Best offbeat things to do in New York this week
Break the mold and try something different this week. Here are our top event picks for things to do that are unusual, quirky or just plain weird.
Tired of the same ol', same ol'? Daily grind got you down? Inject a little spontaneity into proceedings and do something you normally wouldn't. It could be an Off-Off Broadway show, perhaps some experimental theater, an unusual comedy night, an avant-garde gallery exhibit or a batshit-crazy party.
The Armada Fania Club & Pop-Up Store
- Critics choice
- Free
The famed Latin music label Fania hosts this combination pop-up store and party in the heart of Bushwick. There will be plenty of Fania merchandise and records to be had, of course—including the new
The Daily Show and Friends
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Emmy-winning Daily Show executive producer—and accomplished stand-up—Rory Albanese hosts this showcase featuring TDS performers and writers.
- Gotham Comedy Club 208 W 23rd St, between Seventh and Eighth Aves
- Until Tue May 21
Knockers Up! A Benefit for the Burlesque Hall of Fame
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
An alluring cast of New York burly-Q artists—including Legs Malone, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Creamy Stevens, Kita St. Cyr, Tiny D, Boo Boo Darlin’ and Ginger Twist—take the stage to raise much-needed
- Slipper Room 167 Orchard St, at Stanton St
- Until Wed May 22
The Webutante Ball
- Critics choice
Attend this Internet Week soiree to drink and dance with editors, publishers and other Web professionals. DJ Frankenmack provides the tunes. Admission includes a three-hour open bar. Enter
Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector
- Price band: 1/4
This doc profiles a number of cinephiles who like collecting the best of the worst movies that exist on VHS. Filmmakers Dan Kinem and Levi Peretic (also the minds behind trash-loving outlets
- 92YTribeca 200 Hudson St, at Canal St, 10013
- Until Fri May 24
Alphabet City Squats and Gardens Tour
- Critics choice
Neighborhood activists lead this two-hour tour that takes you inside the East Village’s plentiful community gardens, as well as current and former squatter-occupied buildings.
- Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space 155 Ave C, between 9th and 10th Sts, 10009
- Sat May 25
Bicycle Fetish Day
- Critics choice
- Free
See how your cycle stacks up in contests for the Best Vintage, Commuter, Handmade, Small Wheel, Mutant and Ugly categories during Bicycle Fetish Day. Riders will perform BMX stunts, while
- City Reliquary Museum 370 Metropolitan Ave, at Havemeyer St
- Sat May 25
Greg Proops Is the Smartest Man in the World
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
This comic, whom the general public will remember for his pompadour and appearances on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, utilizes a tart tongue and—indeed—a sharp intellect in his "Proopcast." Proops's
- The Bell House 149 7th St, between Second and Third Aves
- Sat May 25
Moon Launch Party
See solar-power-inspired art installations by Madagascar Institute, Iris Lahn and Anthony Castronovo, and hear music by dance-pop group Magic Man, rockers The Dough Rollers and synthy pop act Lapland
- Red Lotus Room 893 Bergen St, between Classon and Franklin Aves
- Sat May 25
Oh! You Pretty Things: The New Romantic Ball III
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Glittering strains of androgynous music once again waft their way through Le Poisson Rouge courtesy of Michael T, Benjamin Ickies, Twig the Wonderkid and Mandana. Tonight's edition once again salutes
- Le Poisson Rouge 158 Bleecker St, at Thompson St
- Sun Jun 2
Bags Away Brooklyn! Cornhole Tournament
- Critics choice
Five Hole Cornhole, a league organized by the folks behind Full Circle Bar and Brewskee Ball, hosts this monthly tourney at the Brooklyn Brewery. Teams are drawn at random, meaning you may be paired
- Brooklyn Brewery 79 North 11th St, between Berry St and Wythe Ave
- Tue May 28 - Tue Nov 26
Kunst als Klang Pt. 1: Pantha du Prince and the Bell Laboratory
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Earlier this year, electronic-music producer Pantha du Prince—the alias of Hendrik Weber, head of the great deep-house and techno label Dial—teamed with Norway's Bell Laboratory to release the
- West Park Presbyterian Church 165 W 86th St, at Amsterdam Ave
- Tue May 28
Manhattanhenge
- Critics choice
- Free
Witness the stunning natural spectacle that occurs when the sun aligns perfectly with Manhattan’s grid: The setting orb will illuminate both sides of every street in the borough four times a year.
- Location TBA
- Tue May 28 - Sat Jul 13
Dan Savage
- Free
The syndicated sex columnist brings his hilarious, often heartfelt observations to the Bryant Park Reading Room for a sure-to-be-lively chat. The engagement marks the release of his new book,
- Bryant Park Reading Room W 42nd St, between Fifth and Sixth Aves
- Thu May 30
Burlesque at the Beach
- Critics choice
The good-weather months certainly bring the interesting types to Coney Island, never more so than at the popular Burlesque at the Beach, presented by the Great Fredini and Bambi the Mermaid.
- Sideshows by the Seashore 1208 Surf Ave, at 12th St, 11224
- Thu May 30 - Fri May 31
Man Bites Dog: What Hot Dogs Tell Us About America
Bruce Kraig and Patty Carroll, the historian and photographer behind red-hot history guide Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America, give an illustrated talk on the tubed meats. A postpresentation
- Roger Smith Hotel 501 Lexington Ave, between 47th and 48th Sts, 10017
- Thu May 30
A Six-legged S*X Party
Cicada experts preside over this cheekily named cocktail party that will also educate you on the mating habits of the seasonal insects. Travelers can meet at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal at 7:15pm.
- Staten Island Museum 75 Stuyvesant Pl, at Wall St, 10301
- Fri May 31
Dances of Vice: Enchantment Under the Sea
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Dances of Vice founder Shien Lee and her coterie of vintage obsessives turn back the clock to 1955 with this high-school prom. It's not just any old formal—it's the Enchantment Under the Sea dance
- SRB Brooklyn 177 Second Ave, between 13th and 14th Sts
- Fri May 31
DayLife
- Critics choice
- Free
Orchard St between Delancey and E Houston Sts. Subway: F to Delancey St; J to Essex–Delancey Sts. Lower East Side night owls might head out a little early to partake in DayLife. Organizers will lay
- Various locations
- Until Mon Jun 4
Brooklyn Zombie Crawl
- Critics choice
- Free
Get dolled up like the undead at the Knitting Factory (where makeup specialists will be applying gory effects; $5 and up) before the 5:30pm trek down Bedford Avenue. The group heads to McCarren Park,
- Knitting Factory 361 Metropolitan Ave, at Havemeyer St
- Sun Jun 2
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