“The best things to do in NYC this week includes the Tribeca Film Festival, van Gogh exhibit openings and outdoor performances” By Shaye Weaver / Time Out New York

The best things to do in NYC this week

This is my Top 16. Want more ? Time Out New York has 101 best things to do this week.

Find your faves right here

1. The Tribeca Film Festival

The Tribeca Film Festival will host in-person, outdoor screenings across all five boroughs starting June 9 through June 20, the annual film extravaganza will also be where the much-anticipated world premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights will take place. But there are oh-so-many other movies to also focus on—65 others, to be precise. You can find them all in full right here. There are a ton of movies we’re excited about catching, spanning genres and form. Read more

2. MoMA’s major exhibit on Cézanne’s rarely-seen drawings

The Museum of Modern Art is laying out more than 250 works on paper—sketches and rarely-seen watercolors—by French Post-Impressionist master Paul Cézanne for all to see in its newest exhibit, “Cézanne Drawing.” This is the first major effort in the U.S. to gather drawings from across Cézanne’s career to mark the development of his working methods, from practice on paper to watercolors to oil paintings. It is akin to seeing behind the veil of this master by literally looking into his sketchbook and seeing the repetition, contemplation and reworking he did behind the scenes. Read more

3. Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience

The traveling exhibition, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, has tickets available for dates starting tomorrow at Skylight on Vesey at 300 Vesey St. (It’s just around the corner from the Brookfield Place ferry terminal.) The immersive aspect of the show starts as soon as you enter the space as you climb multiple stairways covered with 3-D sunflowers and Van Gogh portraits. The first part of a visit (the entire experience takes about an hour) takes you through dark galleries that feel similar to your standard traveling exhibition. A few especially striking elements of this portion of the experience include three-dimensional models of famous interiors featured in his paintings (such as his bedroom in Arles) and a captivating projection overlaying multiple examples of his paintings of vases. From there, you walk into the centerpiece of the exhibition: a 20,000-square-foot light and sound spectacle featuring creative projections inspired by Van Gogh’s life and paintings. In an especially kid-friendly area, coloring pages and crayons let visitors create their own works of art and then scan them to be displayed on a massive, illuminated wall. For an extra fee of $5, guests can also take part in a ten-minute virtual reality journey through “A day in the life of the Artist.” The VR adventure takes out on a calming walk with the artist as you encounter some of the real-life sources of inspiration behind his famous works. Read more

9. The Immersive Van Gogh exhibition

The highly-anticipated “Immersive Van Gogh” exhibit that digitally places visitors inside Vincent van Gogh’s paintings opens on June 10 at Pier 36 on the East River. It’ll be an experience New Yorkers will want to see when it does open. Animations of van Gogh’s work—The Potato Eaters, Starry Night, Sunflowers, The Bedroom and more—will be projected on the walls and floor of the exhibit, covering 500,000 cubic feet, bringing van Gogh’s work to life. It’ll all be set to a score by Luca Longobardi that was created just for this exhibit. The 35-minute show opened first in Paris and traveled to Toronto and Chicago. Read more

12. Bryant Park Picnic Performances

Broadway may still be dark for the summer, but just a few avenues down 42nd Street, live performances are returning in a big way to Bryant Park. With support from Bank of America, the park’s Picnic Performances will be bringing 25 live, in-person events to the park, many featuring performers from the city’s top arts institutions. (The events will also be available to live stream.) The 2021 season is set to kick off on June 9 with a four-night run of back-to-back shows by musicians from the New York Philharmonic and will close on September 20 with an event that will serve as a 100th-anniversary celebration for The Town Hall. All of the outdoor concerts will be free and open to the public. The park will observe all current safety protocols for the event and also provide enough room for social distancing (audience registration will be required in advance.)

