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It’s not fall quite yet but, as the weather turns crispy we, paradoxically, want to spend even more time outdoors—and there’s quite nothing like catching a classic rom-com or cult movie while out in the open in New York.

Although many summer outdoor movie screenings have come and gone, Pacific Park in Prospect Heights is gearing up to showcase a roster of films every Thursday this September. Movies will start showing at sunset and—best part!—they will all be free to attend.

Keep in mind that the event operates on a first-come, first-served basis, so you’ll want to get there early to secure yourself a prime viewing spot on the lawn. 

Here is the schedule of screenings:

September 5: 10 Things I Hate About You

September 12: Some Like it Hot

September 19: Past Lives – Theme: Indie

September 26: Matilda

If you’re looking for more things to do in the great outdoors, check out our lists of best outdoor art pieces in New York, free outdoor theater options and, of course, the best outdoor dining restaurants in town. Enjoy fresh air without freezing while you can!

* This article was originally published here

Ah, the ’90s—a simpler time when grainy camcorder videos ruled the cultural zeitgeist, rather than slickly produced TikToks. An upcoming exhibit at Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) will pay homage to that era through the lens of skater culture. 

“Recording the Ride: The Rise of Street-Style Skate Videos“ will honor DIY filmmaking with videos, vintage skate decks and other objects related to the formative years of the skate video in the 1980s and 1990s. See it in Astoria from September 7, 2024 through January 26, 2025. 

RECOMMENDED: The best museum exhibitions in NYC right now

With limited budgets and cheap video equipment, skaters recorded their limit-pushing tricks on stairs, benches, and other skate-able elements of public architecture. These grainy videos of bodies in flight were set to music-driven montages on VHS-format videos, often with a defining fish-eye lens. 

The videos circulated among skaters and in skate shops serving as both inspiration and instruction. They became a form of proto social media that knitted the community together. Skating and skating videos became linked as complementary forms or artistic expression.

“Rising from the roots of the mid-1980s classics, 1990s skate videos refined and cemented an aesthetic that remains foundational to this day,” said Jacob Rosenberg, a filmmaker who served as the exhibit’s co-curator. “It’s long overdue for this rich form of cultural and artistic documentation to be explored and presented by a museum.”

1990s skate videos refined and cemented an aesthetic that remains foundational to this day.

The exhibit will feature releases by Powell Peralta, H-Street, Plan B, World Industries, Girl, Birdhouse, 411, Zoo York, and more. Highlights include artifacts from the production of The Bones Brigade Video Show (1984); a focus on Mike Ternasky and the brand Plan B, with vintage production and post-production artifacts used in the making of their seminal releases The Questionable Video (1992) and Virtual Reality (1993). Also expect to see behind-the-scenes images, including photos shot by Spike Jonze—whose filmmaking career began with the production of skate videos—on the set of Video Days (1991).

The show includes material on loan from skaters and skate video pioneers such as Lance Mountain, Jamie Thomas, R.B. Umali, Greg Hunt, Jon Holland, Jamie Mosberg, Rick Howard, and Ty Evans. 

Fittingly, a series of screenings and events will accompany the exhibition. 

“The impact of skate videos extends beyond the skateboard community to art, fashion, sports, music, film, and more,” according to MoMI Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs Barbara Miller. “With our expansive view of the moving image as a reflection and building block of vernacular culture, MoMI is the ideal cultural institution to look at the origins of this essential genre.”

In addition to Miller and Rosenberg, director Michaela Ternasky-Holland also served as a co-organizer of the exhibition. 

The show will kick off on Saturday, September 7, at 5:30pm with the program “Skate Video Essentials: The Legacy of Mike Ternasky,” featuring a screening of Plan B’s Virtual Reality and a discussion with skateboard legend Matt Hensley.

* This article was originally published here

For us New Yorkers our everyday life is frightening enough–think: roaches…some of which FLY, the impending doom of rent day, perpetually rising pizza prices, 7-story walk ups, so…many…RATS, okay we’ll stop there. But, with Halloween right around the corner we’re ready to get our spook on, like for real…like hopping aboard a haunted trolley tour!

Besides, New York City has its fair share of haunted places to get yourself into the spooktacular spirit…but we’ll admit we aren’t brave enough to explore those places on our own. Now a trolley tour on the other hand (a trolley packed with 21 other people, at that) we can get down with. There is safety in numbers, after all.

