tuesday

sponsored: tues 6pm-11pm: night of ideas: a free late-night arts + cultural festival: marking the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence, this year’s night of ideas explores what remains of enlightenment ideals—and what might come next. program highlights: flash talks, readings and performances, writing workshops and salons, live music, and more. villa albertine (ues), free admission. >>

tues 6pm: miller theater’s pop-up concert series: the columbia university school of the arts’s musical happy hour returns for a new season of hour-long concerts where the audience is permitted to sit onstage with the performers and enjoy a free drink. tonight, cellist alexis gerlach performs bach’s cello suites. columbia university’s miller theatre (morningside heights), free admission. >>

tues 7:30pm doors: park slop comedy: wally barram and lucas connolly present an intimate comedy show at two boots pizza in park slope, with stand-up by fabrizio copano, steven rogers, and more. bonus: free beer 7:30-8pm (one per person), and raffles for free pizza. free admission ($10 suggested donation). >>

tues 8pm: live band karaoke at arlene’s grocery: pick your song, grab the mic, and be a star with your very own live band (nakatomi5) backing you up at arlene’s grocery (les). bonus: pre-sale ticket holders are entered in raffles to win prizes like drink tickets, skip-the-line song passes, or free admission to future shows. $10 adv, $15 day-of. >>

thru 5/20: kitchen table imagery exhibition: 11 czech, mexican, and american ceramic artists come together at czech center gallery to open a dialogue across cultures and generations. bonus: complimentary wine, beer, and non-alcoholic refreshments will be served at the 3/31 opening. czech center gallery at bohemian national hall (ues), free admission. >>

sponsored

Most awards shows aren’t open to the public—but this one is.

PEN America’s Literary Awards Ceremony (often called the “Oscars for books”) returns on March 31, and for one night, you can be in the room—tickets are just $10 with code PENPAL.

Hosted by Somebody Somewhere’s Murray Hill, the evening brings together a wide range of writers and performers, including Marlon James, Ali Velshi, Emmy Rossum, and David Henry Hwang.

Nearly $350,000 in prizes will be awarded across 10 categories, honoring some of the best books published this year. Finalists include Yiyun Li, Joy Williams, and Julian Brave NoiseCat, alongside standout voices across fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translation.

The night also includes a first-look reading from Edwidge Danticat’s forthcoming novel (Dèy), performed live by Pascale Armand, as well as career honors for Danticat and playwright Julia Cho.

It’s a rare chance to experience a major literary awards ceremony live—without needing an invite.

PEN America Literary Awards
Tue 3/31, 7:30pm
The Town Hall (Midtown)
Use code PENPAL to get tickets here

wednesday

weds thru 11/30 (7am-10pm): extended seasonal hours on the high line: longer days, longer strolls. starting wednesday, 4/1, the high line stays open for two extra hours of wandering, people-watching, and soaking up views above the streets. free admission. >>

weds thru 4/19: new york city fringe festival: the annual new york city fringe festival, an open, lottery-based theater fest, returns with more than 70 independent plays, musicals, comedies, and one-person shows at five venues: under st marks and wild project in the east village, the chain mainstage and studio in midtown, and the rat nyc in dumbo. 100% of box office proceeds go directly to the artists. various prices, with pay-what-you-can admission to many shows. plus, save $10 on tickets to chip on her shoulder with promo code ‘chippies’ >>

weds 7pm: gina gershon + griffin dunne: alphapussy: actress and singer gina gershon discusses her new memoir alphapussy: how i survived the valley and learned to love my boobs, a collection of personal stories about navigating hollywood, strange encounters, and figuring it out along the way, including run-ins with tom cruise, sharon stone, prince, and david mamet. actor, director, and writer griffin dunne moderates the conversation. the rare book room at strand bookstore (union square), $10 admission, $26.95 ticket option includes a copy of the book. >>

weds 7pm: next slide please: a powerpoint comedy show: from data-driven rankings of the best manhattan street corners for first-date make-outs to passionate defenses of the 2003 jessica alba vehicle honey, expect anything when a lineup of comedians deliver side-splitting powerpoint presentations on whatever topic they choose. tonight’s show features mick szal, luke strathmann, noah guiberson, bailey swilley, shyaporn theerakulstit, charlotte swett, and nikolai vanyo. hosted by reed kavner. caveat (les), $15.67 with promo code ‘skintppt’ (reg. $24-25). >>

weds 7:30pm: nyc street vendors: food trucks, coffee carts, market stalls, and more: author david dodge and illustrator joel holland, co-creators of brooklyn storefronts and nyc storefronts, return for a discussion on their latest collaboration: nyc street vendors—a collection of 150 of the city’s most beloved curbside operations, from halal trucks in queens to mango stands in the bronx, churro sellers in brooklyn to taco bikes in manhattan. greenlight bookstore (fort greene), free admission. >>

