(2/22-3/1) 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, children off for winter break can enjoy Kids Week at the Intrepid and free admission through Feb. 26 at Madame Tussauds New York. Next week, check out George Clinton and P Funkadelic during their 5th Annual Fat Tuesday Celebration at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. Click through for more great suggestions on Where to Celebrate Mardi Gras in NYC 2017! "Laissez les bons temps rouler!"
THIS WEEK: THE BIG EVENT
Installation View: Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim. David Heald © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 2017.
(now-9/6/17) The newest show at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim, provides a rare chance to explore in-depth some of the key artists of this essential New York institution. Framed by the interests of six leading patrons, Visionaries brings together canvases from masters like Max Ernst, René Magritte, and Yves Tanguy, and sculptures by Joseph Cornell and Alberto Giacometti. In addition, Jackson Pollock’s Alchemy (1947) is being shown in the U.S. for the first time in nearly 50 years. More than a dozen works on paper by Picasso and Van Gogh, rarely on view to the public, can be seen in the Thannhauser Gallery, and paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Gauguin, and Édouard Manet are displayed on the museum’s legendary ramps.
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(2/18-4/9) The Orchid Show celebrates its 15th year at The New York Botanical Garden with an homage to the orchids and culture of Thailand. With 1,200 native orchid species calling Thailand home, expect a diverse array, culminating with a flower-festooned recreation of a traditional Thai pavilion. The garden (just a 20-minute Metro-North ride from Grand Central Terminal) also features a living collection of more than one million plants.
THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: EXHIBITION OF THE WEEK
Nicole Reed, Tattoo Art by Rose Hardy on Zoe Brown, 2016. Courtesy Nicole Reed Photography.
(now-4/30) Tattooed New York at the New-York Historical Society. This exhibition showcases more than 250 items, including mezzotints of the heavily inked Mohawk Indians who shocked London society during a visit in 1710; one of the earliest surviving pictographs of a Seneca warrior's tattoos (1706); an example of the Thomas Edison electric pen whose invention ushered in the modern era of tattooing; colorful banners advertising carnival sideshows of tattooed performers; and flash designs by pioneers of modern tattooing working on the Bowery. nyhistory.org
(now-5/21) Visitors to The Morgan Library & Museum get a rare insight into the life of one of literature’s most enigmatic poets, Emily Dickinson. The museum’s exhibition I’m Nobody! Who are you? The Life and Poetry of Emily Dickinson, opened on January 20, is the most ambition exhibition on the iconic poet to date. The show will display nearly 100 rarely seen items related to Dickinson’s life and work, including manuscripts and letters, along with such visual materials as photographs and hand-cut silhouettes that illuminate the environment that informed Dickinson’s writing. Also featured will be close examinations of drafts of 24 of Dickinson’s poems.
(ongoing) The Museum of the City of New York presents NY at Its Core. Ten years in the making, New York at Its Core tells the compelling story of New York’s rise from a striving Dutch village to today’s “Capital of the World.” The exhibition captures the human energy that drove New York to become a city like no other and a subject of fascination the world over. Entertaining, inspiring, important, and at times bemusing, New York City “big personalities,” including Alexander Hamilton, Walt Whitman, Boss Tweed, Emma Goldman, JP Morgan, Fiorello La Guardia, Jane Jacobs, Jay-Z, and dozens more, parade through the exhibition. Visitors will also learn the stories of lesser-known New York personalities, like Lenape chieftain Penhawitz and Italian immigrant Susie Rocco. Even animals like the horse, the pig, the beaver, and the oyster, which played pivotal roles in the economy and daily life of New York, get their moment in the historical spotlight. Occupying the entire first floor in three interactive galleries (Port City, 1609-1898, World City, 1898-2012, and Future City Lab) New York at Its Core is shaped by four themes: money, density, diversity, and creativity. Together, they provide a lens for examining the character of the city, and underlie the modern global metropolis we know today. mcny.org
(now-4/23/17) Now on display at the New-York Historical Society are two revealing new exhibits—Muhammad Ali, LeRoy Neiman, and the Art of Boxing and "I Am The King of the World"—Photographs of Muhammad Ali by George Kalinsky. The complementary exhibits, one by a watercolor painter/sketch artist and one by a Madison Square Garden photographer, offer an intimate perspective of the heavyweight boxing champion's trailblazing career. Both shows come from a place of deep respect and trust; they chronicle highlights and low points, as well as capturing Ali's sometimes quieter, more thoughtful interior life.
