101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
Warm weather is back, along with your will to go outdoors and explore NYC. Lucky for you, we've rounded up the best things to do in the spring.
Fri Mar 1 2013
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
61. Spring-clean yourself during Spa Week Spring 2013
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
62. Be wowed by Phosphorescent's new album
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Photograph: Jessica Lin
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
63. Catch an underground (literally) film series
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
64. Cruise through the city on the TD Five Boro Bike Tour
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
65. Pound the pavement to fight cancer at the 16th Annual EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women
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Photograph: Joann Jimenez
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
66. Wish the Deep Space party a happy tenth birthday
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© Paul McCarthy. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Alex Delfanne
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
67. Prepare to see things you can't unsee at Paul McCarthy's pair of shows
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
68. Laugh till it hurts at the NYC Improv Festival
Pictured: 2-Man No-Show
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101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
69. Give the gift of a good read for World Book Night
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Photograph: Andres Jiras
101 things to do in the spring in New York City 2013
70. Discover the magic of classical Cambodian dance during the Season of Cambodia
Pictured: The Royal Ballet of Cambodia, The Legend of Apsara Mera
Spring-clean yourself
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
Say goodbye to the winter dry-skin epidemic and indulge in a treatment or two during Spa Week Spring 2013, during which hundreds of spas, salons and fitness centers around the city offer signature treatments or class packages for just $50 a pop. Services will be announced when bookings open on March 11 at 10am, but we can tell you that some of the Time Out–approved spas participating this year include Faina European Day Spa, Skn Spa, and Hearts New York Salon & Yukie Beauty Spa. Fair warning: Many services will be fully booked within hours after reservations become available, so be logged into spaweek.com and be ready to buy.
- Various venues
- Mon Apr 15 - Sun Apr 21
Be wowed by Phosphorescent's new album
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Color us very excited for this show, in which Brooklyn-via-Alabama songman Matthew Houck presents material from his new album, Muchacho—in our opinion, his finest work to date. Over the past decade, Houck's music has moved from melancholy, bare-bones songs, to rollicking Exile on Main Street–toned rock & roll, via a collection of Willie Nelson covers praised by the country hero himself. This latest bunch of songs combines deep blue longing with seriously honed songwriting chops (check the single "Song for Zula" on YouTube for evidence). A secret(ish) show in January at John Vavartos, the former CBGB spot, found Houck and band on stunning form. We suggest you ask for your money back if you're not wowed tonight.
- Bowery Ballroom 6 Delancey St, between Bowery and Chrystie St
- Thu Apr 18
Catch an underground (literally) film series
- Critics choice
- Free
DIY filmmaking collective Cinebeasts are, like the Jam, going underground with a program of shorts about our beloved transit system that will take place, for the most part, in subway stations. The group will be setting up tables with a portable DVD player or digital frame device and headphones on platforms in Manhattan and Brooklyn on Wednesdays and Thursdays after rush hour, and on Sundays in the early evening. Check facebook.com/cinebeasts or follow @cinebeasts for updates on the exact location closer to the time. Cinebeasts will also host evening screenings at traditional venues, beginning with The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) at 92YTribeca (Mar 16 at 7pm; $12), making stops at the Spectacle Theater (Apr 6 at 7:30pm; $5) and UnionDocs (Apr 1 at 7pm; suggested donation $9) before terminating the journey at Anthology Film Archives (Apr 25 at 7pm; $TBA). Various venues, dates and times, visit cinebeasts.com for more information.
- Various venues
- Sat Mar 16 - Thu Apr 15
Cruise through the city on the TD Five Boro Bike Tour
- Critics choice
May is Bike Month; time to take your two-wheeled steed out of the corner of your living room and hit the pavement once more. If you love cycling but have a horror of navigating New York traffic, join Bike New York’s annual trans-city cyclathon. As the name suggests, this 32,000-strong ride spans all five boroughs in the course of 40 miles and five bridges. And thanks to a partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation, each and every one of those miles is automobile-free. The route begins near Battery Park, moves up through Manhattan and makes a circuit of the boroughs before winding up at Staten Island’s Fort Wadsworth for a festival (catch the ferry back to lower Manhattan afterward). Though general registration is sold out, you can still sign up to ride with a charity; visit bikenewyork.org for more information.
