Search

Things to Do in NYC (8/31-9/7)

(8/31-9/7) Each week City Guide's Things to Do in NYC brings you the best in special NYC events, exhibits, sightseeing activities, fun for kids, concerts, and nightlife. This week, the U.S. Open is underway! Plus, sexy Chicago celebrates its 20th anniversary with a free performance at Central Park SummerStage, and it's Labor Day WeekendNew York's first ever Star Trek Contakes place at Javits Center, Mel Brooks is at Radio City Music Hall, and much more!

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: THE BIG EVENT

 

  US Open

(now-9/11) The U.S. Open is underway! See the world's greatest tennis players turn up the heat in fierce competition at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. This is the tournament’s 136th year, with Flushing Meadows, Queens hosting all the excitement. The matches are easily reached by subway; some 700,000 fans attend the U.S. Open every year. For grounds passes and tickets to the courts, Prominent Tickets can help. Just getting onto the grounds is exciting, and you’ll find a full range of food to keep your energy from flagging.

(8/31) Chicago 20th Anniversary at Central Park SummerStage: Enjoy a FREE production of the sexy, 20-year Broadway smash at Rumsey Playfield (enter Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 69th Street).

(9/2-9/4) Star Trek: Misson New York: The first ever New York Star Trek Con takes place at the Jacob K. Javits Center. The celebrity appearances are nearly endless: Chekov, Kirk, Dr. Crusher, Q, Riker, Troi, Janeway, La Forge, Worf, and many more.

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: EXHIBITION OF THE WEEK

 

Star Trek Starfleet Experience

Photo courtesy of Canada Aviation and Space Museum

Warp speed ahead! In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the beloved series Star Trek, the Intrepid, Sea, Air & Space Museum welcomes the new exhibition Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience. The museum is the first place in the U.S. to host this brand-new, immersive “Trek Tech” experience, which spans a starship-sized 12,000 square feet. Visitors become cadets, joining the Starfleet Academy’s Career Day in the 26th century. After “student orientation,” cadets visit zones that focus on the Academy’s special training in language, medicine, engineering, navigation, science, and command skills. Check out interactive activities and unique technology, including voice recognition to communicate in Klingon, a medical tricorder table, planet projection mapping, holograms, and a target game using the show’s iconic phasers. You can get your results and a certificate emailed to you. On your way out, take a selfie in the captain’s chair; you can also visit the fully restored Shuttlecraft Galileo, which carried the crew in the original series.

Click here for our Intrepid Coupon to save $5 off Star Trek Starfleet Academy admission!

Click here for our Intrepid Coupon to save $3 now (max 4 persons) off general admission!

PLUS

(now-1/8/17) Who Shot Sports, A Photographic History, 1843-Present at the Brooklyn Museum gathers together approximately 230 works—from daguerreotypes and salted paper prints to digital images—that capture the universal appeal of sports, highlighting unforgettable moments of drama and excitement from around the globe.

(now-9/25) Atmosphere for Enjoyment: Harry Bertoia's Environment for Sound at the Museum of Arts and Design takes a close look at prolific artist and designer Harry Bertoia's sounding sculptures and gongs.

(now-9/18) Through nearly 140 works, Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist at the Jewish Museum explores the prolific Brazilian landscape architect's outputincluding paintings, sculptures, theater designs, textiles, and jewelryas well as related works by contemporary artists and examples from Burle Marx's varied collections. 

(now-1/17) The exciting new exhibit Dinosaurs Among Us, at the American Museum of Natural History, examines how one group of dinosaurs evolved into the birds of today.

(now-9/25) Mo Willems’ beloved children’s book characters are distinctly New York, from Trixie’s very first Brooklyn “Aggle Flaggle Klabble!” to the Mike Nichols and Elaine May inspirations of Elephant and Piggie to the public transportation-obsessed Pigeon. The new exhibition The Art and Whimsy of Mo Willems at the New-York Historical Society brings together original art, sketches, animation cels, and sculptures, all framed by Willems’ life in New York and how it influenced his iconic characters. The show is in an immersive, child-friendly space, featuring an imaginative New York cityscape on the gallery walls, two reading areas, and family audio guides narrated by Willems himself.

the carters portraits mcny

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Henry Augustus Carter ca. 1845 (detail) • Museum of the City of New York, Nicholas Biddle Kittell, 62.234.12

(now-10/11) Picturing Prestige: New York Portraits at the Museum of the City of New York shows off the work of some of the leading American painters circa 1700-1860, as they fixed the likenesses of that era's 1% for all time.