Here’s the official schedule:

The New York Philharmonic: Four Nights in Bryant Park (6/9 to 6/12)
New York City Opera: Pride in the Park (6/18) and Carmen (7/2)
New York Chinese Cultural Center (6/25)
Joe’s Pub: Mykal Kilgore (6/26)
Carnegie Hall Citywide: Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely (7/9);
Spanish Harlem Orchestra (7/16); The Knights (7/23); Adrienne Warren & Friends (7/30)
Greenwich House Music School: Riley Mulherkar and Ella Bric (7/31)

15. The new Halls of Gems and Minerals at AMNH

One of AMNH’s most recognizable spaces, the glittering Halls of Gems and Minerals, is set to finally reopen to the public after a major transformation on June 12. We got a first look at the new space earlier today, which the pandemic had postponed by over a year. It will make you feel both completely captivated and kind of like you’re in the set-up for a heist film. When it opens its doors later this month, the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals will display 5,000 gems and minerals from 95 countries over 11,000 square feet. Highlights of the collection include the 563-carat Star of India sapphire, the 563-carat Patricia Emerald and the nine-pound “Subway Garnet” that was discovered under 35th St. in Manhattan way back in 1885.  Read more

22. The world’s largest Harry Potter Store

Get ready, New York, your acceptance letter to Hogwarts is here—the most magical place in New York City, the Harry Potter Store New York, is about to open on June 3. Wizards and witches will be able to shop from the world’s largest collection of Harry Potter merch across 21,000 square feet at 935 Broadway in the Flatiron District at this highly-anticipated store. We’ve been waiting for a year to walk through these magical doors and on Friday, we were finally able to check it out. And Harry Potter fans? You’re going to flip. Every detail of Harry Potter Store New York has been intricately designed, from the decor sitting on the shelves above all the incredible merch (yes, there are full house robes) to the design of the store itself, which has a room full of gorgeous HP stationary by MinaLima, massive models of Fawkes the Phoenix and a moving griffin as well as a spiral staircase that descends into a space made to look like the Ministry of Magic.  Read more

25. The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival

Seeking to promote Kings County’s cinematic indie cred, the 11th season of this showcase features dozens of independent filmmakers—both first-timers and Hollywood vets—who have lived and worked in the borough. The first evening opens with New York premiere of One Moment a heartwarming family comedy/drama starring Danny Aiello in his final performance and 53 more films to follow as well as panel talks and other events. Expect to see snippets of your favorite Brooklyn spots appear in these films. Read more

28. Flamenco at Socarrat Paella Bar Nolita

Restaurants Socarrat Nolita, Nolita Until Dec 28 2021

Treat yourself to dinner and some dance theater at Socarrat Paella Bar’s Nolita location that’ll be holding weekly Flamenco Nights every Tuesday. While you’re feasting on traditional Spanish dishes like croquetas, sizzling gambas al ajillo, the classic tortilla espanola, and any of the restaurant’s signature paellas, you can be transported to Spain with live flamenco performances by dancers and guitarists. There are three sets of 30-minute performances at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30pm every Tuesday. Reservations can be made on Opentable or by calling the restaurant at 212-219-0101. Read more

30. Doc NYC Inaugural Spring Showcase

Things to do Online, Until Jun 20 2021

DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, is launching a Spring Showcase—a four-week online festival featuring some of the year’s most talked-about nonfiction episodic series and films (Pretend It’s a City, Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, and Framing Britney Spears among others), paired with exclusive conversations featuring the creative teams behind them. Special guests like Padma Lakshmi, Steve James, Fran Lebowitz, Dr. Orna Guralnik, Asif Kapadia and Louis Theroux will make appearances. “DOC NYC is excited to create a spring focal point to build upon our annual fall festival, now in its 12th year,” said the festival’s Executive Director Raphaela Neihausen. “We’re living through a period of rapid expansion of the documentary field, and we’re thrilled to offer a new opportunity to discover a diverse array of important nonfiction work. Over the last year, DOC NYC has expanded our professional and educational programming for filmmakers beyond the fall season, with great results. With Spring Showcase, we’re aiming to do the same for documentary-loving audiences as well.” The first Spring Showcase lineup spans a wide variety of nonfiction formats and subjects, from hosted series to biographies, vérité films and mult-part cultural explorations, covering everything from culinary history to city politics, pop music, and the inner workings of intimate relationships. Read more

41. Little Island

New York City’s newest park is finally here! Across two acres, lies an entirely new ecosystem of gorgeous plantings and prime space for live music and performances. It’s amazing to think that this entire oasis, with its beautiful and thoughtful greenery, is now a place we can call ours. It opens each morning at 6am and doesn’t close until 1am each night. To keep social distancing possible, the park is requiring that people reserve free, timed tickets on its website first. Read more

