8/4/09 National Night Out 2009: Sponsored by Natl Assn of Town Watch + Target

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

Since 1963, the National Association of Town Watch has held its annual National Night Out (NNO) event to promote crime and drug prevention, strengthen police-community relations and encourage neighborhood camaraderie.

Target® has a proud history of partnership with local law enforcement agencies through its Target & BLUE program. As part of this commitment to create safer and healthier communities, Target partners with the National Association of Town Watch to sponsor National Night Out.

Held on the first Tuesday in August since 1983, NNO has grown to involve over 37 million people from more than 15,000 communities.

NNO is designed to:
* Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness
* Generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs
* Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships
* Send a message to criminals, letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back

For FAQs and how to get involved:
www.nationalnightout.org/nno

8/1/09–8/29/09 Ongoing August Saturdays: Life on a Desert Island: Robinson Crusoe @ Central Park

Ongoing each Saturday in August at 4:30pm

Location: Next to Mineral Springs Cafe, across from Bowling & Croquet Greens (enter at 68th Street on the west side), Central Park, NYC

(917) 620-7024

Cost: Free

For all ages

Theatre Playground Productions presents an interactive one-man, outdoor show about Robinson Crusoe, based on Daniel Defoe’s 1719 classic. Read more about the show at:

http://theatreplayground.com

8/8/09 + 8/9/09 Civil War Weekend @ Govenor’s Island

Sat + Sun, August 8 + 9, 2009

The National Park Service, 119th New York Volunteers, The GawdAwful Mess and Battery G of the First Pennsylvania Light Artillery will provide family friendly activities, living history demonstrations, music and other programs designed to introduce you to the men and women of the Governors Island Garrison and Confederates imprisoned on the island.

Go to site for directions, map and schedule of events:

http://www.nps.gov/gois/planyourvisit/2009-special-events-at-governors-island-national-monument.htm

8/8/09 Fishing Fun @ Riverside Park

Saturday, August 8 at 1pm

Riverside Park, Pier I 

(70th Street at the Hudson River)

Cost: Free

Ages: 10 and up

Join the Urban Park Rangers and discover the joys of fishing, as we connect to the life living within the Hudson River. Equipment provided, but bring your own enthusiasm, some luck, and maybe a friend.

http://www.riversideparkfund.org/calendar/?date=2009-08-8

7/31/09 Friday Movie: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Meet Tom Seaver @ the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Friday, July 31, 2009 at 8:30pm (Doors open at 7:30pm)

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Pier 86 (Twelfth Ave at 46th St), NYC
(877) 957-7447

Travel: A, C, E to 42nd St–Port Authority; N, Q, R, W, 42nd St S, 1, 2, 3, 7 to 42nd St–Times Sq; then take the M42 bus to Twelfth Ave 
Cost: Free (Open to the public for FREE)

Bank of America is sponsoring this free alfresco screening of the Ben Stiller comedy in honor of our country’s military men and women. There’s free popcorn (while supplies last) and a chance to meet Hall of Fame Pitcher Tom Seaver. Doors open at 7:30pm.

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/Plan-Your-Visit/Public-Event-Details/Military-Family-Movie-Night.aspx

Free NY Walking Tours Podcasts

The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting has produced a series of free walking tour podcasts to highlight the rich and fascinating history of film and television locations in New York City. 

Downloadable for free from their website and narrated by some of the City’s most notable figures in entertainment, these first two tours will focus on the film and television scenes that were shot throughout Lower Manhattan. The tours will offer insight into the significance of each location—for both New York filmmaking and the city itself. Each approximately an hour in length, the tours are designed to link together, so that they may be enjoyed separately or in sequence.

Tour 1: Tribeca To City Hall
Tour 1 begins in the heart of Tribeca at the permanent home of the Tribeca Film Festival and features such films and television shows as Ghostbusters, Saturday Night Live, Law & Order, Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie's Choice, Annie Hall, Mo Better Blues, City Hall, Spin City, The Wiz, and the 25th Hour.

