Things To Do In Mount Vernon

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.

Typically, it’s hard not to notice a gigantic mastodon skeleton. But at the American Museum of Natural History, looming fossils often get overlooked as guests explore five levels of seemingly infinite rooms, all packed with eye-catching exhibits. So, what might you be missing in favor of that famous blue whale? We reached out to Brad Harris, the senior director of visitor services at the museum, for his list of six unfairly overlooked gems. Here they are, from the fourth floor down to the first. The Warren Mastodon Paul and Irma Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals, 4th Floor This poor mastodon met its untimely end in a bog in what is now New York. Its death was fortuitous for scientists, however—this is the first entire mastodon skeleton ever found in the US, and every bone that you see is real. Komodo Dragons Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians, 3rd Floor The fearsome lizards in this diorama once reigned over the Indonesian island of Komodo. They were brought to the museum by an expedition team in 1926, and are now forever posed in predatory victory over a wild boar. Chinese Wedding Chair Gardner D. Stout Hall of Asian Peoples, 2nd floor Adorned with tassels, embroidery, and tiny figurines galore, this chair would have carried a Chinese bride-to-be on her way to meet her husband for the first time. The chair was not only decorative, but practical: it kept the bride’s feet from touching the ground once she had dressed to be married, thereby saving her from bad luck. Roosevelt Murals Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda, 2nd floor These murals tend to play second fiddle to the huge barosaurus skeleton in the middle of the room. If you look past the rearing dinosaur, though, you’ll see the major life milestones of President Theodore Roosevelt, which were painted by William Andrew Mackay in 1935. Giant Squid and Sperm Whale Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life, 1st floor Because it mimics the darkness of the deep sea, this diorama can be tough to make out at first. Once you get closer, you’re treated to a zoomed-in view of two underwater titans engaged in battle. Although mankind has yet to witness such a duel, sucker marks on sperm whales confirm that they do indeed take place in the inky depths. Star of India Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems, 1st floor Walk through the Hall of Meteorites and the Hall of Minerals to get to the Hall of Gems, and you’ll find one of the largest star sapphires in the world. The 563-carat Star of India proves that some things only get more wondrous with age: it’s approximately 2 billion years old. For a smidgen of that time in 1964, it was stolen from the museum by legendary cat burglar Jack Murphy. Authorities recovered the gem months after Murphy’s arrest, finding it in a Miami bus-station locker. Photos courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History. Still looking around for ways to fill your day? Check Groupon for things to do in New York City.

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