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Things to Do in NYC This Week (Wed, Jan 10-Wed, Jan 17)

Looking for what to do in New York? We've got the latest on all the goings-on in NYC, from concerts to museum exhibitions to comedy to the best in city sightseeing. This week, Winter Jazzfest gets underway, New York remembers Martin Luther King, Jr., and there's great comedy, concerts, and exhibits!

THE BIG EVENT

Winter Jazz Fest

(1/10-1/17) 14th Annual Winter Jazzfest. Winter Jazzfest is the annual New York home to the exciting and forward-thinking contemporary jazz music being made today. The series attacts a unique, deeply engaged, discerning audience to venues across downtown Manhattan, including the Bowery Ballroom and (le) Poisson Rouge.

PLUS

NFL Playoff Watch Parties at NFL Experience

(1/13-1/14) Get in on a little pre-Super Bowl action with the NFL Playoff Watch Parties at NFL EXPERIENCE TIMES SQUARE, the only attraction that takes you on a hero’s journey from fan to player to champion! This brand-new, immersive experience in the heart of Times Square gets you closer to the NFL than ever before with an incredible 4D theater, over 20 interactive activities, and the Vince Lombardi Trophy on display 365 days a year! Enjoy beer specials and more during the divisional round playoffs this weekend.

MLK Tribute at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)

(1/15) 32nd Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. at the Brooklyn Academy of MusicNew York City’s largest public celebration in honor of iconic civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. returns to BAM for the 32nd year. This event brings world-renowned activists, intellectuals, and civic leaders together with musicians and other performers to pay tribute to King’s legacy and keep his message alive. Join us for full day of free events, including a movie screening, a talk, and an art exhibition. 10:30am. FREE.

dance nyc danzart

(1/13-1/14) Selene Muñoz with Danzart. Peridance Capezio Center presents 20 innovative dance companies during the 2018 Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference week at the Salvatore Capezio Theater. Art Without Borders, Inc. is proud to represent Selene Muñoz/Danzart and their collaboration with the New York City Ballet’s principal dancers, Ask la Cour and Amar Ramasar. Saturday and Sunday, Selene Muñoz, a world renowned Flamenco dancer, will perform SENSES, an excerpt from her trilogy FIVE SENSES. Combining choreography with elements of traditional Spanish Flamenco and Classical Ballet, it is a dance not to be missed.

EXHIBITION OF THE WEEK

Downton Abbey: The Exhibition

(Now-1/31) Final weeks! Downton Abbey: The Exhibition, based on the beloved television show Downton Abbey. Be transported to post-Edwardian England, where the characters and the iconic house come to life. You’ll be immersed in the fascinating social history, culture, and some of the most memorable moments and sets from the show’s six-season run, including Mrs. Patmore’s kitchen and the servants’ quarters.

PLUS

(Now-1/14/18) Final week! Considered one of the city’s greatest treasures, the Morgan Library & Museum showcases manuscripts, art, history, and architecture. On display now is a great seasonal show, Charles Dickens and the Spirit of Christmas, which delves into the world sparked by A Christmas Carol (1843). All five of Dickens’s Christmas books are here, in addition to original manuscripts, illustrations, photos, letters, and even Dickens’s own writing desk. You’ll come away with a new understanding of the man who is arguably most responsible for Christmas as we know it.

(Now-1/21/18) Final weeks! In the ancient burial ground at Saqqara, Egypt, one animal cemetery alone has yielded over four million ibis mummies. The dog cemetery nearby has over seven million, and similar sites are found throughout Egypt. Despite its prominence, this unusual practice of ancient Egyptian culture has remained largely a mystery. The new Brooklyn Museum exhibition Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt sheds light on the religious purpose of these mummies, how they were made, and why there are so many. Animals were central to the ancient Egyptian worldview. Most animals had connections to a particular deity. After death, mummified animals’ souls could carry a message to a god. Drawn from the museum’s extensive collection, the exhibition features choice examples of mummies of birds, cats, dogs, snakes, and other animals. The show also reveals corruption beneath the surface: CT scans displayed in the exhibition uncover empty wrappings, double mummies, and misleading packaging among some of the mummies that the priests sold to worshippers.

(Now-2/12) Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman & Designer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) is the subject of this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition. During his long life, Michelangelo was celebrated for the excellence of his disegno, the power of drawing and invention. This exhibition will present approximately 150 of his drawings, three of his marble sculptures, his earliest painting, his wood architectural model for a chapel vault, and complementary works by other artists for comparison and context. Among the extraordinary international loans are the complete series of masterpiece drawings he created for his friend Tommaso de' Cavalieri and a monumental cartoon for his last fresco in the Vatican Palace.

COMEDY

Trevor Noah

(1/12-1/13) The Daily Show's Trevor Noah at Radio City Music Hall.

