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The Best Things To Do In NYC This Week, From Uptown Bounce To An Orchid Party

Oriana Leckert

Published Aug 6, 2019

Modified Aug 6, 2019

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Oriana Leckert

Published Aug 6, 2019

Modified Aug 6, 2019

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Women in Translation @ Greenlight Books PLG

In honor of Women in Translation Month, the PEN America Translation Committee presents a host of multilingual ladies and the literature they love. The event brings together six women working in five languages reading works from the women they translate. You'll hear from Larissa Kyzer, Nancy Naomi Carlson & Catherine Maigret Kellogg, Elina Alter, Jacqui Cornetta, and Kira Josefsson, reading works originally in French, Icelandic, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.

Tuesday, August 6th, 7:30 p.m. // Greenlight Bookstore PLG, 632 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn // Free

(Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York)

Uptown Bounce @ Museum of the City of New York & El Museo del Barrio

Get your groove on in East Harlem at the the big annual Uptown Bounce block party. MCNY and El Museo del Barrio top the city's Museum Mile, and for four consecutive Wednesdays, both will be open late with art, music, and entertainment spilling into the street. This week's party features a live performance by the Blue Man Group performance collective, in conjunction with MCNY's new exhibit about the group. Over at El Museo, there will be interactive dance by Gaga Pal Pueblo, call and response with Yeni Nuñez, music by Yasser Tejeda & Palotré, and more.

Wednesday, August 7th, 6 p.m. // MCNY, 1220 Fifth Ave. and El Museu del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave., Harlem // Free

Flower Power Party: Orchids @ Queens Botanic Garden

Stop to smell the orchid edition of Queens Botanic Garden's monthly cultural celebration, Flower Power Party. Attendees get to be the first to view the garden's new exhibit, Taiwan: A World of Orchids, which boasts a whopping 400 of the ostentatious blooms. There will also be lawn games, botanic crafts, local food vendors, ballroom dancing, and Samba New York embodying the musical ambiance of a “pagode,” a backyard samba party.

Thursday, August 8th, 6 p.m. // Queens Botanic Garden, 43-50 Main St., Queens // Free with garden admission

Go batty at Wave Hill (photo by Joshua Bright)

Twilight in the Garden @ Wave Hill

Take advantage of the remaining long summer evenings at one of Wave Hill's weekly Twilight in the Garden nature nights. This week is Bats of the Bronx Talk & Walk, where Kaitlyn Parkins and the New York City Bat Group share the secret life of bats in our northernmost borough. The program starts with a presentation on urban bats and why they're important to the city's ecosystem; after that, attendees will roam the grounds with a bat detector to see what they can find. BYO flashlight.

Thursday, August 8th, 7:30 p.m. // Wave Hill, West 249th Str. and Independence Ave., Bronx // Tickets: $40

Dance your face off to all the tunes of your youth (photo by Tucker Mitchell)

Cruel Summer: '80s, '90s, and '00s Dance Party @ The Bell House

Let nostalgia pour over you at the latest installment of the skint's Cruel Summer: '80s, '90s, and '00s Dance Party. Groove yourself silly to '80s anthems by 10-piece band The Engagements, followed by '90s and '00s hits spun by DJ Steve Reynolds. And if that's not enough to scratch the reminiscence itch, there will also be music video singalongs with SecretFormula, looping videos from Music Video Time Machine, a costume contest and dance-off, and themed drink specials all night.

Friday, August 9th, 8 p.m. // The Bell House, 149 Seventh St., Brooklyn // Tickets: $10

Splash around in the dog days of summer, Saturday (photo courtesy of Bushwick Bark)

Doggie Ice Cream & Pool Party Fundraiser @ Norwind's

Beat the heat of the dog days of summer at Bushwick Bark's fifth-annual Doggie Ice Cream & Pool Party Fundraiser. Treat your furry friends to pools for puppers and canine-approved treats from Ollie’s Ice Cream + Stuff; meanwhile, humans can enjoy free Sixpoint beers and enter raffles for local dog services and food. All proceeds go to Second Chance Rescue NYC Dogs.

Saturday, August 10th, 2 p.m. // Norwind's, 1043 Flushing Ave., Brooklyn // Tickets: $20

Graveyard Shift @ Green-Wood Cemetery

While Pioneer Works is closed for summer renovations, they're taking their innovative programming on the road, popping up all over the city. This weekend, find them at Green-Wood Cemetery for the second installation of Graveyard Shift, featuring sculptor and choreographer Kim Brandt in her first outdoor site-specific work. Untitled (Green-Wood) is "a rumination on circles, spheres, spirals and loops," featuring performers moving through the circular landscape of Cedar Dell. Trolleys will take attendees to the performance space from the cemetery's main entrance.

Saturday, August 10th, 6 p.m. // Green-Wood Cemetery, 500 25th St., Brooklyn // Tickets: $25

Black VegFest @ Weeksville Heritage Center

Eat clean at the intersection of vegan and black culture at the second-annual Black VegFest. The two-day extravaganza features more than 70 vendors, from BAD Gyal Vegan to Embrace Raw Living to Mo'Pweeze Bakery to Shakti Wellness. There will also be a slew of activities and talks, including Kids Chef competitions and panels on social justice and community building, as well as performances and music from Queen Afua, Tracye McQuirter, the Vegan Rapper, Jasmine Leyva, and many more.

Saturday, August 10th, and Sunday, August 11th // Weeksville Heritage Center, 158 Buffalo Ave., Brooklyn // Tickets: $10

Shake it all out at NYC's longest-running free dance festival (photo by Lois Greenfield)

Battery Dance Festival @ Battery Park City

Shimmy and shake at the 38th annual Battery Dance Festival, NYC's longest-running free public festival of its kind. Since 1982 the weeklong performance series has showcased an array of emerging and established, local and international troupes. Some of this year's groups include Mezopotamya Dans from Turkey, Laboration Art Company from France, SEAD's Bodhi Project from Austria, and Hussein Smko from Iraq. There will also be an entire day dedicated to Indian dancers and drummers, as well as daily workshops led by festival dancers and choreographers.

Opens Sunday, August 11th, 7 p.m. // Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, Battery Park City, Manhattan // Free

Summer Strolls @ Park Slope

Strut in the sunshine at the first of three Park Slope Summer Strolls. For the next three Sundays, part of Fifth Ave. will be closed to cars for a giant block party with music, performances, activities, and more. This Sunday features a bounce house, a pop-up lawn filled with giant games, clowns, face-painting, food and drinks from the Monro and Nuevo Mexico, and live music from Sonido Costeno Band. Come back next week for an Artichoke Pizza–eating contest, and the week after for an '80s disco.

Sunday, August 11th, 3 p.m. // Fifth Ave. btw 11th St. and 13th St., Brooklyn // Free

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Oriana Leckert

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