Today’s “Fab 5” / Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, SEPT 01, 2013.
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide be sure to check out:
“Notable Events-August”, “on Broadway”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
Governor’s Island is the place to be this Sunday of Labor Day weekend:
NYC Unicycle Festival
Governors Island will host NYCity’s free Unicycle Festival. Races and exhibitions will give novices the opportunity to try the cycles. Last year‘s festival brought over 300 riders to the Big Apple and hundreds of people tried to ride a unicycle. Even more one-wheeling is expected at this year‘s event. Details are at nycunifest.com.
Governors Island, Colonel’s Row
From 12-5PM/FREE
Directions: Ferry departs from the Battery Maritime Bldg., 10 South St., adjacent to the SI Ferry in Lower Manhattan. schedule for free ferry service: governorsislandalliance.org
1-212-825-3045
Rite of Summer Classical-Contemporary music festival
Governors island’s third annual contemporary music fest concludes with blair mcmillen, pam goldberg, theo bleckmann, classical jam, tigue, more.
Governors Island, Colonel’s Row
From 12-5PM/FREE
Directions: Ferry departs from the Battery Maritime Bldg., 10 South St.,
adjacent to the SI Ferry in Lower Manhattan.
schedule for free ferry service: governorsislandalliance.org
Great North River Tugboat Race and Competition
All eyes will be on the action in the Hudson River from West 43rd to West 79th Streets beginning at 10 a.m. for this annual free event, featuring a parade, races and pushing competitions. (For those who want to see the action up close, a Circle Line cruise will depart at 9:30 a.m. from Pier 83 at West 42nd Street; $25, $12 for children.) Beginning at noon, there will also be activities on land (Pier 84)including spinach eating and line tossing. Sponsors include the Working Harbor Committee, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Miller’s Launch, with the Friends of Hudson River Park and the Hudson River Park Trust. workingharbor.org. (NYT)
U.S. TENNIS OPEN (through Sept.09)
Forget the Big House (ArthurAsheStadium). Get a grounds pass and once inside check out the electronic scoreboard listing current matches. Find a match or players that interest you. Head over to their court for some great tennis, because in this tournament even the qualifiers are great players.
There is no other major sporting event where you can get so close to world class athletes as on the outer courts (or the grandstand court) at the U.S. Open; where you can get a real sense of the pace of the game.
Security screening has been ratcheted up, causing delays to enter, although it is getting better. Remember: no bags, no long line for entry.
Today’s tip: lines to get into the show courts will be long this holiday weekend. Pick a court with matches you are most interested in and stay put.
Who to watch today:
» serena vs sloane stephens, the long awaited rematch of the australian open quarterfinal match, where the young sloane upset 16 time slam champ serena. will be surprised if it happens here, but you never know.
» #18 carla suarez navarro, with her sweet one handed backhand, vs #8 angelique kerber. if carla can make her first serves and avoid her too slow second serve, this will be a heck of a match.
» #9 stanislas wawrinka, the second best swiss tennis player of all time, vs the always dangerous marcos baghdatis, who dominated a tough kevin anderson in the second round
Albert (Tootie) Heath, Ethan Iverson, Ben Street*
“Mr. Heath is a jazz drummer of far-reaching experience — he was born in 1935, the youngest of the Heath Brothers, and has worked near the music’s aesthetic center for some 60 years — and he presides as a resident sage in this trio. Featuring a pair of collaborators in their 40s, Mr. Iverson on piano and Mr. Street on bass, the group draws from a stylistically diverse and often-delightful new album, “Tootie’s Tempo” (Sunnyside).” (Chinen-NYT)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m./ $25 cover, with a one-drink minimum
255-4037, villagevanguard.com
Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change.
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A PremierPub + 3 Good Eating places / Midtown West.
Russian Vodka Room / 265 W 52nd st (btw 7th/8th ave)
Sure, you could travel to Minsk or even Brighton Beach, for an authentic Russian experience, but why bother. On those days when you feel you must wash down your dish of kasha with a few glasses of icy, cold vodka, the Russian Vodka Room will definitely satisfy your urge.
From the outside this place looks a bit drab, and with no windows, a bit mysterious. Midtown tourists walk right by on their way to see “Jersey Boys”, just down the block.
Those in the know enter a secret hideaway, a dimly lit front room with soft jazz playing – a perfect spot for an illicit late-night rendezvous, or maybe a meet-up with your Russian spy handler, but that’s later in the evening. Early in the evening the large U-shaped bar fills with the after work happy hour crowd, a group made very happy by the much reduced prices.
Their website says: “Welcome Comrades”. Of course, this welcome focuses on dozens of different vodkas, including their own special infusions, which marinate in giant, clear glass jugs visible around the room. The large vodka martinis ensure that you won’t confuse this place with your mother’s Russian Tea Room.
But man does not live by vodka alone. Eat some food, especially the tapa like appetizers. Be decadent and try the cheese blintzes with chocolate, or try a main dish like beef stroganoff with kasha.
Your best bet is to go on a night when the piano man is playing. This guy, who looks like he has eaten a lot of those cheese blintzes, plays five nights a week from 7 to 12 (no Mondays and Thursdays). When the piano man is playing American pop tunes, and you are at the crowded, dimly lit bar testing the horseradish infused vodka, that’s when the RVR shines.
It’s the kind of place where the noise gets louder and the crowd gets happier as the happy hour goes on. I’m generally a beer guy, but I like to come here with a group of friends. We find a table in the back room; we eat, and we drink vodka ‘till it hurts (and it will hurt).
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Website: http://www.russianvodkaroom.com/
Phone #: 212-307-5835
Hours: 4pm-2am; Fri-Sun closes 4am (that could be trouble)
Happy Hour: 4-7pm every day
$4 shots infused vodka (2oz), $5 cosmos; $4 czech draft beer
Music: FR-SU; TU-WE / 7pm-12am
Subway: #1 to 50th St.
Walk 2 blk N. on B’way to 52nd St.; 1 blk W. to RVR
Confusingly, the Russian Samovar is right across the street, on the S. side of 52nd St.
The RVR, your destination, is on the N. side of 52nd St.
Update: music some nights includes a sax player with a younger, trimmer piano man.
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 