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Things to Do in NYC (5/18-5/25)

(5/18-5/25) Each week, City Guide's Things to Do in NYC brings you the best in special NYC events, the newest exhibits, sightseeing activities, fun for kids, concerts, nightlife, and more. This week, film buffs can explore more than 20 working trailers at NY On Location, an all-day event hosted by the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria; Sebastian Bach and Robert Cray Band take the stage at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, and the Big Apple Circus is back in town!

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: THE BIG EVENT 

NY On Location, Museum of the Moving Image

(5/22) Get a look behind the scenes at NYC film production at the free day-long New York on Location street fair, hosted by the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. Working movie trailers, stunt performers, makeup demos, and special effects (snow!) are all on the schedule. You'll also have the chance to speak with movie professionals about what they do on the set.

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: EXHIBITION OF THE WEEK

Met ManusxMachina

Upper Level Gallery View: Embroidery ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art

(new) Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Costume Institute's spring 2016 exhibition explores how fashion designers are reconciling the handmade and the machine-made in the creation of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear. 

PLUS

(now-9/11) Impresssionism: American Gardens on Canvas opens 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. 

(now-7/24) Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty dazzles at MoMA, with over 100 rarely seen monotypes, joined by related paintings, drawings, pastels, sketchbooks, and prints, showing Degas at his most modern. 

(new) 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-7/31) Hey! Ho! Let's Go! Ramones and the Birth of Punk takes a look at the legendary New York-bred band. The show premieres in April, 2016 at the Queens Museum.  

(now-8/14) Stitching History from the Holocaust unveils dress patterns created by Hedy Strnad, a victim of the Holocaust, found 60 years after her family’s escape from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Their story is brought to life through the contemporary creation of Hedy’s designs and the piecing together of Hedy’s history with her husband, Paul Strnad. Museum of Jewish Heritage.

(now-6/18)The ancient Greek city of Dion comes to New York City in the form of some extraordinary artworks and artifacts, never before seen on these shores and now on view at the Onassis Cultural Center NY. The exhibition, Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus, displays more than 90 artworks and artifacts—including mosaics, sculptures, jewelry, ceramics, coins, glass, and implements—dating from the tenth century B.C. to the fourth century A.D.

(now-8/7) Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History, the first-ever retrospective on the iconic fashion designer, opens at the Jewish Museum.

(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.

(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.

(ongoing) Vikings have arrived in Times Square! The term "viking" conjures some basic images, usually that of a fair-haired, statuesque male (think Marvel Comics' Thor, named after the Norse God of Thunder), either in combat or on a ship. It is a noun, a general term defining people from the regions we now know as Sweden, Scandinavia, or Norway, but between 750-1100 AD (well before the regions were named) it was also a verb, meaning “to travel.” Viking treasures have now traveled to New York, where they can be explored in the new Vikings The Exhibition, now open at Discovery Times Square.

(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) Agitprop! at the Brooklyn Museum connects contemporary art, social change, and historic moments in creative activism. 

(ongoing) The Secret World Inside You provides an incredible tour of the trillions of micro-organisms living in and on the human body at the American Museum of Natural History.

(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. Here's a coupon!

(through 5/30) Final weeks! The Butterfly Conservatory flutters into the AMNH

(ongoing) Saturday Night Live: The Exhibition is open at Premier Exhibitions 5th AvenueGet your discount coupon here!

(now-8/16) Beauty—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, with over 250 recent works by 63 designers that seek to answer the question “Why Beauty Now?,” is up at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: COMEDY

Cheech Marin

(5/19) AXS TV Presents Gotham Comedy Live Hosted by Cheech Marin, 10pm. With Will Vought, Matt Richards, Amanda Baramki, and more! Gotham Comedy Club.

PLUS

(5/18-5/19) Joan Rivers Tribute Show at Metropolitan Room.

(5/19) Mike Vecchione, Gina Yashere, Mike Somerville, Elon Altman at Broadway Comedy Club.

(5/20) James Goff, Chris Murphy, Marvin Bell, Harrison Greenbaum, Amy Foster, Ronnie Wilkerson at Broadway Comedy Club.

