Summer Fun in New York City
You’re in The Big Apple for the summer. The City that Never Sleeps. The expectations are high, but you can’t figure out what to do with your free time. Who wants to dish out $47 to go to the top of the Empire State Building with a hundred tourists? Instead, use this guide as a starting point to explore parts of the city that are cheaper and less crowded than the tourist traps. It’s no Stefan’s list of New York’s hottest clubs, but it’s better than nothing. If anything looks interesting, search for more information online.
Cultural Theater
If you want to see something on Broadway, Student Rush is the way to go. Broadway’s most popular shows offer cheap tickets (usually around $30) on the day of the performance, either on a first-come first-serve basis when the box office opens, or as a lottery two hours before the show. Check with the box office to find out more. If you’re interested in Shakespeare, you’ve chosen the right city. Shakespeare in the Park presents professional adaptations of Britain’s famous playwright’s work casted with talented Tony actors. If you like things heimish, check out Shakespeare in the Parking Lot on the Lower East Side, where performances of Twelfth Night or Othello might need to stop for a few minutes to allow parked cars to leave. Speaking of moving around during a show, Shakespeare on the Run (New York Classical Theater) forces you to physically follow the plot.
Outdoor Activities
Summer in the city can get humid, but don’t let that discourage you from going outside. It seems like you freeze most of the year anyway. Groupon and TimeOut New York magazine offer discounts to bike rentals in Central Park, while many of the city parks have free exercise classes. From early morning yoga in Bryant Park to kayaking at Brooklyn Bridge Park, free activities can keep you active all summer long. Check out the websites of Bryant Park, Hudson River Park, and Brooklyn Bridge Park for details on their weekly outdoor activities.
Free Concerts and Movies
With the “three weeks” starting only in mid-July, you’ll have a month and a half to catch all the free concerts and movies before the mourning period. Start your weeks with “HBO’s Summer Film Festival” on Monday nights in Bryant Park, continue with “Riverflicks for Grownups” at Hudson River Park on Wednesday nights, and SyFy Movies at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Thursday nights. Then, wake up super early on Friday mornings for either GMA’s Concert Series in Central Park or The Today Show’s Concert at Rockefeller Center. Don’t forget to tell your friends to look for you on TV before you go back to sleep. In general, you should get to these things two hours early if you want good seats. If you want to listen to your favorite Broadway tunes live, head to Bryant Park during your lunch break on Thursdays for “Broadway in the Park”.
Miscellaneous Activities
Head to Discovery Times Square if you haven’t seen the amazing The Art of the Brick exhibit made entirely of Lego Bricks or, if you’re a Marvel fan, for the Avenger’s exhibit. Indoor Extreme Sports, Long Island City is a complex only fifteen minutes from Times Square where you can play indoor paintball or run around in their scary Zombie Laser Tag maze. The Museum Mile Festival on the evening of June 10th shuts down 5th avenue to cars and opens the museums of the Upper East Side for free.
Here are some website to check out:
www.studentrush.org
http://www.timeout.com/newyork
http://pulsd.com/new-york
http://m.nycgo.com/touch/home#home
Have a fun summer!
