Things To Do In Hasbrouck Heights

This week’s list of reasons to leave the house include a whimsical animated Japanese movie, gallery openings in Chelsea, and a two-day outdoor poetry festival. If that still doesn’t fill your calendar, remember that you can always check Groupon for more great things to do in New York City. Summer Restaurant Week July 21–August 15 The summer edition of restaurant week brings three-course prix fixe menus to eateries such as Red Rooster Harlem, Café Boulud, Bann Restaurant, and Tertulia (pictured above). Luckily, the “week” actually runs for three-and-a-half weeks, so there’s still plenty of time to make reservations at crowded spots ahead of time. ($25 lunch, $38 dinner; see a full list of participants) Neutral Milk Hotel at Prospect Park Bandshell Prospect Park | Tuesday, July 22, and Wednesday, July 23, 7 p.m. It may have been 15 years since their last tour, but Neutral Milk Hotel haven’t lost the idiosyncratic touch that made 1998’s In the Aeroplane over the Sea an indie classic. Join a packed crowd in Prospect Park to hear frontman Jeff Mangum weave together his eccentric, Anne Frank–inspired lyrics with horn-centric melodies. ($39.50 in advance, $45 day of; buy tickets here for Wednesday’s show) A Letter to Momo West Village | Wednesday, July 23–Tuesday, July 29 A fanciful, hand-drawn tale in a similar vein to Spirited Away, 2011’s A Letter to Momo tells the story of a Japanese teenager, Momo, whose only relic of her lost father is a letter to her he never finished. Momo comes to terms with her loss with the help of three mischievous goblins who have taken up residence in her mother’s attic. (IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas; $14 adults, $10 children and seniors, $9 IFC members; buy tickets here) Chelsea Art Walk Chelsea | Thursday, July 24, 5 p.m.–8 p.m. More than 100 participating galleries in Chelsea stay open late for a free public viewing of their summer exhibitions, as well as artist talks, openings, and other events. (free; see a full list of participating galleries) New York City Poetry Festival Governors Island | Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. The fourth annual event brings literati to Governors Island for a weekend of readings and performances by more than 250 poets, including Mark Doty, Joyelle McSweeney, Matthea Harvey, and Paul Muldoon. In between sets, browse indie crafts and booksellers’ wares, fuel up with snacks from food vendors including Morris Grilled Cheese and Mud Coffee, or quaff pints in a beer garden sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery. (free; register here) Photo of Tertulia by Jen Davis

Just because you’ve hauled the grill in from your patriotic backyard cookout doesn’t mean it’s time to let up on summer fun. Pack the post-Fourth-of-July week with a ghost story performed by a kabuki theater troupe, a free concert in Hudson River Park, and a three-course picnic in the Rockaways curated by French foodies. And, as always, check Groupon for other great things to do in New York City. Heisei Nakamura-za at Lincoln Center Festival Upper West Side | Monday, July 7–Sunday, July 13 In their first visit to the Lincoln Center Festival since their sold-out run in 2004, Japanese kabuki troupe Heisei Nakamura-za will perform Kaidan Chibusa no Enoki, a 19th-century ghost story. Look forward to cutthroat stage combat, theatrical grimaces, and raucous slapstick comedy from the elite troupe, which traces its roots back to the 17th century. Before or after the show, stroll to the Japanese Artisan Village, which will vend traditional textiles, dolls, hair ornaments, and other handicrafts in Lincoln Center plaza through Sunday. (Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, 10 Columbus Circle; $45–$150; 7 p.m. each day with 1:30 p.m. matinees on Wednesday and Saturday) Photograph of Heisei Nakamura-za above: © Shochiko. Wild Beasts and Mutual Benefit Hudson River Park | Thursday, July 10, 6 p.m. The UK’s Wild Beasts are probably best known for singer Hayden Thorpe’s distinctive vocals, which can veer from soaring falsetto to guttural growl within a single line. Their 2014 album Present Tense may have toned down that roughness in favor of lush synthesizers and a smoother, R & B-inflected sound, but the new tunes still preserve the band’s intrinsic sense of drama. Get a taste this weekend at Hudson River Park, when Wild Beasts kicks off RiverRocks along with chamber-folk group Mutual Benefit. (free) Le Fooding Beach Club Rockaway Beach | Friday, July 11 French gastronomes Le Fooding return to New York City with this three-day event honoring the cuisine of the Sandy-ravaged Rockaways. Chefs including Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar and Andrew Field of Rockaway Taco prepare a three-course, picnic-style meal, which guests can pair with San Pellegrino sparkling fruit drinks and bartender-stirred mocktails. Saturday and Sunday tickets have sold out, but you can still grab a Friday ticket to kick off a long weekend or really long lunch break. (97-01 Shorefront Pkwy.; $40; seatings at noon to 1:45 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.–4 p.m.) Saturday Sculpture Workshop Long Island City | Saturday, July 12, noon to 3 p.m. This weekly event brings different artists to Socrates Sculpture Park to lead creative and kid-friendly arts-and-crafts activities. This week, artist Janelle Iglesias teaches kids to make geometric mobiles with straws and string. (free) Raekwon and Jay Electronica at the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival Williamsburg | Sunday, July 13 The Brooklyn Bodega–sponsored festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, brings two hip-hop heavyweights to the stage for its fifth and final night. With a feud with RZA brewing, Raekwon may not be in the mood to perform old Wu-Tang hits, but there’s plenty to love in his solo catalog—including some new tracks from Fly International Luxurious Art, due out this fall. The music doesn’t get underway until later in the afternoon, but those with tykes in tow can show up early for Family Day from noon to 2 p.m. (50 Kent Ave.; doors open at noon; $30+; buy tickets here)

