By: Nycgo.com Staff
Summer has arrived, and with it nearly a lifetime’s worth of NYC happenings. Did we fudge a little bit on the number in the title? Well, we’re counting from Memorial Day (May 30) to Labor Day (September 5), the unofficial bookends of the season. And hey, 99 makes a great round—or at least evocative—total. As in problems, bottles of beer on the wall and Luftballons (or red balloons, if you prefer the English version). But those things aren’t as fun or reliable as our compilation.
Use the following calendar of activities as a strict itinerary, or a checklist, or just inspiration. You’ll find outdoor concerts and movies, art exhibits, beach outings, sports events—and that’s just the half of it (we realize that it has to be more than half or less than half as 99 is an odd number, but still). Here’s what we would do for the 99 Days of Summer if we had absolutely no other obligations to hold us back.
June 7: Rock out with Moon Kissed at Elsewhere (and read about the band’s favorite local music venues here)
June 8: Catch the opening night of Celebrate Brooklyn with Kamasi Washington
June 9: It’s a perfect day to see Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars at the Performing Arts Library
June 10: Keep the downtowny avant-garde thing going with John Zorn’s New Masada Quartet at Sultan Room
June 11: Wear retro fashions to the Jazz Age Lawn Party at Governors Island (and see what we’re talking about here)
June 12: See Japanese Breakfast, Playboi Carti and many more at the Governors Ball at Citi Field
June 13: Revisit Linsanity with 38 at the Garden at the Tribeca Festival
June 14: It’s back to Celebrate Brooklyn for the Phoebe Bridgers show
June 15: Get swept away by Alvin Ailey at the David H. Koch Theater—and check out our video spotlight of the dancers here
June 16: Revisit tales of Ulysses on Bloomsday at the Morgan Library and Symphony Space
June 17: Relive the performance of a lifetime when Summer of Soul screens at SummerStage in Marcus Garvey Park
June 18: March alongside and into the sea during the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island
June 19: Attend Juneteenth events in Harlem, Prospect Park, Green-Wood Cemetery or Jamaica’s Roy Wilkins Park
June 20: Shakespeare in the Park returns with Richard III at Delacorte Theater
June 21: MC Solaar at SummerStage—oui!
June 22: It’s (show)time for the season ender of Amateur Night at the Apollo
June 23: Shakespeare Downtown performs George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan
June 24: Get your lighters ready for Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Poison and Joan Jett at Citi Field—sugar, thorny roses, crimson and clover optional
June 25: Run through every movie emotion when Little Mermaid, Mamma Mia, Blade Runner and The Thing play at the Rooftop Cinema Club Midtown
June 26: Take your pick of Pride-related events—Bliss Days, Pridefest, the Queer Liberation March (here are some pics from last year’s) or, biggest of all, the March
June 27: Books Are Magic sponsors this event for Sonia Guinanansca’s collection Somewhere We Are Human at Invisible Dog Art Center
June 28: Watch the Staten Island FerryHawks and the Long Island Ducks play ball at Community Park (and read our story about the new team’s formation)
June 29: Those looking for pizza can use our Pizza Guides to find the pie or slice of their dreams
June 30: It’s your last chance of the month to see Basquiat: King Pleasure at the Starrett-Lehigh Building
July 1: And here’s your first chance at all to see Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech” at Brooklyn Museum
July 2: Join a birding walk in Prospect Park or on Governors Island
July 3: Picnic with the Staten Island Philharmonic at Great Lawn in Conference House Park
July 4: Marvel at the Hot Dog Eating contest at Nathan’s in Coney Island; there are fireworks around the City too
July 5: The Classical Theatre of Harlem does Twelfth Night at Marcus Garvey Park
July 6: Feast your eyes on Around the Table at New York Botanical Garden
July 7: Get yourself back to the garden, this time in Brooklyn for Art in the Garden at the BBG
July 8: Watch the ABT perform American Splendor at the Met Opera
July 9: Attend the Latin Alternative Music Conference showcase at SummerStage in Central Park
July 10: See Kite Runner in previews at Broadway’s Hayes Theater (for more Broadway shows, see our guide)
July 11: Talk about Bruno when Encanto screens at Inwood Art Works alfresco films
July 12: Cheer on the New York Liberty when they play the Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center (and read our interview with two of their players)
July 13: Things will get surreal when watching Luis Buñuel’s Fever Mounts at El Pal at J Hood Wright Park
July 14: Find out what a “live documentary” is with the Kronos Quartet and Sam Green at Celebrate Brooklyn
July 15: Keep the high culture coming with Notre Dame de Paris at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center
July 16: Correre your way around Central Park for the NYRR Italy Run by Ferrero (we feel somewhat confident that correre is Italian for “run”)