Tour 2: City Hall to Battery Park
Tour 1 ends at City Hall right where Tour 2 picks up, featuring such films and television shows as Klute, Patterns, Wall Street, Desperately Seeking Susan, Working Girl, and Men in Black. Tour 2 wraps up in Battery Park at the foot of Manhattan on the waterfront promenade with its spectacular views of New York Harbor—the site of prominent films for nearly a century.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/news/podcast_main.shtml

8/2/09 Acoustic Sundays: Jonathan Batiste Free Jazz @ Riverside Park

Sunday, August 2nd at 7:00pm

Riverside Park, Pier I at 70th St. + Hudson River, NYC

Cost: Free

All ages

Enjoy spectacular sunsets over the Hudson as you listen to some of New York’s best jazz, R&B, and world music. Sponsored by Riverside South Properties.

JAZZ at LINCOLN CENTER presents pianist Jonathan Batiste. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1986, Jonathan began his musical education at the age of 8 and quickly flourished as a multi-instrumentalist performing on piano, saxophone and bass guitar. By the age of 16 years old, he was playing with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Irvin Mayfield and Nicholas Patyon and has performed with Harry Connick Jr., Cassandra Wilson and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and has quickly become a rising star in the jazz world.

Riverside Park South is located on the Hudson River between 62nd and 72nd Streets. This event is FREE. Weather Permitting.

http://www.riversideparkfund.org/calendar/?c=Summer-on-the-Hudson

7/26/09 New Museum Block Party @ Sara D. Roosevelt Park

Sunday, July 26, 2009 from 12pm to 7pm

Sara D. Roosevelt Park

Chrystie St (at Delancey St), NYC
(212) 219-1222

Subway: B, D to Grand St; J, M, Z to Bowery

Cost: Free

For all ages

The New Museum Block Party is a day of art activities and performances in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. First, enjoy a range of artist- and educator-led interactive projects and programs related to the neighborhood and the New Museum. Then join the Block Party Parade in a raucous processional marching from the park to the New Museum. Explore the current exhibitions with a free docent-led highlights tour, culminating in a special performance at the New Museum.

The New Museum Block Party is free and open to the public. Participants receive a complementary guest pass to visit the New Museum on the day of the event.

New Museum Block Party is supported by Goldman, Sachs & Co. Community TeamWorks.

New Museum
235 Bowery
New York, NY 10002

http://www.newmuseum.org/events/345

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For a great map of Chinatown, go to:

http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/explorechinatownmap.pdf

For a Chinatown/Soho/Lower East Side subway map, go to:

http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/chinatown_subway.pdf

8/2/09 Chinatown Summer Street Festival @ Columbus Park

Sunday, August 2, 2009 from 11am to 5pm

Columbus Park

Bayard Street between Baxter and Mott Streets

New York, NY 10013

Cost: Free

For all ages

Festival Organizer: Asian Americans for Equality

(212) 979-8381 x123

Building Green & Healthy Communities

Free Admission * Free Raffle * Free Gifts

Chinatown’s annual street fest features cultural performances by professionals and amateurs, children’s art activities, green marketplace, community gardening, health care screenings by local hospitals and healthcare providers; and informational tables about healthcare, housing rights, social services, and immigrant initiatives.

Green Workshops:

11:15am Making Your Homes and Small Businesses Energy Efficient

11:45am Identifying Attainable, Measurable and Sustainable Ways to “Green” Small Business

12:15pm Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

1:30pm Green Jobs and TruLight Program

2:20pm Go Green Lower East Side!

3:20pm Lowering Rising Energy Costs in Multifamily Buildings with Government Incentives

4:10pm A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC

http://aafe.org/wordpress/

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For a great map of Chinatown, go to:

http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/explorechinatownmap.pdf

For a Chinatown/Soho/Lower East Side subway map, go to:

http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/chinatown_subway.pdf

8/1/09 + 8/2/09 Dance in the Park: Family Movement Workshop @ Rockefeller Park

August 1, Saturday 4pm

August 2, Sunday 4pm

Rockefeller Park (at the north end of Battery Park City, at the corners of River Terrace & Warren Streets), NYC  (212) 242-0800 

Cost: Free but reservations requested (see below)

