In the midst of this inferno we are calling early July, I thought you might need a reminder of the kind of thing that makes living in this dirty, overcrowded sweatbox of a city worth it, so here goes: the New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks series is returning to Prospect Park on Wednesday evening. Yep, you can enjoy a free performance of Dvorak and Tchaikovsky by our very own world-renowned symphony orchestra while sitting on the lawn with a summer picnic, and if that wasn’t enough to get you there, how about the post-concert fireworks? Let’s be real, if you were outside on the Fourth of July you were probably more concerned with avoiding heatstroke than watching fireworks, so you probably need to give it another go. Also, if you’re worried because classical music isn’t really your deal, rest assured that the whole event is really mellow, and it’s easy to set up camp far enough away from the stage that you can talk and hang out without bothering anybody. –KH