July 17: Join the musicians celebrating Greg Tate at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, part of Summer for the City
July 18: Go roller-skating at Pier 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the TWA Hotel in Queens, in Central Park or some other fabulous place
July 19: Regina Spektor plays Carnegie Hall
July 20: Preview local entries in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with East to Edinburgh at 59E59 Theaters
July 21: Find yourself on the edge of your seat watching Jaws at the St. George Theatre
July 22: Get on a boat, perhaps a free one like the Staten Island Ferry, a historic one like the Pioneer or just a docked one that serves food, like the Baylander in Harlem
July 23: Choose the afternoon or evening performance of Alice by the dance company Momix at the Joyce Theater
July 24: It’s racing day at City Island
July 25: Be entertained by Monday Night Raw at Madison Square Garden
July 26: Joe Lovano and friends are part of 92Y Jazz in July
July 27: The Subway Series heads to Queens for Yankees vs. Mets at Citi FIeld (the 7 train is the way to go)
July 28: Today is (almost) your last chance to catch the Cindy Sherman exhibit at Hauser & Wirth
July 29: Take advantage of free family Fridays—movie included—at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
July 30: Fly high with Sing Harlem and Fame at Celebrate Brooklyn
July 31: Come see the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival at Flushing Meadows Corona Park
August 1: The art of Diane Arbus, Isamu Noguchi and many more big names will be featured in New York: 1962–1964 at the Jewish Museum
August 2: More Shakespeare, but with a side of Aeschylus, with Hamlet and Oresteia in repertory at Park Avenue Armory
August 3: See the musical documentary and immigrant story Mija, thanks to Rooftop Films at SummerStage
August 4: Eat alfresco using our guide to great outdoor dining in NYC
August 5: Eat tacos and baked goods and burgers before and after you hit the beach at Rockaway
August 6: Score a marble rye figurine at Seinfeld Night with the Brooklyn “Seinclones” at Maimonides Park (baseball)
August 7: Try as many foods as you can at Smorgasburg in Prospect Park
August 8: Go on a Dinosaur Safari at the Bronx Zoo
August 9: Explore Paul Mpagi Sepuya’s photography at 144 Powers at the Alice Austen House
August 10: Rewatch Gloria Swanson’s star turn in Sunset Boulevard at Riverside Park (part of Summer on the Hudson)
August 11: Pump it up with Elvis Costello & the Imposters at Pier 17
August 12: Then cool the beat a bit with Alicia Keys at Radio City Music Hall
August 13: Take a tour of Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island
August 14: Test out a camera obscura (your kids will make it) at Wave Hill in the Bronx
August 15: See Godfather Part II at Bryant Park Movie Nights—an offer you can’t refuse
August 16: Have you ridden the Wonder Wheel at Deno’s and the Cyclone in Luna Park yet? Why not today?
August 17: Make your midweek fashionable at Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and their Legacies at the Museum at FIT
August 18: Hear old-school soul when Leon Bridges plays Forest Hills Stadium
August 19: Watch the sunset at Little Island and then move next door to see Malian singer Salif Keita at City WInery
August 20: Get your fill of food, art and music at the Let’s Get Fr.ee festival in Flushing Meadows Corona Park
August 21: Visit the FAD Market on Governors Island
August 22: It’s another Subway Series, but this time the Mets and Yankees play at Yankee Stadium (this time it’s the B, D or 4)
August 23: Take the tram to Roosevelt Island for the views, the parks and a drink at the Graduate Hotel
August 24: Yuk it up with Tim Heidecker at the Bell House
August 25: Everybody should say “yeah” to Kinky Boots on Off-Broadway at Stage 42
August 26: Spend an evening at the Habibi Festival with Joe’s Pub at Bryant Park Picnics
August 27: It’s the last Saturday of the month, so eat, shop and dance at the Bronx Night Market
August 28: The Charlie Parker Festival concludes with performances at Tompkins Square Park
August 29: Watch the ball bounce at the US Open Tennis Championships at USTA Bilie Jean King National Tennis Center
August 30: Have a beer outdoors at Talea, the City’s first woman-owned brewery
August 31: Make a mini-golf date at Pelham Bay Park, Hudson River Park or NYC’s newest course, the adult-oriented Swingers
September 1: Hope for a clear day while ascending to one of NYC’s sky-high observatories
September 2: Make one last trip to the ocean or sound—perhaps at Orchard Beach in the Bronx or Manhattan Beach at the southeast end of Brooklyn
September 3: Experience small-town Americana at the Richmond County Fair in Historic Richmond Town
September 4: It’s closing day of Jamel Shabazz: Eyes on the Street at the Bronx Museum
September 5: End the summer with steel bands, feathered costumes and Caribbean street food at the West Indian Day Carnaval on Eastern Parkway
September 6 (Day 100—a bonus): Just rest; you’ve earned it