PLUS

(1/12/-1/13) Dean Edwards at Gotham Comedy Club

(1/11-1/14) Chappelle Show's Donnell Rawlings at Carolines. 

(1/14) The Funniest Show on Broadway MLK Day Eve with host Martin Urbano Featuring: Anthony DeVito, Chloe Hilliard, Dina Hashem, Matt Koff, Phil Hunt, Sam Morril at Carolines.

(1/14) Small World Comedy with Yamaneika Saunders, Chris DiStefano, Keith Robinson, and Sherrod Small at Stand Up NY

KIDS

The Wiz

(1/13) Family Matinee Screening of 1978's The Wiz, starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross at the Museum of the Moving Image. In celebration of the film's 40th anniversary.

PLUS

(1/15) Normally closed on Monday, New-York Historical Society will be open 10am-6pm, with special programs for children honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A special storytime event will take place at 2pm.

(Ongoing) Blue Man Group at Astor Place Theatre. Best known for their wildly popular theatrical shows, Blue Man Group combines music, comedy, and multimedia theatrics to produce a unique form of entertainment. The hour and forty five minute show is fun for the whole family. The show recently celebrated its 25th anniversary

For more kids activities, check out our sister site nymetroparents.com!

SIGHTSEEING

New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show

(Now-1/15) Final week!!! New York Botanical Garden's Holiday Train Show returns! Enchanting model trains zip through a display of 150 landmarks, each re-created with bark, leaves, and other natural materials—all under the twinkling glow of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Marvel at G-scale locomotives humming along among familiar sights such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and Rockefeller Center on nearly a half-mile of track. This year’s exhibition showcases Midtown Manhattan’s iconic skyscrapers and other architectural wonders, featuring new replicas of the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, General Electric Building, and St. Bartholomew’s Church.

PLUS

Take a deep dive into an underwater world with New York City’s newest attraction, National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey, in Times Square. This experience lets visitors explore the ocean like never before thanks to state-of-the-art technology and a brilliant team of designers. This is not a museum, exhibit, movie, aquarium, or virtual reality; instead, the producers consulted with dozens of scientists to create a new kind of immersive experience that guests can walk through as they share ocean encounters. Blockbuster new science—some of it not even published yet—was used in its creation. Short of a submarine, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better way to experience life as it’s lived under the sea. 

The largest VR entertainment center in the Western Hemisphere is New York’s latest attraction: VR World. Get inspired by virtual reality in a diverse space with three floors that bring culture, gaming, and entertainment together. With over 50 experiences to choose from, VR World offers an unforgettable experience that’s yours to create! Fight off droids, climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, race Formula One cars against your friends, and create a 3D masterpiece. The adventures are limitless.

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. Here's a coupon.

MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE 

Calpurnia

(1/12) Stranger Things' star Finn Wolfhard's band Calpurnia will play Brooklyn's Rough Trade. 16+ (under 16 must be with guardian).

PLUS

Le Nozze di Figaro Metropolitan Opera

Luca Pisaroni and the Count and Christiane Karg as Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. Photo by Chris Lee/Metropolitan Opera. 

(1/10, 1/13, 1/19) Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at the Metropolitan OperaAn exceptional ensemble of performers share the stage in Mozart’s comic yet profound exploration of love, betrayal, and reconciliation over the course of one crazy day in a wealthy Spanish household. Harry Bicket conducts Richard Eyre’s high-spirited production.

(1/10) Light of Day's 18th Anniversary concert event at The Cutting Room, a benefit in support of Parkinson's Disease, with Gary U.S. Bonds, Dramarama, Johnny Pi’s Punk Rock Pizzeria, Joe D’Urso & Stone Caravan, The King Sings the Boss. Doors open 6pm, show 7pm. $45-$75. Get tickets here. lightofday.org

(1/11) Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden.

(1/11-1/21) Shen Yun 2018 at the David Koch Theater. SHEN YUN’s unique artistic vision expands theatrical experience into a multi-dimensional, inspiring journey through one of humanity’s greatest treasures—the five millennia of traditional Chinese culture.

(1/11) Nona Hendryx & Mamafunk at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater.

(1/12) The Killers perform at Madison Square Garden.

(1/13) Darlene Love at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill.

For information on LGBT nightlife, visit our brother site metrosource.com! 

SNEAK PEEK, NEXT WEEK

(1/18-1/25) Ever watched a squash game in a train station? The 21st annual J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions (ToC) arrives in Grand Central Terminal for an exciting week of international competition and live spectator events. The matches are played beneath the iconic chandeliers in Vanderbilt Hall in a state-of-the-art glass squash court, with stadium seating for 500 and a free standing room area for commuters and passersby.

(1/18-1/20) Pablo Francisco at Gotham Comedy Club.

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