Super Cheap Restaurant Gift Certificates

I love good food and I love trying new restaurants, but I love saving money even more. That said, I'm stoked that Restaurant.com has brought back it's 80% off deal.

The limited time sale is for 80% off the selling price of Restaurant.com Gift Certificates. For example, most $25 certificates on the website are sold for $10... enter the coupon code "SUMMER" @ checkout to take 80% off + you will only pay $2. There are over 18,000 restaurants to choose from in NYC and around the country. There is no waiting... you can print immediately after purchase or get them via email. Read the fine print because some restaurants require a minimum purchase.  Buy your gift certificates soon because the offer ends Thursday, June 30, 2011.

Free Fashion Show

This Wednesday, June 29th from 6-8pm, checkout RIP the Runway: Brooklyn’s Fashion Outdoors... A FREE outdoor fashion show featuring Brooklyn's emerging designers, music + FREE refreshments.

The show takes place from 6-8pm @ MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. To get there, take the C train to Lafayette Ave, G to Fulton Street OR any trains that stop @ Atlantic Ave/Pacific St. Station.

 

Free Brooklyn Concerts

Last night I attended a FREE Ledisi + Anthony David concert as part of the ongoing Celebrate Brooklyn! Summer Concert Series @ Prospect Park Bandshell. Admission is always FREE, but you can donate $3 if you like(the parks are perpetually hit by budget cuts). I'd highly recommend you check this venue out @ least once this Summer. Celebrate Brooklyn! performances are actual concerts, not the stop and start touristy Good Morning America nonsense(dare I call them concerts) that are at 7am when you could be sleeping. 

There are some amazing artists + bands lined up this weekend and even more as Summer rolls on (I'm personally looking forward to Raekwon on July 9th). Most performances are at 7:30pm, but check the full SCHEDULE here. The entrance to the Prospect Park Bandshell is located at Prospect Park West & 9th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The best way to get there is the F or G TRAIN to 7th Avenue. Exit at at the front of the Brooklyn-bound train leaves you at 8th Avenue and 9 Street. Walk 1 block to park's 9th Street Entrance or you can always HopStop Directions.

Free NYC Museums

I just returned to NYC from a fantastic 
road-trip with my boyfriend and I'm a bit exhausted. That said, don't expect any lengthy posts  today, but I'll quickly mention this... There are tons of NYC museums that you can get into for FREE or by suggested donation (pay whatever you wish).

image via Pinterest

 Here is a link to a site that lists many FREE NYC museums(this is not an exhaustive list, so I will revisit this in a future blog post). 

Free Studio Recording Time

Recording a song was never on my BUCKET LIST, but it just got added today! Prospect Park in Brooklyn has a brand new state-of-the-art recording studio, the Beat Cave, where 15-26 year olds can volunteer a little time and energy in exchange for FREE recording time. The more you volunteer, the more time you get in the studio... No musical talent OR previous experience with recording is required. For my own sake, I hope they have autotune! 

image via ProspectPark.org

Call (718) 287-3400 ext 309 for more info

Free Ferry Service to Manhattan, Brooklyn + Queens

Hi everyone... I'm on vacay until Monday or Tuesday, but I want to quickly mention that the brand new East River Ferry is FREE every day until June 24th. It makes stops in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Governor's Island. 

SCHEDULES HERE

Museum Mile Festival -- Free today

Don't you always say that you need to do more cultural things in NYC, that you have been meaning to checkout some museums... Well, here is your chance to do so with no added expense. TODAY from 6-9pm The Museum Mile Festival takes place on NYC's 5th avenue. There will be 23 car-free blocks filled with art, music, entertainment and of course, FREE admission to museums along 5th avenue from 82-105th streets.

Participating Museums: 

Museum for African Art

www.africanart.org
Subway and bus directions 

--

El Museo del Barrio

(212) 831-7272 
www.elmuseo.org
 Subway and bus directions 

--

Museum of the City of New York

(212) 534-1672
www.mcny.org
 Subway and bus directions

--

The Jewish Museum
(212) 423-3200
 www.thejewishmuseum.org
 Subway and bus directions

--

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution
(212) 849-8400 
 www.si.edu/ndm 
 Subway and bus directions

