We’re still dodging those rainshowers that should’ve gone out with April, but it’s game face time, New York. The city isn’t waiting for the official start of summer on June 21 to kick its events schedule into high gear. Memorial Day threw down the gauntlet, and now it’s time to get started with our guide to the best June events.
Eat unlimited ice cream
Eating ice cream for a good cause? You’ve got our attention. Scooper Bowl brings three days of all-you-can-eat treats from some of the biggest names in the frozen dessert business to Bryant Park with totally unlimited tastings — pro tip, skip the cone so you don’t fill up before trying treats like açai frozen sorbet from Sambazon and vegan ice cream from DF Mavens, plus flavors from Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry’s, Big Gay Ice Cream and more. June 1-2, noon-9 p.m., June 3, noon-7 p.m., $25
Heed the call of the wild
You can love the city and still maintain your love of the outdoors — or fall in love with it for the first time. Embrace the spirit of adventure and beauty of nature during OutdoorFest with 10 days of activities across all five boroughs, starting with a campout on Staten Island, night fishing, canoeing the Gowanus Canal and surfing. June 1-10, outdoorfest.com
Get literal
BookCon, the Comic Con of books, takes over the Javits Center all weekend for tons of panels with celebrity authors including former President Bill Clinton and Broad City star Abbi Jacobson, workshops on how to become the next George R.R. Martin, a giant crime fiction discussion and, of course, a marketplace where you can be the first to score new releases or a special edition of a favorite book. June 2-3, $40-$45 ($10 kids), thebookcon.com
Governors didn’t party like this
Governors Ball is the first major music festival of the season and always a sure sign that summer is finally here. Besides getting a chance to wear all your amazing new festival wardrobe, you’ll also get some of the biggest acts across the musical spectrum, from Travis Scott to Jack White, Halsey and Eminem. June 1-3, 11:45 a.m.-11 p.m., $115+, governorsballmusicfestival.com
Bushwick throws the block party of the year
What started out as a small block party in 2011 has grown into a full-blown arts festival, including a concert series headlined this year by Ja Rule. The Bushwick Collective Block Party takes place in the middle of the city’s largest open-air art gallery — Troutman Street from Cypress Avenue to Irving Avenue — where graffiti and street artists will be working live, plus a Modelo beer garden, block party standards like food vendors and face painting, makeovers by House of Yes and more. June 2, Free-$100, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., 7 Scott Ave., Brooklyn
Cheer on the sporting ponies
Experience the most glam picnic of the year at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic. Linen suits and sundresses are a must for this afternoon of fun at Liberty State Park, with food trucks, lots of champagne and a live DJ. Enjoy the festivities while sipping the brand’s new Imperial Ice Rosé, formulated to be served over ice, in the Rosé Garden. June 2, $85+, New Jersey
See Brooklyn artists at work
Greenpoint Open Studios is your one chance all year for a behind-the-canvas peek inside the studios of artists and designers, both up-and-comers and established names. There are also tons of special events like a kickoff party at Java Studios on June 1, a rooftop drink-and-draw and a dance party fundraiser. June 2-3, greenpointopenstudios.com
Sample the theater district
You won’t have to wonder where to eat in the Theater District after Taste of Times Square, a lively street fair with grub from more than 40 area restaurants, accompanied by live performances (of course). Entry is free, but to try the dishes (priced between $2 and $6) you’ll need to buy books of tickets. June 4, 5-9 p.m., 46th Street between Broadway and 10th Avenue
Kick off Brooklyn’s biggest concert series
Every year, BRIC! