thru 8/23): 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: queens (long island city and astoria) and staten island. >>
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 ‘pollock’ (reg. $20-23) >>
sat 5pm: relationsh*t: storytelling about all kinds of relationships and live, on-stage therapy from actual therapists collide at lynn bixenspan and morgan pielli’s relationsh*t show. q.e.d. (astoria), $12. >>
sat 6pm doors (various dates thru 8/16): 47th annual bric celebrate brooklyn! festival: new york city’s longest-running, free, outdoor performing arts festival returns to prospect park’s lena horne bandshell for two months. tonight: a tribute to quincy jones: the wiz. >>
sat 7:30pm: open to work: an unemployed comedy show: laugh at linkedin, layoffs, and late-stage-capitalism at amanda melhuish and cat montesi’s open to work comedy show. tonight’s lineup includes vannessa jackson (snl), reid pope (going down with ella yurman), melissa rocha (vulture), justin lobasso (the daily show), and matt somerstein. friends and lovers (crown heights), $10. >>
sat 8pm: bad movies and brews: fantastic four: sip a cold one and revel in roger corman’s infamously bad take on marvel’s first family — just in time for the new fantastic four hitting theaters — at wild east brewing (gowanus). food will be available for purchase from pizzabagel, and outside food is welcome too. free admission. >>
sat 8pm: pataphysics audiovisual concert series: sink into a multi-sensory scene at the latest installment of delight factory’s bi-monthly pataphysics audiovisual concert series, pairing ambient and downtempo music and visuals by ezekiel honig, todd polenberg, joshue ott, and r. luke dubois. delight factory (ocean hill), $20. >>
sat 8:30pm: ucblk: a variety show spotlighting black performers: join hosts justin catchens, dominique kaplowitz, and shem pennant for a night of improv, sketch, stand-up, and more—featuring a dynamic lineup of black performers. ucb (east village), $10 adv, $15 day of. >>
sat 9:30pm: drunk planet earth: mst3k meets animal planet meets drinking game at brian morabito and stephen buckley’s participatory drunk planet earth show. the show revolves around watching animal planet iii, drinking, and the audience trying to stump the hosts with animal trivia. caveat (les), free admission. >>
sat 10pm: picture this! live animated comedy: animators, cartoonists and other artists create on-the-fly drawings of live comedy routines, often with unexpected results. featuring comedy by carly kane, irene morales, usama siddiquee, and saidah belo-osagie, with animation by josh pilch, edel ferri, will santino, irene morales, and jason chatfield. hosted by samantha ruddy. union hall (park slope), $12 adv, $15 day-of. >>
sunday
sun 2-6pm (sundays thru 8/24): union pool’s 13th annual summer thunder concert series: williamsburg’s union pool hosts free afternoon concerts every sunday thru summer. today: alex amen, youbet, h. pruz, and dj eweck. note: according to union pool’s instagram, admission is first come first served and rsvp is not required for entry. >>
sun 7pm (series ends tonight): summer on the hudson: amplified sundays: wind down the weekend with amplified sundays, a golden hour outdoor live music series at pier i in riverside park south (uws). tonight: afro-colombian ensemble grupo rebolú. free admission. >>
sun 7:30pm: dyketopia + friends comedy show: lee robinson and sureni weerasekera host a night of queer and trans stand-up comedy at union hall (park slope), featuring freddie shanel, erik martini, bridget foley, grace johnson, and marley gotterer. $12 adv, $15 door. >>
monday
mon various times (weather permitting): free outdoor movies:
belle epoque at the hudson (inwood) >>
harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone at astoria park (queens) >>
pulp fiction at bryant park (midtown) >>
mon 6pm doors: movies at the united palace with lin-manuel miranda, daveed diggs, and jasmine cephas jones:: the movies at the united palace (washington heights) series celebrates the 10-year anniversary of hamilton on broadway with a series of films and tv series starring the original cast. next up: blindspotting (2021), followed by a discussion with lin-manuel miranda, daveed diggs, and jasmine cephas jones. free admission. >>
mon 6:30pm (mondays thru 8/11): broadway by the boardwalk: enjoy show tunes with a view at broadway by the boardwalk, an annual summer concert series featuring broadway stars performing at clinton cove in hudson river park. this outdoor event invites guests to bring blankets, stretch out on the grass, and take in an evening of music right by the water. the season continues tonight with tony nominee jasmine amy rogers (boop! the musical). free admission. >>
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), shoshana bean (hell’s kitchen), adam pally (sonic), tami sagher (shrill), and brian stack (colbert). ucb (east village), $10 adv, $15 day of. >>
mon 7pm: fun by design: the interior design game show: two designers go head-to-head in challenges testing everything from speed cad to identifying furniture in your favorite tv shows. hosted by interior designer and comedian laura fabius. caveat (les), $13.61 with promo code ‘skint’ (reg. $18.76-20). >>
mon 7pm (monthly): movie musical mondays: the wizard of oz: a monthly series of iconic musicals hits the big screen at village east by angelika, continuing the season with victor fleming’s the wizard of oz (1939), starring judy garland, frank morgan, ray bolger, jack haley, bert lahr, and margaret hamilton. $19. >>
mon 7:45pm: rooftop films: new york non-fiction 2025: 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: a collection of nyc-centric shorts at green-wood cemetery (brooklyn), followed by filmmaker q+a and and after party. $20. >>
mon 8pm: the moth storyslam: the popular community-based open mic storytelling competition, where anyone can share a five-minute tale based on the evening’s theme to an attentive audience, returns to the bell house (gowanus). tonight’s theme: ‘road trip.’ $19.65. >>
ongoing
our roundup of 80+ ongoing events and attractions: restaurant week, friday night fireworks in coney island, shakespeare in the parking lot, chain theatre’s summer one-act festival, free outdoor fitness classes, and more. >>
stay safe and healthy
– the skint