It’s always tempting to skip ahead to the end of what you’re reading, whether it’s a suspenseful novel or an especially gripping list of things to do this week. But try to stick it out for the whole list below: you’ll be rewarded with news of a deviled-egg contest, an art-centric block party, and concerts in genres from bossa nova to folk. We won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say it includes cold and frosty treats. If that’s still not a sweet enough conclusion, you can always check Groupon for more great things to do in New York City. Kegs & Kluckers at Brooklyn Brewery Williamsburg | Monday, July 14 As urban chicken-keepers know, hens love snacking on grains leftover from brewing beer. The Good Beer Month event Kegs & Kluckers celebrates this symbiotic relationship with festivities that benefit Just Food’s City Chicken Project. Unlimited Brooklyn Brewery drafts flow as guests enjoy complimentary snacks, Egg Olympic Games, and a deviled-egg competition emceed by Matt Timms, creator of The Takedowns. (79 N. 11 St., Brooklyn; $25; buy tickets here; 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.) Twin Forks & Chris Carrabba at Rough Trade Williamsburg | Wednesday, July 16, at 9 p.m. Best known as the breathy voice of emo band Dashboard Confessional, Chris Carrabba takes on a folksier twang in songs with his new band, Twin Forks. Though the down-home details are there—Carrabba spent three years learning fingerpicking guitar for the project—Twin Forks also brings a stadium-size bluster that reflects Carrabba’s arena-rock past. Don’t miss the upbeat orchestral pop of openers Miracles of Modern Science, who create danceable tunes with a cello, a violin, and a double bass. (64 N. 9th St., Brooklyn; $15 advance, $17 day-of; buy tickets here; Doors at 8 p.m.) Hear a playlist of Chris Carrabba’s favorite movie-soundtrack songs on the Groupon Guide. Bebel Gilberto at Prospect Park Bandshell Prospect Park | Friday, July 18, at 7 p.m. With its mix of samba rhythms and lilting classical guitar, bossa nova is the ideal soundtrack for a cool midsummer night. It can’t hurt to add the ethereal voice of Bebel Gilberto, the daughter of bossa nova legend João Gilberto, to the mix. Her free concert at Prospect Park Bandshell this Friday kicks off Brasil Summerfest, a monthlong celebration of Brazilian music and culture that runs through July 26. (9th St. & Prospect Park West; free) New Museum Block Party Lower East Side | Saturday, July 19, from noon to 5 p.m. Music and art abound at the New Museum’s annual get-together in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Visitors construct their own decorative maps, artwork-filled memory games, and other crafts at interactive workshops, while the music of performers like singer-songwriter Joy Askew and operatic impresario M. Lamar fills the air. Afterward, guests can head to the museum for free, family-family tours of Here and Elsewhere, a new exhibition of contemporary Arab art that fully opens on July 16. (Chrystie St. between Delancey St. & Broome St.; free) Ice Cream Social at Hester Street Fair Lower East Side | Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The vendors might be local, but Hester Street Fair’s celebration of ice-cold sweets brings together flavors from all over the globe. Guests can sample La Newyorkina’s Mexican paletas, Lezzetli Ice Cream’s Turkish-inspired scoops, and Hello Halo’s Filipino shaved ice, among other frosty treats. A blind-tasting contest tests visitors’ ice-cream IQ, and the Street Fair’s other wares await browsing. As an added incentive, Uber users who use the promo code Hester30 get up to $30 off their ride to the event. (Hester St. & Essex St.; free) Can’t make it to Hester Street? Try a top New York ice-cream shop from this Groupon Guide list. Photo of Bebel Gilberto by Harper Smith. Photo of Twin Forks courtesy of Reybee Productions and Tristan Casey.