And the city has just that–Madame Morbid’s Trolley Tours are NYC’s #1 ghost tour, taking thrill seekers on a journey through the dark shadows of Brooklyn.

Those who dare will hop aboard a custom-made, turn-of-the-century trolley–complete with leather tufted seats, mini chandeliers, a red carpeted aisle, and vintage velvet curtains–for a ghoulish journey uncovering 400 years of morbid Brooklyn history.

As you journey down the streets a guide will let you in on all the spooky tales of mob murders, Revolutionary War battles, and rumored alien abductions. A screen projecting mini-documentaries will help to get all five of your senses involved, giving riders a historical look into what the modern-day sites you’ll be passing by looked like long ago.

Along the way you’ll visit hidden cemeteries inside the Navy Yard and Prospect Park, George Washington’s old headquarters in Park Slope, and an EPA Superfund site in Gowanus. Plus, did you know the Trader Joe’s in Cobble Hill is haunted or that there’s a bar in Williamsburg built over 30,000 bodies? Well, now you do, and you’ll hear all about it on the tour.

Even the biggest of supernatural skeptics will be spooked, but if not you can still look forward to the chance to win prizes with spooky trivia!

Madame Morbid’s Trolley Tours have been spooking guests since 2017, and they’re embarking on tours now through November. Tickets range from $59 to $69 depending on when you decide you’re brave enough to hop on. More information and tickets can be found here.

If you’re not brave enough for the tour allow us to share with you some less creepy spooky season activities, like a haunted maze experience inspired by Jimmy Fallon’s worst nightmares or a candlelit performance of Halloween classics.

The post This Victorian Trolley Takes You On A Haunted Tour Of Brooklyn’s Dark Past appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to go on a quick escape, now’s your chance: JetBlue’s Big Fall Sale, which is offering crazy discounts on fall flights, is ending tomorrow.

Book a domestic one-way trip for as low as $49 or opt for a European getaway for a relatively cheap $250 now through tomorrow, Friday, August 23 at 11:59pm.

RECOMMENDED: America’s largest sushi convention is coming to NYC

There’s a catch, though: the discounts only apply to flights departing on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays between September 10 and November 20 of this year, just before the peak holiday travel season.  

To take advantage of the promotion, visit JetBlue’s Fall Sale page and scroll through the different destinations. Once you find a place that speaks to you, you’ll be redirected to a page displaying a calendar with different flights. The map will also indicate how many discounted seats are still available to be booked.

The big sale includes deals on hotels as well. Indulge in a whirlwind two-night stay in Amsterdam for $745 (that includes flights!) or snag a roundtrip flight to Aruba, complete with a two-night hotel stay, for $461. Want to stay closer to home? You can fly to Los Angeles and book a room for a couple of evenings for a total of $399. 

But there’s more: as of September 6, JetBlue’s Basic Economy fares will include a carry-on bag, which means that you won’t have to worry about a bunch of hidden fees when calculating how much a trip will cost you. 

Honestly, the deals all sound amazing, as do vacations at any one of the proposed destinations.

* This article was originally published here

If you didn’t have the fabulous summer trip you envisioned, why not book it for this fall? Booking travel on the tail-end of summer is the perfect strategy for finding some incredible deals on airfare as the demand tends to take a bit of a dip coming off of seasonal travel. Not to mention, National Cheap Flight Day occurs every August. Here’s everything you need to know about the impending deals.

When is National Cheap Flight Day?

Friday, August 23rd is National Cheap Flight Day. On this date you can expect to score some incredible airfare deals.

How come flights are cheap on this day?

Cheap flights are common on National Cheap Flight Day (August 23rd) because historically there is a drop in airfare bookings this time of year coming off of the high demand for summer escapades.

Is National Cheap Flight Day only for domestic travel?

National Cheap Flight Day (though only a nationally celebrated day) means savings for both domestic and international airfare as there’s a decreased demand for both searches at this time.

Where should you look to book flights on National Cheap Flight Day?

Travel search engines like Skyscanner and Hopper are perfect places to scout for some of the best prices on flights to your destination as they automatically comb through data to give users the most affordable airfare options for their search.