(5/20-5/21) Godfrey at Gotham Comedy Club, feat. Rich Aronovitch and Veronica Mosey! 

(5/21) Stand Up NY Showcase with Seaton Smith, Jeff Leach, Aaron Berg, & Yamaneika Saunders at Stand Up NY.

(5/23) Stand Up NY Showcase with Megan Gailey, Mike Cannon, Damien Lemon, Paul Mercurio, Chris DiStefano, and Leah Bonnema at Stand Up NY, 8pm.

Get free admission for 2 to Stand Up NY!

Get free and reduced admission to Broadway Comedy Club with this coupon!

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: KIDS

Big Apple Circus: The Grand Tour

(now-6/12) Big Apple Circus: The Grand Tour returns to Cunningham Park in Queens. 

PLUS

(5/21-10/9) Arcade Classics: Video Games from the Museum's Collection at the Museum of the Moving Image 

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

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: SIGHTSEEING

Circle Line Hello Brooklyn

(new) Circle Line launches its Hello, Brooklyn! Cruise, which not only explores highlights of Brooklyn, but gives guests the chance to purchase beer and snacks from Brooklyn vendors including Brooklyn Brewery, Junior's, Brooklyn Cured, and more! Get 20% off this or any other Circle Line cruise, when you order online between now and May 26! Use code CRUISE20.

PLUS

(5/18) Paint the Ship at The Vikings Exhibition at Discovery Times Square.

(5/21) Watson Adventures' Secrets of Greenwich Village Scavenger Hunt in Washington Square Park.

(5/21) Hudson Park River Games: Fear the Pier at Pier 26; a fun obstacle course challenge that's also a fundrasier for Hudson River Park. 

(5/21) The Amazing NY Sports Scavenger Hunt at Slattery's Midtown.

Take a selfie with new arrival James Bond, Taylor Swift, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, and countless other famous celebs at Madame Tussauds New York!

Explore NYC with a magical live interactive experience when you take The TOUR! 

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. Get a limited edition collectible pin with this coupon

Explore NYC's Financial District with Wall Street Walks

Check out the hottest spots to eat and drink in the Flatiron District and Williamsburg with Like a Local Tours. 

THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK: NIGHTLIFE & MUSIC

Sebastian Bach

(5/18) Star of Broadway's Jeckyl & Hyde, with operatic range, Skid Row's Sebastian Bach is set to rock at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill.

PLUS

(5/18) Zephyr Happy Hour on a Boat

(5/19) Edwin McCain Trio at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill.

(5/19-5/21) Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre presents Footprints: A Modern Dance Festival at the Marjorie S. Dean Little Theater.

(5/19) An Evening of New York and Irish History at the Irish American Historical Society.

(5/19) Catch a LGBT-friendly ride on the ZEPHYR Pride Cruise, the ultimate Pride party on the water, with LED lighting and an HD sound system. 

(5/20) Blues legend and five-time Grammy winner Robert Cray performs at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill

(5/21) It’s what Saturday night should be—dancing and drinking on a luxury yacht. Come aboard Zephyr’s three-hour Saturday Night Dance Cruise and enjoy signature cocktails and three indoor and outdoor levels of pulsating energy (21 and older, ID required). Weekly departures, sails from 9:30pm to 12:30am; New York Water Taxi.

(5/21-5/23, 5/25) Glee star Matthew Morrison at Feinstein's/54 Below.

SNEAK PEEK, NEXT WEEK

Fleet Week Intrepid

(5/25-5/31) Get set for Fleet Week will a full schedule of events aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, including the kickoff of free summer flicks, starting with Top Gun (5/27).

PLUS
(5/24) AMNH Presents: Secrets of Scientists Live! Meet an all-star cast of scientists who have secrets to share!  

(5/24) Denny Laine of Paul McCartney & Wings performs at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill

(5/25) Cyndi Lauper & Boy George share the bill at the Beacon Theatre.

(5/27-5/29) Mad Max Memorial Day Weekend at the Museum of the Moving Image.

(5/28) Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World opens at the American Museum of Natural History.

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