101 things to do in the summer in New York City 2012
Our picks for the best events and things to do in the summer in NYC. Make a checklist, keep track on our Facebook app... just get outside and get started.
Fri May 25 2012
Watch a race around the harbor and fete the winners at a luau
- Critics choice
- Free
Teams from around the globe face off in the Hawaiian Airlines Liberty Challenge, hosted by New York Outrigger (libertyoutrigger.org), racing traditional Polynesian canoes along a 15-mile course. Teams launch from North Cove in Brooklyn Bridge Park for the start line under the Manhattan Bridge. The boats then round Battery Park City, head up the Hudson, double back and swing around the Statue of Liberty and Governors Island, before finishing back at North Cove. New Yorkers can watch from most vantage points of the river, but festivities will be concentrated at Brooklyn Bridge Park (6:45am–4:30pm), with the FDNY breaking out its Marine Division for a water display. Watch the winners receive their awards at the after-party luau at the Frying Pan (6pm, $30), featuring traditional Hawaiian and Tahitian hula dancing. And if you think it looks like the sport for you, try the free New York Outrigger novice sessions (Boathouse at Pier 66, W 26th St at the Hudson River; newyorkoutrigger.org; Sat 10:30, 11:15am, noon; Sun 12:30, 1:15, 2pm; free; reservations required; e-mail novice@newyorkoutrigger.org; through Sept) to get out on the Hudson with local experts.
- Sun Jun 23
Catch up on last year’s blockbusters
Your principled stand against multiplex ticket prices is admirable, but if you give us one more confused look when we say “I’m not even confident on which end that came out of,” we can no longer be friends. School yourself on 2011’s Hollywood hits at RiverFlick’s Wednesday night programming (Fridays are for kids), that front-loads the schedule, beginning with Moneyball (July 11), Super 8 (July 18) and Bridesmaids (July 25). Now you’re up to speed, keep pace with our guide to 30 essential summer movies.
- W 23rd St, (at Eleventh Ave)
Experience budget space travel
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Commercial space flight may be on the horizon, but for now, Tom Sach’s wry, lo-fi “Space Program: Mars” is a decent approximation to leaving Earth’s atmosphere. Sachs and his 13 assistants have filled the 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall with a cosmic spectacle, leading viewers through the separate stages of manned flight, beginning at the indoctrination station and continuing with mission control, exploratory vehicles and a martian landscape. Don’t dawdle, the launch window is closing rapidly. The show ends June 17.
- Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Ave, between 66th and 67th Sts
- Until Sun Jun 17
Get fit in Fort Tryon Park
- Free
Face it, that beach-ready body isn’t going to appear by itself. Get some fresh air while you work out at Fort Tryon Park, which offers a slew of free activities suitable for all fitness levels. Early risers can find the energy to tackle hump day with tai chi (Wed 6:30–7:30am, through Aug 29) or wind down for the end of the week with qigong (Fri 9:30–10:30am; through June 29) on the Linden Terrace, or. Or head to Abby’s Lawn after work on Wednesday for sunset yoga classes (6:45–8pm; June 6—Aug 29), led by seven rotating instructors from studios including MindBodySoul Yoga and Beloved Yogi Harlem. Or just stick to good old-fashioned walking (with some toning and stretching tossed in for good measure) during the year-round Fitness Walking Program (Tue, Thu 7:30–8:30am; Sat 8:30–9:30am; meet at the Heather Garden).
- Margaret Corbin Circle, (Fort Washington Ave at Cabrini Blvd)
Cheer on I’ll Have Another at the Belmont Stakes
Once a year, this old-timey horse-racing mecca is restored to its former glory, as ladies in hats and men in seersucker fill the stands, Belmont Jewels (the New York Racing Association’s answer to the mint julep) in hand. Expect the annual celebration to be a little more festive than usual, as the fans watch aptly named colt I’ll Have Another try to complete the Triple Crown. After nosing out Bodemeister in both the Derby and the Preakness, the New York–based thoroughbred is the first to attempt the feat since Big Brown in 2008; and could be the first to accomplish it since Affirmed in 1978. Head to the park early to assure a seat on the grounds; pick up a racing form and put down a few on the best-looking ponies. • belmontstakes.com. $10–$1,414.
- 2150 Hempstead Tpke, (at Cross Island Pkwy)
Dig for vinyl in Tribeca
- Critics choice
- Free
For true audiophiles (ourselves included), there’s nothing quite like spending an afternoon—even one that lands on a lovely June day—sifting through rare records. Cheers, then, to not-for-profit research center and library ARChive of Contemporary Music, which throws a ginormous genre-spanning sale of 20,000 vinyl LPs and 7-inches, CDs, posters and other music ephemera (such as programs from Fillmore East rock shows and original, mint-condition ’60s psychedelic posters).
ARChive of Contemporary Music, 54 White St between Church St and Broadway (212-226-6967, arcmusic.org).
- June 9–17 11am–6pm.
Hop on your steed
- Critics choice
- Free
With NYC becoming ever more bike friendly, there’s never been a better time to explore the city on two wheels. To help you find your way, we asked three biking experts to suggest routes. Pick from a public-art ride that takes in Central Park, Roosevelt Island and finishes in Long Island City; a trip along the Brooklyn waterfront; or, for the photographer, a cycle around the Queens cemetery belt.











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