(now-9/5) Final weekend! History is happening in Manhattan this summer at the New-York Historical Society. Following the incredible success of Hamilton on Broadway, the society is launching the Summer of Hamilton, a packed slate of programming devoted to our nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury. On display are treasured artifacts from Hamilton’s life and career, including his writing desk, life-sized bronze statues of Hamilton and Burr at the moment of their infamous duel, and a monumental case clock given to Hamilton by the Bank of New York. Also on display are nine key documents from Hamilton’s life, including a letter to his wife Eliza. To give a better idea of how this history is now being interpreted on stage in Hamilton, video clips from the show are interspersed throughout the exhibition. As part of the Summer of Hamilton celebration at NYHS, enjoy $10 Museum Admission through Labor Day. Offer good for in-person ticket purchases, not available online. This offer may not be combined with other discounts.

(now-9/7) Final week! The Guggenheim’s newest exhibition is the first comprehensive retrospective in nearly 50 years of the work of pioneering artist and educator László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946). Moholy-Nagy: Future Present examines the full career of the utopian modernist who believed in the power of art and technology as a vehicle for social transformation and the betterment of humanity. The presentation brings together more than 300 works, some of which have never before been shown publicly in this country. 

(now-9/18) Rembrandt's First Masterpiece is on view at the Morgan Library & Museum. Completed when he was just 23 years old, Judas Returning the Thirty Pieces of Silver has long been recognized as Rembrandt's first mature work, which has never before been shown in the U.S. The exhibition includes the original painting, preparation drawings, and early self-portraits.

(now-1/17) The American Museum of Natural History welcomes an exhibit with bite: Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World provides a fascinating look at the world of archosaurs, a group that includes alligators and crocodiles as well as extinct dinosaurs and modern birds.

(now-9/11) Impresssionism: American Gardens on Canvas has opened at the New York Botanical Garden. In the Conservatory, stroll through an American Impressionist garden, a stunning interpretation by Francisca Coelho (NYBG's renowned curator and designer) of the alluring gardens that influenced iconic artists such as Childe Hassam and John Singer Sargent. In the Art Gallery, view a beautiful complementary display of more than 20 paintings and sculptures.

(permanent) New York’s latest resident is a 122-foot-long dinosaur so new it has yet to be formally named. Going by “Titanosaur for now, it has taken up residence at the American Museum of Natural History, in a cast of 84 fossil bones uncovered in Patagonia in 2014. The find included a colossal 8-ft. thigh bone, whose shape and size indicated a new species—and one of the biggest dinosaurs ever found. The titanosaur is so large, in fact, that it doesn’t fit in the gallery: a 39-ft.-long neck in a new permanent exhibit extends out towards the elevator banks.

(ongoing) On The Line: Intrepid & The Vietnam War is up at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space MuseumIntrepid made three tours of duty in Vietnam between 1966-1969.

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: COMEDY 

 

(9/1) Mel Brooks: Back in the Saddle Again at Radio City Music Hall. Still vivacious at 90, Mel Brooks will take the Radio City Music Hall stage for an exclusive inside look at his storied career and the making of the legendary Blazing Saddles.

PLUS

(8/31-10/1) Lady Bunny in Trans-Jester at The Stonewall Inn. Bunny is bringing her latest blend of raucous, irreverent comedy to an equally legendary venue. NOT PC, adults only! 

(9/1) #partythursday at Stand Up NY. Drink specials with college ID. Chris DiStefano, Annie Lederman, Kate Wolff, Anthony Zenhauser, Rosebud Baker, and Nathan Macintosh.

(9/2)  Stand Up NY Showcase w/Joe Matarese, Jeff Leach and James Mattern at Stand Up NY.

(9/2-9/3) Theo Von performs at Gotham Comedy Club. 

Get free admission for two to Stand Up NY!