44. A sunset jazz cruise around Manhattan

Classic Harbor Line‘s Evening Jazz Cruise Aboard Manhattan, a 1.5-hour cruise at sunset set to live jazz, passes beautiful views of the city and the Statue of Liberty. As you sip your drinks, the Boat Band (which included Dustin Kaufman on drums and Christian Nourijanian on keys) plays jazz standards live. Tickets are $104 per person for two to three guests or $86 per person for four or more guests — on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings in May. (Sunday won’t be offered in June, however). Departure times depend on the sunset time, but are generally either at 6:30pm or 7pm, with an occasional 6pm: May 20, 22, 25, 27 (7pm departure); May 29, 30 and June and July Saturdays (7:15pm departure); June and July Wednesdays (6pm departure). Starting Saturday, June 5, Classic Harbor Line’s Live Jazz City Lights or Sunset Sail in NY Harbor begin. For this trip, the live jazz sail leaves at 6:45pm for a two-hour jaunt down to the tip of Manhattan on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is $96 per person, also inclusive of one beverage. The 1.5-hour City Lights Jazz Sail is on Saturdays at 9:15pm and is $78 per person, and includes one beverage as well. You can reserve your trip at classicharborline.com or call the Classic Harbor Line NYC phone number (212) 627-1825. Read more

64. Go to Coney Island

When the attractions reopen on Friday, it will be the first time that Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park and Luna Park have been open since 2019. Both are planning to welcome guests back at limited capacity, with advanced reservations available on the parks’ websites. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the park’s traditional opening ceremonies. There will still be a “Blessing of the Rides” ceremony, a decades-long tradition, on the boardwalk Friday morning. (It’s invite-only, though.) Immediately following the opening ceremony, 100 front-line workers will get free rides on the Wonder Wheel. Also taking place on opening day this Friday will be the annual Egg Cream Christening at the Coney Island Cyclone. If you’re heading down for opening day on Friday, you’ll be able to check out six new rides for children at Luna Park: Circus Candy, Fire Patrol, Rainbowheel, AeroMax, Grand Prix and Mini Mouse. Later this summer, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amuseument Park will also be debuting a new ride: the “Phoenix,” a family-friendly, steel-suspended rollercoaster. While you’re down there, be sure to also stop by the New York Aquarium which has some exciting new offerings this summer, as well. The newly-opened “Spineless!” exhibition features interesting examples of invertebrates including an incredible giant Pacific octopus, moon jellies, cuttlefish, and the world’s largest living arthropods—the Japanese spider crab. Read more

65. The Hayden Planetarium Space Theater

After a full year, New Yorkers can scratch their itch for space-related adventures once more as the Hayden Planetarium Space Theater at the American Museum of Natural History is officially open at limited capacity. The museum itself has actually been open since September but the planetarium falls within the city’s movie theater-related guidelines, which changed this month. As for what you’ll actually get to see this month, the destination is planning on re-screening Worlds Beyond Earth, the Lupita Nyong’o narrated space show that premiered back in January of 2020, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the museum to shut its doors. According to the official press release, the film “features immersive visualizations, groundbreaking space missions and breathtaking scenes depicting the evolution of our solar system, all rendered in 8K on the most advanced planetarium projection system in the world.” Read more

66. “Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment”

Art The Rubin Museum of Art, Chelsea Until Jan 2 2022

The Rubin Museum of Art’s newest exhibit invites you to unplug and free your mind through Tibetan Buddhist art, including 35 traditional objects, including 14 from the Rubin Museum’s collection, with two contemporary works by Nepal-born, Tibetan American artist Tsherin Sherpa. “Awaken” features works from the 7th and 21st centuries including stone, wood, and metal sculptures, traditional Tibetan hanging scroll paintings, illuminated manuscript pages and vibrant contemporary pieces. Through these, the exhibition introduces the central teachings of Tibetan Buddhism as visitors “progress through 10 milestones on the journey from the chaos of ordinary life to the awakened states of awareness.”  Read more