weds 7:30pm: we have fun: a stand-up show: hosts zach sims and dan wilbur team up to bring the fun-ny to young ethel’s (south slope), with stand-up by myq kaplan (netflix), adam mamawala (comedy central), connor meade (npr), danya trommer (don’t tell comedy), and dvontre coleman. free admission. >>

weds 8pm: 10th annual one liner madness: 126 jokes fly by in 100 minutes as 64 nyc comedians go head-to-head in a bracket-style, single-elimination one-liner showdown, with audience applause deciding who advances and who takes the 2026 title. hosted by emily winter and larry mancini, along with last year’s champion, sally ann hall. the bell house (gowanus), $19.65 with promo code ‘skint’ (reg. $25) >>

weds 8pm (biweekly): flash comedy: have a picture-perfect night of laughs at the flash comedy show, where the hosts snap free polaroids of you and your friends to take home. hosted by claire parker (celebrity memoir book club), audrey black (cracked), and temi adeoye, tonight’s show features ramy shafi, katherine gorham, saheim patrick, shosh brodman, maddy kelly, and marito lopez. mood ring (bushwick), $12. >>

weds 8pm: our bar theatre: our bar transforms a real nyc bar into a stage, where a rotating cast of theater artists perform original scenes that could actually happen right there, that night. grab a drink (a bud light is included with admission), find a seat, and watch the stories unfold. tonight’s theme: ‘ate bloomers.’ fáilte bar + restaurant (kips bay), $13 admission includes a bud light. >>

weds 8pm: loser’s lounge singalong: neil diamond + dolly parton: join paige siegwardt, alex petrullo, and anna roisman for a neil diamond + dolly parton piano bar sing-along featuring guest singers from loser’s lounge and joe mcginty at the piano. piano karaoke follows. free admission (bring tips for the performers). >>

thursday

thurs 6pm: trans day of visibility in times square: black trans femmes in the arts collective returns to times square for the fourth annual trans day of visibility showcase, hosted by kimberly jones and milan garçon and featuring a dj set by lita da doll and performances by the masterz at work, iconick, miss mojo, julie j, and lana ja’rae. broadway + 46th street (outdoor event), free admission. >>

thurs 6-8pm (monthly): dumbo first thursday gallery walk: explore dumbo’s waterfront arts scene at the first thursday gallery walk, where 13 galleries will stay open late for a night of opening receptions, special events, and artist talks. an optional hour-long ‘insiders’ tour at 6pm (rsvp required) will feature talks from artists and curators at select exhibitions. free admission. >>

thurs 6-9pm: moments. gallery grand opening with king saladeen: moments. gallery opens at dream hotel downtown with an exhibition by philly’s king saladeen. dream downtown (meatpacking district), free admission (rsvp required). >>

thurs 7pm (monthly thru june): scicafe: the ocean’s heated rivalry: ‘scicafe,’ the american museum of natural history’s evening conversation series, returns for a new season of science talks at the cullman hall of the universe. tonight’s topic: ‘the ocean’s heated rivalry’ with fernando melendez vazquez, marine biologist and manager of the science research mentoring program at the museum. drinks will be available for purchase. free admission (rsvp). >>

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 jason little, jeanne thornton, and solomon j brager. hosted by ryan d. matthews. pete’s candy store (williamsburg), free admission. >>

thurs 7pm (various dates thru 5/7): bam free music series: brooklyn academy of music’s second free music season turns the spotlight on caribbean artists and sounds. tonight: singer-songwriter, drummer, and bandleader david rivera y la bámbula weaves together hip-hop, funk, r+b, salsa, and touches of electronic music. the adam space (bamcafé) at bam’s peter j. sharp building (fort greene), free admission. >>

thurs 7pm-11:30pm: y2k baby one more time : throwback to the 90s and early 00s with niche night and electric ’77 dj chase coppins playing pop, r+b, rock, and more. friends and lovers (crown heights), free admission. >>

thurs 9:30pm: yesterday’s horoscope: the stars are aligned for yesterday’s horoscope, a cosmic comedy show with an astrological bent hosted by kristina gustovich (earth scientist, performer, and educator) and jane mitchell (yesterday’s horoscope’s substack creator). $14.64 with promo code ‘mamalovesskint’ (reg $24-25). >>

ongoing

our roundup of 30+ ongoing events: $20 off-broadway tickets, a keith haring exhibition at the brant foundation, art of noise at cooper hewitt, film fests + series, and more. >>

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stay safe and healthy
– the skint