--

National Academy Museum & School of Fine Arts

(212) 369-4880  
www.nationalacademy.org
 Subway and bus directions

--

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

(212) 423-3500

www.guggenheim.org 

 Subway and bus directions

--

Neue Galerie New York

(212) 628-6200

www.neuegalerie.org 

 Subway and bus directions

--

Goethe-Institut New York/German Cultural Center

(212) 439-8700 
 www.goethe.de/newyork
 Subway and bus directions

--

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

(212) 535-7710
 www.metmuseum.org
 Subway and bus directions

Free Bowling in Brooklyn all Summer

I went to Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg with a couple of friends for the 1st time last Friday. It was a pretty dope spot... diverse crowd, spacious, cool decor, dj, and it even has a dance floor... but definitely waaaaay overpriced for bowling. We paid $5 cover each, $4.50 for shoe rentals each and $25 per half hour of bowling. Between the 3 of us, a 1/2 hour game totaled $54. I personally hate flushing money down the toilet bowl, so when I return to bowl, it's gonna be for this FREEBIE!

Brooklyn Bowl. 61 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn NY. Monday through Friday from 6-7pm, Free bowling + shoe rental. You must say "Summer Bowl" to get the free deal.

Getting there by train... 

L Train to Bedford Ave stop. Exit at the rear of the train (coming from Manhattan), walk North on Bedford Ave. Make a left at N. 11th st, walk 2 blocks. Make right on Wythe, Brooklyn Bowl is on the right.

OR 

G Train to Nassau Ave stop. Walk south on Nassau, make a slight right on Berry St. Make a right on N. 12th street, walk 1 blocks. Make left on Wythe, Brooklyn Bowl is on the left.

Free Stargazing on the Highline (ongoing)

Every Tuesday this Spring and Summer, the Highline Park offers FREE stargazing at dusk(~8:25pm est). With high-powered telescopes and expert instructors from the Amateur Astronomer's Association of New York, gaze in awe at NYC's nocturnal sky. Go by yourself, with friends, or on a romantic date with your beau and really make a wish upon a star!

If you haven't already visited The Highline, this is the perfect excuse to make a trip. The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan's streets. After many years of abandon, the elevated weed-filled rail structure was transformed into the chic 1.45-mile-long public park in the sky that opened in June of 2009. 

The High Line is located on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 30th Street, between 10th + 11th Avenues. Access the Highline via stairs or elevator. Stargazing goes down somewhere along the Highline, but the location is contingent upon night sky conditions each week. Find out where each Tuesday by following @highlinenyc on Twitter, or call(212) 206-9922.

Free Show Tonight -- Telmary Diaz

  Singer, poet, rapper, and "Cuban rhyming revolution"  Telmary Diaz performs FREE tonight [Friday June 10] at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of the ¡Sí Cuba! Festival.

Telmary's music is anything but mainstream. By cutting across a multitude of genres, she has created a hybrid sound that is not found on the radio... Keep your ears open for hip hop, Spanish, and Jazz influences. Check out this rare talent for FREE tonight @ 9pm. 

9pm show @ BamCafe 

30 Lafayette Avenue 

(between St. Felix Street and Ashland Place) Brooklyn, NY 11217 

Getting there...

take the 2, 3, 4, 5, N, Q, R, D or LIRR trains to Atlantic Avenue Station or the G train to Fulton Street Station 

*The Show starts @ 9, but consider getting there early since BamCafe is a popular spot. From 6-8pm BamCafe has a happy hour with $5 drink + food specials 

Upscale Jazz, Cheap Price

Dizzy's Jazz Club at Lincoln Center is one of the premier Jazz spots in NYC, so naturally an evening spent there can be a bit pricey. A show, dinner + drinks for two can easily amount to $200 on a regular night. However, you can visit Dizzy's Jazz Club during their Hot Fives Special... every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night @ 11pm for a $5 Cover charge, $5 Food Menu, and $5 Drink Specials. Whether you are a native NYer, transplanted from another planet, or just visiting NYC for a few days, this is an amazing way to enjoy top notch jazz music with an impressive view of Manhattan's skyline + Central Park. 

 11pm every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... Dizzy's Jazz Club is located in the Time Warner Center, Broadway at 60th Street on the 5th floor. Use the JAZZ elevators located on the ground floor of The Shops at Columbus Circle across from Hugo Boss. To get there take the A, B, C, D, #1 trains to 59th Street/Columbus Circle OR  the M5, M7, M10, M11 and M104 buses to Lincoln Center

Free Film Festival

Whoever says there's nothing to do on Staten Island is grossly mistaken. From June 8-12, the Staten Island Film Festival  hits the island. Cinephiles rejoice! For 4 straight days you won't have to deplete your bank account on $14 movie tickets. All of the films screened at the SI Film Fest are FREE of charge-- that's right $0.  