The post National Cheap Flight Day To Bring Unbeatable Airfare Prices Tomorrow appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

Let me first claim that I have never had a real Erewhon smoothie. I rather spend my $20 on four NYC bagels. Alas, my fomo got the best of me so I went to the East Village to try NYC’s viral dupe that’s been taking over my fyp for days.

The popular smoothie dupe is known as the Coco Cloud smoothie at East Village Organics, and will put you out about $11. For comparison, a typical smoothie at Erewhon can run you an average of $18. It’s supposed to be a perfect NYC version of Erewhon’s actual Coconut Cloud smoothie. And let me just say, they truly look identical! Slap some Erewhon branding overtop and you’d think you really were in LA.

East Village Organics’ dupe is made with coconut water, coconut yogurt, mango, coconut meat, pineapple, and blue spirulina.

I was expecting to enter and see at least a few people in line after it popping off online. But to my delight, I was the sole person ordering at the smoothie bar. My Coco Cloud was quickly pulsed to its beautiful sky blue color and served to me on the opposite end on the counter. I eagerly grabbed a straw and got to sippin‘. My immediate reaction: this smoothie is mid.

Now maybe it’s just me, but I personally think the dupe tasted exactly like what is was, an average smoothie. It was tasty for sure, but I definitely wouldn’t send everyone I know to go try out.

So if you’re really that curious, go ahead, drop the $11 and see for yourself. But as for me, I’m really starting to think Erewhon smoothies may not be worth the hype if this is what they taste like even made in the city with the best food and drink in the nation.

The post Is NYC’s Erewhon Smoothie Dupe Actually Worth It? appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

If you’re still looking to plan a Labor Day Weekend getaway let it be this: a roadtrip to the Hudson Valley for their spectacular annual Hot Air Balloon Festival!

This August the annual Hudson Valley Hot Air Balloon Festival will make its return to New York for its 33rd year, offering visitors an entire weekend filled with family fun and excitement.

Once a small event, the festival has evolved into a Hudson Valley tradition spanning an entire weekend and drawing in crowds upwards of thousands from all over the world.

The festival will welcome hot air balloonists from all over the country, with over 100 hot air balloon ascensions being held throughout the weekend.

But beyond the balloons there will also be tethered hot air balloon rides, full hot air balloon flights, helicopter rides, fireworks, live music and entertainment, food trucks, a beer and wine tent, local vendors, a whole bunch of family activities, and more!

Morning balloon flights occur at approximately 6:30 am and all evening launches are scheduled for approximately 5:30 pm (times may vary based on wind and weather conditions and may not happen at all if conditions do not allow).

This year the festival will return for its its 33rd year Friday, August 30th through Sunday, September 1st. Admission ranges from $13.95 to $37.95.

You definitely won’t want to miss this, it really is the perfect way to spend your weekend! Read more about the festival here.

Tymor Park – 249 Duncan Road, La Grangeville, 12540

Friday, August 30 – Sunday, September 1, 2024

~2 hours driving

The post 100+ Hot Air Balloons Will Color New York Skies This Labor Day appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

Get ready for this haunted maze experience at “Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares” which takes place at Rockefeller Center! Brace yourself for ten spine-chilling rooms that bring Jimmy’s worst nightmares to life, with sinister characters and scares around every corner – enter if you dare! Tickets are now available, so be sure to secure your spot, and it opens on Sept. 20th!

This nerve-wracking experience is an all-new haunted maze, with ten bone-chilling rooms inspired by Jimmy Fallon’s worst nightmares. Guests will tremble as they come face-to-face with scares ranging from a mad scientist to terrifying werewolves and other nightmarish creatures! 

Haunted experiences are leveling up this Fall! With frightening twists and turns, “Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares” will leave you terror-stricken in the best way! Every room is more sinister than the next, with shocks and scares around every corner!

General admission tickets start at  $36.90. There are also discounts for group bundles available, with a seven person minimum. Take family and friends to this limited haunted Halloween event!

The experience is not recommended for children under 14 and no costumes or masks are allowed. “Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares” opens to the public on September 20th and will run on select nights through Oct. 31st!

Event details

Jimmy Fallon's Tonightmares

September 20, 2024 17:00

630 5th Avenue – Rockefeller Plaza (630 5th Avenue, New York, NY, USA, 10111)

From $38.13

Buy tickets

The post Here’s How To Get Tickets To This New Haunted Experience Inspired by Jimmy Fallon’s Worst Nightmares appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here