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: KIDS

 

(9/1-9/4) Calling all unicycle enthusiasts! The free, fun New York City Unicycle Festival spans Manhattan, Brookly, and Governors Island, bringing together riders from all walks of life. There will be races, exhibitions, workshops, and a variety of unicycle sports, including basketball, hockey, and sumo. nycunifest.com 

PLUS 

(now-10/9) Arcade Classics: Video Games from the Museum's Collection at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. Check out vintage arcade games including Space Invaders, Asteroids, Tempest, Centipede, Berzerk, and more!

(Ongoing) Explore the beautiful interactive exhibit Connected Worlds at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. 

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: SIGHTSEEING

Brazilian Day

(9/4) The annual Brazilian Day Festival returns to Manhattan's Little Brazil (around 46th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues). Load up on tasty food, music, vendors, and more. brazilianday.com

PLUS 

Grab a date or friend and enjoy the most incredible views of NYC at Top of the Rock.

(new) Catch the new Ghostbusters Experience (walk through/immersive) and Ghostbusters Dimension, a Virtual Reality Experience at Madame Tussauds. Get ready to strap on some gear and laser some ghosts against breathtaking, realistic backdrops. The technology puts you right there!

Take a thrilling white-knuckle 30-minute cruise of the Manhattan skyline aboard THE SHARK Speedboat thrill ride with Circle Line Downtown. Take $5 off your ride now.

(ongoing) Take a one-hour tour of one of the world's most important buildings, the United Nations, now celebrating 70 years. (Tours offered weekdays only.)

(ongoing) One of NYC's most iconic sports and music venues, Madison Square Garden, offers a must-see MSG All Access Tour. Take $4 off admission now.

Explore NYC with a magical live interactive experience when you take THE RIDE and The TOURFind out about special summer only discounts for early risers! 

Check out the new "tour about nothing" When Harry Met Seinfeld with On Location Tours

The One World Observatory is open. Start by ascending to the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere in less than sixty seconds, in state-of-the-art "Sky Pod Elevators" that feature a floor-to-ceiling LED screen showing the ever-evolving New York skyline. Once reaching the 100th floor, visitors can take in panoramic, uninterrupted views on the main platform. Click here for information about ordering tickets and getting a free collectible pin!

Explore NYC's Financial District with Wall Street Walks

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: NIGHTLIFE & MUSIC

michael feinstein with marilyn maye

(8/31-9/1) Evoking the ambience of a 1920s speakeasy, Feinstein's/54 Below combines performances by Broadway’s best with innovative New American cuisine in an elegant setting. Michael Feinstein, “Ambassador of the Great American Songbook,” returns to the club that bears his name with a brand-new show featuring the “Super Singer” Marilyn Maye. Don’t miss Michael Feinstein with Marilyn Maye: Summer Romance, an evening of favorite standards on the topic of love.

(9/2-9/5) Labor Day Dinner, Lunch, & Eat, Drink and B. Mary Brunch Cruises with DJ Entertainment with Spirit of New York.

(9/2, 9/4) The English Beat at City Winery

(9/3) The New York Liberty is celebrating their 20th season at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. Catch the best female basketball players in the world compete LIVE and help cheer on the team in their pursuit of a 2016 WNBA Championship. Bring family and friends and #SHOWUP! This season’s remaining home games are Sat., Sept. 3 at 6pm vs. the Phoenix Mercury; Wed., Sept. 7 at 7pm vs. the Seattle Storm; Fri., Sept. 9 at 7:30pm vs. the Connecticut Sun; and Tues., Sept. 13 at 7pm vs. the Washington Mystics. 

Click here for summer outdoor concerts.  

SNEAK PEEK, NEXT WEEK

Louis C.K.

(9/8, 9/12, 9/15) Comedian Louis C.K. performs at Madison Square Garden.

PLUS 

(9/11) Remembering 9/11 in New York 2016: A Guide.

_______________________________________________________________________

Like what you see here? Share it with your friends on Facebook! Find out more about what to do in September, including Best NYC September Festivals. We've got October covered, too!

Bringing a group to NYC? Free planning services

Let us know what you are looking for and we will try to connect you directly and get discounts.

Enter the code: 3972

More Articles