tuesday
thru 8/25 (tuesdays at 7pm): sunset meditation at socrates sculpture park: sunset meditation with mindful astoria returns to socrates sculpture park (lic). sessions are designed for all experience levels and include include mindful breathing, mindful movement, and loving-kindness meditation. byo mat, blanket, or cushion. free admission. >>
thru 5/19: in scena! italian theater festival: presented by nyc-based kairos italy theater, italy-based kit italia, and casa italiana zerilli-marimò at nyu, the 13th annual festival showcases performances from italy across the five boroughs. all shows will be performed in italian with english subtitles. free admission. >>
tues 7pm: the new york groove live! ‘summer preview’ edition: the new york groove, a local, independent, journalist-owned, member-supported newsletter, brings together a mix of newsmakers and comedians for a new show about how to be a better new yorker. tonight’s edition covers what’s coming up in the city this summer along with other hot topics, such as whether the + pool is real or just one big practical joke. featuring guests charlie todd (improv everywhere) and hannah frishberg (gothamist). caveat (les), $15.67 with promo code ‘nygskint15’ (reg. $18.76-25). >>
tues 7:30pm (monthly): cold plunge with kurt braunohler: comedian and actor kurt braunohler (bananas podcast, bob’s burgers) returns to nyc with a new monthly comedy show. tonight’s debut features stand up by katie boyle (terapy) , aaron chen (fisk), dina hashem (comedy central), and sean patton (english teacher). union hall (park slope), $12 adv. >>
sponsored
The Rainbow Book Fair, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ literary event, returns to New York City on Saturday, May 9, from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM at The LGBT Community Center (208 West 13th Street).
Under the 2026 theme, “BOOKS CHANGE OUR LIVES,” the fair serves as a vital act of cultural resistance. Featuring over 100 exhibitors, authors, and publishers, the event showcases the full spectrum of queer storytelling, from indie poetry to scholarly works and graphic novels.
“The Rainbow Book Fair is more than a marketplace; it is a sanctuary,” say organizers. “At a time when queer literature is under fire, we stand firm in the belief that we are building a future where every voice is heard.”
Admission is FREE, with a $5 suggested donation.
The 14th Annual Rainbow Book Fair
Saturday, May 9, 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
The LGBT Community Center
208 West 13th Street, NYC
wednesday
weds thru 5/14 (wednesdays + thursdays; 6pm dance lesson, 7-8:30pm live music and dance): bryant park dance party: bryant park’s outdoor dance party returns for its 12th year, with free beginner-friendly lessons at the fountain followed by live music performed by a diverse selection of bands to put your new moves to work. food and drinks will be available for purchase. this week: brazilian samba, bossa nova, and forró with turma do samba (wednesday) and swing dance and rock ‘n’ roll with danny lipsitz and the brass tacks (thursday). free admission. >>
weds 6-9pm (wednesdays thru 10/28): washington square park salsa social: mi salsa dura baile’s open-air salsa dance nights return to washington square park (greenwich village) every wednesday thru october. each class starts off with a lesson followed by an open dance floor. free admission. >>
weds 7pm: doctors without boundaries: real-life er doctor aaron bola hosts a comedy show where standups with a tendency towards t.m.i. tell stories about their weirdest diagnoses, and the docs give a detailed breakdown of the history of each condition and what people diagnosed with it should know. audience members can even ask their own embarrassing medical questions via a ‘no co-pay’ question box. featuring patricia dinglasan, joshua de leon, divya gunasekaran, and lukas arnold. caveat (les), $16.70 with promo code ‘resident’ (reg. $24-25). >>
weds 7pm: wild works: puppetry on the edge: wild project presents a new performance series spotlighting boundary-pushing puppetry artists. featuring works by tristan allen, maiko kikuchi, marcella murray, and purser and amanda card. wild project (east village), $24.50. >>
weds 7:30pm: awkward teenage years: laugh and reminisce as storytellers relive their growing-up joys and traumas for your entertainment. hosted by will clegg and featuring stories by deandra anjahlee, david hu, mary ross, nadine hemming, and mark pagán. under st. marks (east village), pay-what-you-can admission ($7 min). >>
weds 7:30pm: loser’s lounge singalong: i want my mtv: join paige siegwardt, alex petrullo, and anna roisman in a singalong celebration of songs from the classic era of mtv featuring guest singers from loser’s lounge and joe mcginty on the piano. piano karaoke follows. free admission (bring tips for the performers). >>
weds 8:30pm: night of a thousand gossip girls: a live comedy show featuring sketches related to gossip girl, gossip, and girls, from writing-producing team clay taylor and megan downey. ucb (east village), $15. >>
thursday
thurs thru sun (8pm): jamal jackson dance company: adultification: jamal jackson dance company presents a dance work exploring the racial bias that frames black children as older and less innocent, contrasting the joy of youth with the weight of imposed adulthood. triskelion arts (greenpoint), $17+ sliding scale admission. >>
thurs + fri (11:30am-10pm) cuny jazz festival 2026: two days of live jazz, master classes, and collaboration, featuring guest artists chris potter and adam cruz alongside student ensembles from across cuny. the city college of new york – aaron davis hall (harlem), free admission. >>
thurs 6:30pm: birding new york: migration, community, and conservation: writer and birder ryan goldberg (bird city: adventures in new york’s urban wilds) leads a conversation on urban birding with fellow observers and conservationists, exploring how birding connects people to place, community, and the natural world woven through the city. timed with spring migration, the talk invites the audience to reflect on what it means to pay attention to the winged life around us. center for brooklyn history (brooklyn heights), free admission. >>
thurs 7pm (monthly): the rally reading series: the rally reading series (‘the heart of a march in the body of a reading series’) returns for an evening dedicated to comics and graphic novels with readings and discussion with emily lee luan, kaitlin hsu, and swati sudarsan. hosted by ryan d. matthews. pete’s candy store (williamsburg), free admission. >>
thurs 7pm: bam free music series: brooklyn academy of music’s second free music season turns the spotlight on caribbean artists and sounds. tonight: haitian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist paul beaubrun. the adam space (bamcafé) at bam’s peter j. sharp building (fort greene), free admission. >>
sponsored: thurs 7:30pm: traditional irish music with cillian vallely and kevin crawford: cillian vallely and kevin crawford, two of ireland’s most celebrated traditional musicians and longtime members of the internationally renowned band lúnasa, are joined by alan murray at symphony space (uws) for a night steeped in the beauty, spirit, and soul of irish music. use code ‘skint5’ for $5 off full-price tickets. >>
thurs 7:30pm: intergalactic oddities: a surreal soirée of music and spectacle featuring providence creature-collective big nazo (appearing as ‘squid squad’), cosmic crooner dave heatwave from la, nyc glam-rock outfit theophobia, and electropop artist headfooter. rubulad (bushwick), $17.85 adv, $20 door. >>
ongoing
our roundup of 40+ ongoing events: rooftop cinema club, waterfront workouts, bargemusic, and more. >>
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– the skint