Ages: 6-19

The Joyce Theater and the River To River Festival present a family workshop inspired by choreographer Merce Cunningham. Children and their families, guided by members of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, create their own dance “events” based on their observations of movement, time, and their surroundings. Chance elements are encouraged through the rolling of dice. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Comfortable street clothes and sneakers or tennis shoes are recommended. Reservations are requested; email your name and the number in your party to hold a spot: mcdcfamilyday@joyce.org

http://www.rivertorivernyc.com/events/index.php

8/1/09 + 8/2/09 Evening Stars: Merce Cunningham Dance Company @ Rockefeller Park

August 1, Saturday  6pm

August 2, Sunday  2pm + 6pm

Rockefeller Park (at the north end of Battery Park City, at the corners of River Terrace & Warren Streets), NYC

(212) 242-0800 

Cost: Free

All ages

Co-presented with The Joyce Theater, Evening Stars is here early and in a new location!  This year Merce Cunningham Dance Company will create a site-specific Event, featuring a unique combination of new material and movement from past and current repertory, designed specifically for Rockefeller Park. Come celebrate one of the most extraordinary contemporary masters in his 90th year!

http://www.rivertorivernyc.com/events/eventDetail.php?eventID=3034

What is the longest English word?

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is 45 letters long and according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “a word alleged to mean ‘a lung disease caused by the inhalation of volcanic ash, causing inflammation in the lungs.’”

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis may be the longest word in the dictionary, but we think Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious will always be our favorite longest word to sing! It’s 34 letters long and according to the 1964 Walt Disney film, Mary Poppins, it is defined as “what you say when you don’t know what to say”.

For more crazy, long words that most of us will never use in our lifetimes and more info on Pneumono-blah-blah-blah go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English

7/26/09 Judy Collins Free Folk Concert @ Govenor’s Island

Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 2pm

Governor’s Island, NYC

The Governors Island Ferry departs from the Battery Maritime Building located adjacent to the Staten Island Ferry in Lower Manhattan. The ferry terminal is accessible as follows: 

By Subway: #1 to South Ferry Station, #4, 5 (weekdays) to Bowling Green, W (weekdays only), R (weekdays and weekends) to Whitehall St. Station; 

By Bus: M1 (weekdays only), M6, M9 and M15

Cost: Free

All ages

Grammy-award-winner Judy Collins performs on Governors Island, a quick ferry ride from Lower Manhattan. Presented by Trinity Wall Street and Governors Island Alliance.

Folk icon Judy Collins has earned a worldwide reputation for her unique blend of interpretative folksongs and contemporary-themed music. Over the course of her 45 year career she has released more than 40 albums and has had numerous Top 10 hits, Grammy nominations, and gold and platinum selling albums. Her most notable work includes renditions of Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now,” a Grammy Hall of Fame song, and “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music.

Today, Judy Collins continues to be an influential voice delivering a message of hope and healing through music, inspirational books, and charitable work with UNICEF and landmines.

For directions, maps and concert venue info: http://www.folksontheisland.com/artists-collins.html

7/23/09 Native Sounds Downtown presents The Bannaba Project (Kuna) @ National Museum of the American Indian

Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 5:30 pm

Location: Cobblestone (outside, at front entrance of AMNI); if raining: Diker Pavilion

Cost: Free

All ages

The musical group, The Bannaba Project (Kuna), represents the Kuna of Panama. Their rhythms and musical traditions connect their pre-Columbian roots with jazz, pop, calypso, and other rhythms of the Caribbean.

This program received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

The National Museum of the American Indian

at The George Gustav Heye Center
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
One Bowling Green (adjacent to the northeast corner of Battery Park), New York, NY 10004
Cobblestone (Diker Pavilion, if rain)
(212) 514-3700

Subway:
Eastside IRT: 4 and 5 trains to Bowling Green.
Westside IRT: 1 train to South Ferry.
BMT: R and W trains to Whitehall Street; M, J and Z trains to Broad Street.

Bus: M1 - South Ferry; M6, M15 - South Ferry.

http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=events&second=ny

Nestlé Push-Up and Create Contest: Enter by 8/31/09

Show your creative skills and design a Nestlé Push-Up popsicle tube. All entries due by 8/31/09. Open to ages 6-12. You can enter up to FIVE TIMES in this contest.