Screenings will be held @ 3 different venues: St. George Theatre, Snug Harbor Cultural Center + the Staten Island Zoo. In the event that you already sat on a bus, train and a boat just to get to the Island, The St. George Theatre is your best option-- it's less than a 5 minute walk from the Staten Island Ferry. 

Screenings @ St. George Theatre:

THURSDAY 6/9

12pm: 7 Day Diary 

2pm: Fields of November 

4pm: Meet the Locals

6pm: Night Club 

8pm: We Know Drama

10pm: Desert Rain

FRIDAY 6/10

12pm: Finding Yourself

2pm: Films From Around The World

4pm: Powerful Woman

6pm: Vanishing City

8pm: A Comedy Tonight

10pm: Desert Rain

SATURDAY 6/11

12pm: Defining Beauty: Ms Wheelchair America
2pm: Beautiful People
4pm: Action Satisfaction
6pm: Night Club
8pm: Stalemate
10pm: The 7-Day Diary

For more locations + events and the full SI Film Fest Schedule, click here. For the Staten Island Ferry (FREE to ride) Schedule, click here.

Free Kayaking

Downtown Boathouse, 

a volunteer run non-profit, provides 

FREE public kayaking in NYC

from NOW until early October 

 FREE kayaking on Weekends + Holidays 

along the Hudson River:

Pier 40...9AM-6PM (last boat out at 5:30) 

Pier 96...9AM-6PM (last boat out at 5:30)

72nd Street...10AM-5PM (last boat out at 4:30)

No reservations necessary... To kayak you must be 18+ or accompanied by an adult, know how to swim, and sign a waiver.  From experience I will say wear a bathing suit or bring a change of clothes... Otherwise you will probably go home on the subway with a wet ass. I went to Pier 40 several times last summer and never waited more than 10 minutes for a kayak.  Bring water and sunscreen, but DON'T bring too much stuff with you... The Boathouse provides  very small lockers to put your stuff. Click here for further info. Have Fun!

Free -- June Movie Screenings

The Tribeca Grand Hotel's movie theater screens classic movies FREE + gives out popcorn FREE 
Sundays @8:30pm 

This Month's movies are tech themed. They will show:
Hackers (1995), June 5 
The Social Network (2010), June 12
Tron: Legacy (2010), June 19 
Catfish (2010), June 26

Have dinner before you go or they offer a prix-fix meal for $35 per person.

Getting there...Tribeca Grand Hotel

2 Avenue of the Americas

Take the 1 train to Franklin Street

Free Night at the Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum's 1st Saturdays is a great way to spend Saturday evening. 

It's cultural and fun, FREE to attend + draws a diverse crowd.

 [ VITALS ]This Saturday, 6/4/11
 FREE admission from 5-11pm... live performances, hands-on art + a dance party. Rapper Blitz the Ambassador will perform. Check out what else is on deck... full schedule here

Food, beverages, wine and beer will be available for purchase and you can ride the FREE TROLLEY (in front of the museum)to area restaurants and bars

Getting there... 200 Eastern Parkway

Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052

Take the 2 or 3 train to 

Eastern Parkway/ Brooklyn Museum stop. 

If you drive, you can park for a flat rate of $4 after 5pm.

Free Polo Match

This Sunday, June 5, 
the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic 
returns to NYC's Governors Island. This event is FREE + OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. 
Last year's event attracted a global crowd that included many celebrities. 
Chance are you've probably never seen a polo match before 
so come out, dress up, bring a picnic basket and a blanket. Wear a hat or shades and don't forget your camera!  

Gates open at 11am and the polo match begins @ 2:30pm sharp. 
[ Arrive early to get a good spot ]
Click here for more details about the event. Getting to Governor's Island is simple- a FREE 5-7 minute ferry ride from Downtown Manhattan or Brooklyn. See schedules here. 

 Have fun!

Free Art Exhibit

 Art.Write.Now. is a FREE national exhibition showcasing  sculpture, poetry, photography, film and painting of 500+ talented teens from around the country. 
Check them out now, before they make it big. Years from now, you can say you knew the next Picasso when he was little (literally)! 

[VITALS]
ART.WRITE.NOW. will be on view in the World Financial Center’s Courtyard Gallery 
(220 Vesey Street)in NYC June 1-19. 

Public viewing hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 12:00-4:00pm.

Click here to view map and find directions