Your Ideal Week: June 30-July 6

Another Fourth of July, another hot dog eating battle at Coney Island. Photo: Nathan’s Famous

With another holiday weekend upon us, it’s a good bet that lots of you reading this are in the midst of frantically trying to get your work done, line up the dogsitter, pack and figure out the optimal time to try to leave the city to avoid traffic, all before Friday afternoon arrives and it’s time for you to hit the road whether you are 100% ready or not. For those of you sticking around, you are about to experience one of those rare long weekends in NYC where the city feels blissfully empty, and you can finally get a reservation at that Eater hotspot you’ve been trying to get into for months or go for a bike ride across the Brooklyn bridge without a single homicidal thought crossing your mind.

The main event this weekend is, of course, the big Macy’s fireworks extravaganza on Monday night, and I’m willing to wager that you’ve been invited to a rooftop bbq or two as well. To add to your dance card, we’ve scoured the borough to find a bunch of other stuff going on. Here are our best ideas on how to make the most of your Fourth of July weekend if you are planning to be in town and, whatever you do, have a happy and healthy holiday!

Thursday, June 30 Did you know that oyster reefs once covered more than 220,000 acres of the Hudson River estuary? When pollution and over harvesting largely wiped them out we lost a very important part of the marine ecosystem, and the Billion Oyster Project is dedicated to restoring the population in order to promote cleaner water and increased biodiversity. You can help support this noble cause (and also scarf down a mess of delicious bivalves) at Thursday’s Oyster Social at Lighthouse in East Williamsburg. You’ll get a half dozen oysters, to be exact, prepared in a variety of ways by the chef de cuisine and paired with a Plymouth gin cocktail, all for the price of a $30 ticket.

Friday, July 1 Kick off the holiday weekend with some booze and laughs at the Crunk City Comedy Show at the Distillery at Industry City on Friday night at 8pm. Hosts Ben Wasserman and Carolyn Busa bring top comics Aparna Nancherla, Christian Polanco, Ashley Brooke Roberts, and Dustin Sherman to the stage, and they are also promising drink specials and “surprises.” And, oh yeah, btw, it’s all totally free.

The 45th Annual International African Arts Festival is this weekend in Commodore Berry Park. Photo: IAAF

Saturday, July 2 This weekend brings the 45th Annual International African Arts Festival to Commodore Barry Park, and that means four straight days of dance and music programming, vendors, a food court, and more attractions highlighting the vast African arts and cultural landscape. Saturday’s featured performers include West African dance company Kankouran and saxophonist Gary Bartz, plus unique handcrafted items and jewelry for sale and all the delicious soul food and Caribbean cuisine you can eat. The festival is free (although there is a suggested $5 donation for adults) and it runs Friday through Monday from 10am to 9pm each day.

Sunday, July 3 Remember when going to see the big summer blockbuster in the movie theater over Fourth of July weekend was one of the highlights of the summer? I know I sound like a hater, but it’s hard to get too amped up when the big box office draws are a Tarzan remake, The Purge: Election Year, and something called Satanic. Here in Brooklyn, you can still see some quality flicks on the big screen if you head over to Syndicated on Sunday for its Hi/Low Fourth of July Edition double feature. Starting at 1pm and again at 8:15pm, you can catch back-to-back screenings of Men in Black and All the President’s Men. On Monday, it’s Tom Cruise all day long, with Top Gun and Born on the Fourth of July on tap.

Monday, July 4 What better way to celebrate the birth of our great nation than by watching grown adults eat massive amounts of processed meat as a spectator sport? That’s right, it’s time again on Monday for Nathan’s annual hot dog eating contest in Coney Island, which draws the biggest names on the competitive eating circuit like Soyna “the Black Widow” Davis and Joey Chestnut, along with thousands of fans. It’s free to watch, and the fun starts at 10am. Then spend the rest of the day hanging around on the beach until The Beach Boys live in concert starts at the Coney Island Amphitheater at 7pm (minus Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, and David Marks).

Tuesday, July 5 These days, it seems like there are yoga classes everywhere–rooftops, parks, bars, art galleries, and now smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn Brewery. Beer Yogis is a hour-long vinyasa flow class designed for all levels of practice. The best part is that when it’s all over and you’ve come out of shavansana, you can celebrate with a pint of free beer! Tickets are $25 and you can register for Tuesday’s class, which starts at 7:30pm, here.

Wednesday, July 6 If you’re always trying to go see the The Moth Storyslam live but can’t manage to buy a ticket before they sell out, you are in luck for once. Tickets for next Wednesday’s show at The Bell House go on sale today at 3pm, and they are only $10 each. Snap one up pronto and get ready to be blown about by the storytelling skills of some world class raconteurs–who knows, it might just inspire you to start workshopping your own submission.