68. The Frick Madison

On March 15, The Frick Madison opened at 945 Madison Avenue—the former home of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Met Breuer—while Henry Clay Frick’s mansion undergoes a massive renovation. This new stint will last two years, and while the Brutalist building by Marcel Breuer is a huge departure from the Gilded Age mansion, the space is offering a much different and rare look at the collection, according to museum officials. Unlike at the Frick Mansion, the Breuer building is a clean slate—stark in contrast, which actually helps to attract the viewer’s attention to individual works. Eyes aren’t busy looking at ornate furniture here. It’s all about seeing the smaller details in the artwork that you might have overlooked at the mansion. According to Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director Ian Wardropper, “It’s a different Frick than you’ve ever known.” Read more

70. Live music at these NYC piano bars

Several beloved local cabaret venues have found a way to stay within the city’s health guidelines while providing New Yorkers with the in-person music they crave—with live musicians playing for audiences that are safely seated outdoors. Ticketed concerts remain prohibited, but these performances are technically incidental music: They provide background ambiance at restaurants and bars. And for as long as the weather will permit it—or even beyond that, knowing New Yorkers—it can be a special experience.

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If you are looking for some of the best info on food and drink, restaurants and eating in New York City, then you want to head to New York magazine’s Grub Street.

Right now you want to check out: The Return of Restaurants

“Make up for lost meals. No takeout, no pasta kits, just 66 of the best new (or newly relevant) places to eat.”
Edited by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld, Photographs by Dina Litovsky

Here are 3 of my faves:

Eat All Your Chinese Vegetables

Fat Choy / 250 Broome St.

It’s one thing to offer a $335 meat-free menu for the one percent (see Eleven Madison Park 2.0). It’s another to charge $10 and under for veggie-centric Chinese food for everyone: the curious carnivores, the certified vegans, and the dedicated superfans like Deborah from the Upper West Side, who loves the food and the vibe so much she literally hiked down the West Side Highway from 88th Street to Broome and Orchard one recent Saturday afternoon just to tuck in to paper-boatloads of chewy rice rolls topped with gai lan and juicy bok choy showered with crispy fried garlic. We know she did this because Fat Choy is the kind of place where diners who have navigated the scrum of Lower East Side streeteries — bars, vegan-cupcake shops, more bars — start conversations with strangers to recommend dishes, offer bites, and generally share communal moments of vibrantly flavored, inventively conceived culinary bliss. —Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Sip a Sazerac in a Secret Garden

Villanelle / 15 E. 12th St.

This elegant Greenwich Village establishment has flown so far under the radar that many regulars (ourselves included) were afraid it would close forever when disaster struck. Miraculously, unlike with the still-shuttered Gotham Bar & Grill across the street, the opposite has happened. Owner Catherine Manning fitted the space out back with tables and little enclosed “garden rooms” that have become a hit during the outdoor-dining craze. The Sazeracs we enjoyed on a recent summery evening were exceptional, and you can also addle yourself with $9 cocktails during the new happy hour. The talented young chef Tyler Heckman (Ferris, Le Turtle) took over the kitchen last fall, and he’s slowly added the kind of variety and style to the aggressively seasonal menu (braised spring lamb on our visit, white-asparagus velouté, gnocchi with escargot) that threatens to turn this sleepy local favorite into a proper big-city dining destination. —Adam Platt

Sample the Latest Fusion Cuisine on New York’s Original Open Street

The Migrant Kitchen / 45 Stone St.

Long before 2020 brought alfresco eating to every corner of our city, Stone Street was a pedestrian paradise, and it still is, a cobblestoned car-free wonderland for outdoor pints, pizza, and mozzarella sticks. The Migrant Kitchen, which opened last fall, brings Middle Eastern–Latin fusion to this Fidi pub-grub zone. Owner Nasser Jaber, who operates out of the Dubliner bar’s kitchen, sends out sumac-butter-slicked fried-chicken-and-falafel waffles, mariquitas (fried plantain chips) nachos, and pastelon mahshi, a Dominican-style maduros-and-beef riff on the traditional Palestinian stuffed gourd. And since many office workers are still Zooming in from home, Stone Street feels distinctly chiller and less suits-y these days. —Ryan P. Sutton

Also see Eater New York’s interactive map that highlights
these 66 restaurants that deserve your attention.