(now-4/23/17) Prolific NYC filmmaker Martin Scorsese is the subject of an exhibition at Astoria's Museum of the Moving Image. In addition to exploring his films, the exhibit grants visitors unprecedented access to his personal storyboards (including one he made when he was 11 years old!), screenplays, photos, props, costumes, letters written to him by various directors including Frank Capra, Steven Spielberg, Paul Schraeder, actor Robert DeNiro, and others.
(now-5/14/17) Considered one of the city’s greatest treasures, the Morgan Library & Museum showcases manuscripts, art, history, and architecture. An extraordinary group of more than 75 masterpieces is currently being shown in Treasures from the Nationalmuseum of Sweden: The Collections of Count Tessin. Among the artists represented are Italian masters, Tessin’s French contemporaries, and Northern European luminaries like Albrecht Dürer, Peter Paul Rubens, and Rembrandt van Rijn. The show is on display until May while Sweden’s largest and most distinguished art institution undergoes a major refurbishment.
(ongoing) The legendary aircraft carrier that’s now the Intrepid, Sea, Air & Space Museum served three tours of duty in Vietnam between 1966 and 1969. Learn more about its experiences in the Gulf of Tonkin, launching aircraft for missions over mainland Vietnam, at the exhibit On the Line: Intrepid and the Vietnam War, featuring many artifacts displayed for the very first time.
Click here for our Intrepid Coupon to save $3 now (max 4 persons) off general admission!
THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: COMEDY
(2/23-2/25) Pablo Francisco at Gotham Comedy Club.
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(2/23-2/25) SNL's Leslie Jones at Carolines.
THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: KIDS
(2/22-2/25) The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum hosts its annual Kids Week, this year exploring the theme of the science and art of games. Kids can discover STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math) as they play cutting-edge digital games, explore interactive displays, view live demonstrations, and meet special guests like zoologist and naturalist Jarod Miller, NASA spacewalk flight controller Allison Bolinger, and former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino. All Kids Week activities are free with museum admission.
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(2/23-3/3) Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey Circus Presents Out of This World at Barclays Center.
(2/25, 2/26) Family Bowl at Brooklyn Bowl.
(now-2/26) Sesame Street Live at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
(Ongoing) Explore the beautiful interactive exhibit Connected Worlds at the New York Hall of Science in Queens.
THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: SIGHTSEEING
(now-2/26) Madame Tussauds in Times Square is the only place with no ropes or barriers holding you back from getting photos with your favorite celebrities. Voted as one of New York’s most unique attractions, Madame Tussauds invites you to pose with over 200 figures of internationally renowned musicians, A-list stars, sports legends, and world leaders. During the Presidents' Day school recess, take advantage of special Kids-Go-Free Week discounts. (Kids ages 12 and under, when accompanied by an adult ticket holder, receive free admission.)
(ongoing) Catch the 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!
(new) Every year, at 11:59pm on December 31st, people from all over the world are focused on the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball. Millions of voices unite to count down the final seconds of the old year and celebrate the beginning of the new. Now you can get up close and personal with the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball at Ripley’s Believe It or Not—Times Square! Press the button yourself and ring in the New Year every day of the year. A home to rare artifacts and thrilling interactive exhibits, Ripley’s is for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in the unexpected and the unbelievable.
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(2/26-3/12) Audubon Winter Cruise with New York Water Taxi. Every Sunday.
