ARTS
You don’t have to be a trust fund baby to own a piece of art that wasn’t found by on the sidewalk. The Affordable Art Fair is based on the idea that everyone should own art, with over 400 artists on display, in every medium, starting at $100. It’s free to attend for a select time on Friday, but we suggest Thursday’s Art After Dark, where you can enjoy cocktails while browsing the collection. Through Sept. 17, The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 E. 18th St., free-$70, affordableartfair.com
COMEDY
Jay Malsky Slept With My Boyfriend!
Many of the men Jay Malsky has slept with have assured him that they’re perfectly straight, and he wonders about how that works, and what it says about him, in his one-man comedy show at the Upright Citizens Brigade. Jay Malsky Slept With My Boyfriend! stages what the girlfriends of those men would have to say about him sleeping with their very straight boyfriends, as he has them each put him on trial for what he did, donning different drag outfits for each inquisition. Sept. 15, 7:30 p.m., Upright Citizens Brigade, 307 W. 26th St., $12, ucbtheatre.com
MUSIC
The Meadows Music & Arts Festival
After an acclaimed premiere last year, the city’s newest music fest is bigger and better. Expanding to three days, The Meadows Music & Arts Festival returns this weekend with four stages of over 60 artists like Jay-Z, Run the Jewels, Gorillaz, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, Foster the People, Ghostface Killah and Erykah Badu. There’s also beer gardens, themed lounges, art installations, ball pits, after-parties and more. Sept. 15-17, Citi Field, 123-01 Roosevelt Ave., Queens, $115-$2,500, themeadowsnyc.com
FOOD
Sample one of the city’s most flavorful neighborhoods with Taste of the East Village, returning after last year’s winning debut. Try four small plates from each restaurant — including Luke’s Lobster, Veselka, Porsena and Porchetta — or buy additional bites to support the Cooper Square Committee’s affordable housing preservation, including a new LGBT youth center opening this fall. There’s also live guitar from James Gatti and music from DJ PreSkool. Sept. 16, noon-5 p.m., E. Seventh St. between Cooper Sq. & Second Ave., $25-$30, coopersquare.org
SOCCER
For the first time, the NYC Football Club has opened a free pop-up experience for fans. Based in the heart of the Meatpacking District, the four-story NYCFC House is hosting tons of events including rooftop parties and meet-and-greets with players and other figures in the sports world, plus tons of team merchandise and even a basement pitch for kids to train. Through Sept. 21, NYCFC House, 446 W. 14th St., free with RSVP, nycfc.com
DRINKS
Brooklyn Brewery’s final beer crawl of the season is this weekend, and it happens to be the first to leave its namesake borough and venture into Manhattan. For the Total West Harlem Immersion, you’ll meet at Off the Grid at noon for your first drink and tickets for one beer each at Harlem Public, At the Wallace and Uptown Bourbon. In addition to lunch, you get discounts like a free cookie with coffee at Hamilton’s Bakery, which might be the perfect way to end your day. Sept. 16, noon-6 p.m., various locations, $15-$25, brooklynbrewery.com
SUMMER
Does every kid go through a phase where they want to be a marine biologist? NYC youths can give their dreams a boost at Hudson River Park’s Submerge, a festival of marine science with a full day of all-ages events. Get interactive with science experiments, marine wildlife, underwater robotics and activities like fishing and kayaking. Watch dreams turn to goals as young ones fall in love with science. Other STEM fields wish they could all be this popular. Sept. 16, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Pier 26 at N. Moore St., free, hudsonriverpark.org
FOOD
Sample local restaurants while supporting healthy foods in local schools when you pencil in Friday night’s dinner date at Taste of Gramercy. Held al fresco along a cordoned-off Irving Place, the event welcomes residents and newcomers to get to know the nearby offerings with bites from Le Coq Rico, Ichabod’s, Burger and Lobster, Javelina, The Stand, Sarabeth’s and others. There will be raffles to raise additional funds, and leftover food is donated to Mission Bowery. Sept. 16, noon-4 p.m., Irving Pl. between 17th & 18th sts., $30-$70, tasteofgramercy.org
FOOD
The city’s streets continue to be a hub for food innovation, whether it’s food carts or an ever-increasing number of outdoor food markets. The Vendy Awards highlights the best of the best, with street food creators competing for titles and prestige at this annual competition run by the Street Vendor Project, which supports independent food purveyors. By attending the Vendys on Governors Island, you not only get unlimited samples from the competitors, plus unlimited beer and wine from sponsors, but your admission is tax-deductible. Sept. 16, 12:30-6 p.m., Governors Island, $60-$1,600, vendyawards.streetvendor.org
PETS
Calling all animal lovers: Sunday is your chance to take home an adorable furry companion from one of 30 area shelters working together to find new families for over 300 four-legged orphans. That’s right, you can’t really say no, can you? There will be cats, dogs, kittens, puppies and even bunnies on hand at Union Square, all spayed or neutered and vaccinated. There will be pros giving pet care and grooming tips, plus product giveaways, family activities and a photographer to chronicle your happy adoption moments. Sept. 17, noon-5 p.m., Union Square Park, North Plaza, free, adoptapaloozanyc.org