Go to site to get a template:

http://scholastic.com/pushupandcreate/

3 Grand Prizes, each includes:

* your design on Nestlé Push-Up tubes!

* $1,000 gift card for you

* $2,500 for your school

50 First Prizes, each includes:

* your design displayed online

* $250 gift card for you

The website also has a Nestlé Push-Up Match Challenge game and a link to the Nestlé Push-Up Color Gallery game.

Sponsored by Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cram, Inc. | Scholastic.com

7/17/09 Free Summer Movies on the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Friday, July 17th at 8:30pm, Doors open at 7:30pm
(Open to the public for FREE)
Location: Intrepid’s Flight Deck at The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, located on the West side of Manhattan on Pier 86, 12th Ave. & 46th Street, NYC

JAWS

Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Universal Pictures; Directed by Steven Spielberg
Rated PG; 124 minutes; 1975

Intrepid’s movie series continues under the stars and lights of New York City as they present a full length feature film on the Flight Deck!

There has never been a movie or a phenomenon like JAWS, the terrifying motion picture from the horrific best seller and one of the most popular films of all time. Directed by Steven Spielberg and acclaimed by critics worldwide, JAWS continues to shock moviegoers with its riveting tale of three men who become allied in a life-and-death hunt to destroy a killer embodying nearly three tons of instant white death.

Bring your lawn chairs, picnic baskets and blankets. Visitors are encouraged to bring food, snacks and beverages to the screening. 

Alcohol is NOT permitted.

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/Plan-Your-Visit/Public-Event-Details/Summer-Movie-Series-Continues.aspx

7/17/09, 7/18/09 + 7/19/09 The Ultimate SpongeBob Sponge Bash: SpongeBob All Weekend on Nickelodeon!

Nickelodeon (NIK) celebrates SpongeBob’s 10th Anniversary with The Ultimate SpongeBob Sponge Bash.  A SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon marathon starts this Friday, July 17th at 8pm (EST) and ends Sunday night 9:30pm. Special Saturday movie at 8pm: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004/2hrs).

Nickelodeon promises 10 new episodes of SpongeBob shows.

See sneak peeks of new episodes, play games, and see all things SpongeBob:

http://spongebob.nick.com/tent-pole/bash

7/9/09, 7/16/09, 7/23/09 + 7/30/09 July Thursdays River and Blues Concerts @ Wagner Park, BPC

Thursdays in July from 7–8:30 pm

Wagner Park in Battery Park City, NYC

Cost: Free

For all ages

Enjoy summertime blues against the backdrop of spectacular sunsets on the Hudson River. 

July 9  The Alexis P. Suter Band, led by a rising star with a bass/baritone voice plays powerful gospel-tinged blues.

July 16  The Junior Mack Band explores blues with excursions into jazz, rock and soul.

July 23  Hazmat Modine has the scratchy soul of an old blues record and the energy of a brass band.

July 30  Jay Collins and the Kings County Band create a brew of original music, with sparks of New Orleans-style funk, classic jazz, and blues. 

www.bpcparks.org

7/18/09 Irish Family Dance @ Esplanade Plaza outside the World Financial Center

Saturday, July 18, 2009 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm

Cost: Free

For all ages.

Joyful community dancing for all ages. No partners or experience necessary. Dance callers lead the steps.

www.bpcparks.org

7/25/09 Family Day: Afghanistan @ Metropolitan Museum of Art

Saturday, July 25, 2009

11:30 am–5:15 pm
in the Carson Family Hall, Uris Center for Education (on the Ground Floor)

Metropolitan Museum of Art

1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, NYC (Please note that you may enter the Museum at Fifth Avenue and 81st street or at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street.) (212) 535-7710

Free (with Museum admission, which is pay-what-you-wish). Reservations not required.

Family Day—Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul 

Explore Afghanistan’s rich heritage! Enjoy slide presentations, guided explorations of the exhibition, art projects, and musical performances.

http://www.metmuseum.org/calendar/ca_event.asp?OccurrenceId=%7BF4091280-0DA2-4957-88A4-01F5460F39F1%7D