(ongoing) Sweets for the sweet! Grab your honey or friend for a cozy ride aboard A Slice of Brooklyn's Chocolate Tour. TripAdvisor's top-rated NYC tour company A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours has launched a tour that visits artisanal chocolate sites Jacques Torres Chocolate in DUMBO, The Chocolate Room in Cobble Hill, Raaka in Red Hook, and Li-Lac Chocolates in Industry City, Sunset Park. Offered every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
(Ongoing) Grab a date or friend and enjoy the most incredible views of NYC at Top of the Rock.
(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.)
Check out the new "tour about nothing" When Harry Met Seinfeld with On Location Tours.
Explore NYC's Financial District with Wall Street Walks.
THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: NIGHTLIFE & MUSIC
(2/28) George Clinton & P Funkadelic will perform for the 5th Funky Fat Tuesday Celebration at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill.
(2/25-3/5) Celebrate Beer Week with some great specials across the city. All Heartland locations are pouring their own ?Imperial Uber IPA/10% ABV, just a $6 mug while supplies last. Happy Hour at Heartland: ?M-F 4-7pm featuring $6 drinks including specialty cocktails, select seasonal brews, and house wine. ?Also serving $2 sliders.
Favorite beer halls Houston Hall and Flatiron Hall are offering a Triple IPA/10% ABV, $6 a mug while supplies last. Happy Hour at Houston Hall: all day Mondays! Tues-Fri 4-7pm ?$6 drinks and appetizers: 1/2 liter steins, house wine, Moscow Mules, Houston Hall Old Fashions, wings, Southern-fried dill pickles, and American grilled cheese; plus ?$2 sliders. Happy Hour at Flatiron Hall?: $2.50 appetizer specials in the beer cellar on Sun/Mon/Tues?; wings, pastrami Rueben spring rolls, Buffalo steak fries.
Happy Hour at Guy's American Kitchen & Bar, M-F 4-6pm featuring $6 drinks including specialty cocktails, select seasonal brews, and house wine. ?Also serving $6 select appetizers.
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(2/23) Rusted Root at Brooklyn Bowl.
(2/23) Japandroids at Terminal 5.
(2/24-2/25) Tony Danza: Standards & Stories at Feinstein's/54 Below.
(2/25) Lauryn Hill performs at Radio City Music Hall.
(2/25, 3/2) Rusalka at the Metropolitan Opera.
(2/25) Miss Jill Scott at the Apollo Theater.
(2/25) Prodigy of Mobb Deep Performing H.N.I.C. Unplugged w/Live Band at the Blue Note.
(2/23) DJ Questlove Presents Bowl Train at Brooklyn Bowl. Every Thursday, 11:30pm.
(2/26) Run the Jewels w/very Special Guest The Gaslamp Killer, Spark Master Tape, Cuz at Terminal 5.
(2/28) Irène Jacob at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater. Actress Irène Jacob and guitarist Francis Jacob craft welcoming, worldly pop on "En Bas De Chez Moi", celebrating the US release live at Joe's Pub.
(Ongoing) Every Sunday at noon and 2pm don’t miss Broadway “Boozy” Brunch, with a cabaret show and the option for bottomless bellinis, Bloody Marys, and mimosas. Don't Tell Mama.
SNEAK PEEK, NEXT WEEK
(3/1) The X Files' David Duchovny performs at The Gramercy Theatre.
(Opens 3/3) Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern provides a new look at an iconic American artist at the very institution that hosted her first solo museum exhibition in 1927—the Brooklyn Museum. Presenting O’Keeffe’s remarkable wardrobe in dialogue with iconic paintings and photographs, this singular exhibition focuses in on the modernist persona O’Keeffe crafted for herself. With photographs by luminaries like Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, and Annie Leibovitz, the show reflects O’Keeffe’s radical rethinking of female identity, and the artist’s commitment to elements of modernism—minimalism, seriality, simplification—not only in her art, but also in her distinctive style of dress.
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