Festivals and events in New York: Cheap NYC activities
Looking for a cool thing to do that won’t break the bank? Discover the best affordable events in New York.
Thu Feb 28 2013
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Cheap things to do in NYC: Your guide to bargains in Gotham
Copyright Caroline Voagen Nelson, Photograph: Caroline Voagen Nels
Huzzah! Find hundreds of great events in New York in our ever-updated list of inexpensive things to do. We’ve compiled concerts, parties, festivals, comedy and theater shows, tastings and more that won’t be a strain on your wallet.
RECOMMENDED: Full list of cheap things to do in NYC
ANT Fest 2013
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
The busy bees at Ars Nova have combed through a heap of open submissions, piling dozens of the best into a performative anthill teeming with drama, dance, vaudeville and musical comedy. Go to arsnovanyc.com for a complete lineup and the schedule for the variety revue Showgasm.
- 511 W 54th St, between Tenth and Eleventh Aves
- $5–$15
- Thu Jun 20 - Sat Jun 29
OXHEART's SOuLSTICE CITY
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
Finish off the longest day of the year at a postsunset happy hour (8–9:30pm) with fortune-telling, cult sci-fi flick Plan 9 from Outer Space and bar snacks. The night continues with performances by modern-dance duo Sylva Dean and Me (donning wearable sculptures) and the REACHEADZ break-dance crew. Bands—including funky, ethereal group
- The Suffolk Bar 107 Suffolk St , between Delancey and Rivington Sts
- Fri Jun 21 - Sat Jun 22
Pride @ DMAC
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
The Duo Multicultural Arts Center showcases films, performance, dance and paintings at this Pride Month celebration of queer culture.
- Duo Multicultural Arts Center 62 E 4th St, between Bowery and Second Ave
- Thu Jun 20 - Sat Jun 22
Out Like That! Festival
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
The Bronx doesn't celebrate Pride until July, but the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance is getting into the act early. This three-week festival features queer-oriented work, including theater, dance, film and more.
- 841 Barretto St, between Garrison and Lafayette Aves
- prices vary
- Thu Jun 20 - Fri Jun 28
The Moth StorySLAM!
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
Ten stories. Three teams of judges. One winner. The outrageously (and deservedly) popular storytelling series pits local yarn spinners against one another, challenging them to deliver an impressive tale based on a specific theme. Get in line early, as spots for raconteurs and spectators alike go quickly.
- Housing Works Bookstore Cafe 126 Crosby St, between E Houston and Prince Sts, 10012
- Thu Jun 20
"Shop Life"
- Price band: 1/4
The first new permanent exhibition to open at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum since 2008 showcases the array of local businesses that have occupied the historic tenement at 97 Orchard St. Visitors are led through re-creations of those shops, including a 19th-century beer saloon, a kosher butcher shop from the 1890s, a 1930s auction house and
- The Tenement Museum 103 Orchard St, between Broome and Delancey Sts
- Thu Jun 20 - Tue Dec 31
Northside Festival 2013
- Price band: 1/4
This eight-day festival of music and movies runs June 13–20 at Brooklyn venues like Nitehawk Cinema (136 Metropolitan Ave between Berry St and Wythe Ave, Williamsburg) and Videology (308 Bedford Ave between South 1st and 2nd Sts). Among the film offerings are Neil Jordan’s vampire romance, Byzantium, and Maniac, the Elijah Wood–starring remake of
- Nitehawk Cinema 136 Metropolitan Ave, between Berry St and Wythe Ave, 11249
- Thu Jun 20
The Apartment
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
Poor Jack Lemmon—all he wants to do is head home after work and relax, but his rise up the corporate ladder is dependent upon his willingness to let his superiors use his apartment as a secret love nest. One of the few Best Picture Oscar winners that really deserved the award, this is Hollywood filmmaking at its absolute finest.
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) 11 W 53rd St, between Fifth and Sixth Aves, 10019
- Thu Jun 20 - Fri Jun 21
"Flip Side: The Unseen in Tibetan Art"
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
The museum displays both sides of select illuminated Tibetan treasures, revealing clues to the meaning and history of the work's public-facing front.
- Rubin Museum of Art 150 W 17th St, at Seventh Ave, 10011
- Thu Jun 20 - Mon Aug 12
Summer Solstice Tour of Central Park
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
Head outside and explore Manhattan’s collective backyard with this Central Park jaunt. Trek past notable penmen like Scottish scribe Sir Walter Scott on Literary Walk, escape urban life in the Ramble and take a minute to ogle the elegant Minton Tiles covering the Bethesda Arcade. Guides may also discuss Belvedere Castle, Bow Bridge, the site of
- Central Park 59th St to 110th St, between Fifth and Eighth Aves
- Fri Jun 21
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