- Starting location: Franklin St at Church St
- Until Sun May 5
Pound the pavement to fight cancer
- Price band: 3/4
- Critics choice
We’re New Yorkers—we know how to power walk. Put your prowess on display during the 16th Annual EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women, in which more than 20,000 participants will raise funds for women’s cancer research, counseling and outreach. The race begins with a confetti explosion in Times Square, and the three-mile route finishes in Central Park. You’ll be done by noon and be free to enjoy a Saturday relaxing in Sheep Meadow. Call 855-434-3779 or visit revlonrunwalk.org to register.
- Times Square Broadway, between 42nd and 47th Sts
- Sat May 4
Wish the Deep Space party a happy tenth birthday
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
François K has been on the cutting edge of Gotham’s clubland since the late ’70s, but don’t take the fabled DJ-producer for granted. He’s still one of the most vital presences of the current scene and this weekly fete—with its genre-spanning playlist and chilled, house-party vibe—is one of the best things going. For this milestone, he’ll be joined by Scuba, head of the revered dubstep-and-more label Hotflush.
Prepare to see things you can't unsee at Paul McCarthy's pair of shows
- Critics choice
- Free
One of the godfathers of L.A. art (or at least the branch that treats pop culture as one big wallow in sexual abjection), McCarthy has certainly made his contribution, with sculptures of cute Santa figures wielding butt-plugs and depictions of the Seven Dwarves with flacid penises for noses. But more than that, his work sends up America’s glorification of masculinity. With two galleries at his his disposal, expect something big and disturbing.
- Hauser & Wirth New York 511 West 18th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Aves, 1011
- Sat May 25 - Sat Jul 27
Laugh till it hurts at the NYC Improv Festival
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
Improvisers from around the country take part in a weekend of performances, workshops and panels, though this festival, now in its second year, also has plenty of New Yorkers (many of whom are regular PIT performers) on the bill. This year's big tickets include a reunited Threat, a set from Centralia and a visit from Toronto’s physical, frenetic 2-Man No-Show.
- Peoples Improv Theater 123 E 24th St, between Park Ave South and Lexington Ave
- Wed Mar 20 - Sun Mar 24
Give the gift of a good read for World Book Night
- Critics choice
Last year, the city (along with the rest of the U.S., the U.K., Ireland and Germany) celebrated World Book Night: Volunteers signed up to hand out donated special editions of beloved novels—30 in all—to strangers who might not have convenient access to literature. This year, promote literacy yourself by targeting a community of needy readers with titles that range from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 to Tina Fey’s Bossypants. As a bonus, meet some of your fellow lit enthusiasts over drinks and snacks while collecting your titles at participating shops, including WORD. Visit worldbooknight.org to sign up.
- Various locations
- Until Tue Apr 23
Discover the magic of classical Cambodian dance during the Season of Cambodia
- Critics choice
Classical Cambodian dance abounds at this festival. The Royal Ballet of Cambodia will perform The Legend of Apsara Mera (BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave between Ashland Pl and St. Felix St, Fort Greene, Brooklyn; 718-636-4100,
bam.org; May 2–4; $20–$55), choreographed by Her Royal Highness (and former dancer) Princess Norodom Buppha Devi. But first, Khmer Arts Ensemble will unveil Sophiline Cheam Shapiro’s A Bend in the River at the Joyce (175 Eighth Ave at 19th St; 212-242-0800, joyce.org; Apr 9–14; $10–$49). It has everything: love, vengeance, magic and heartbreak.
- Various venues
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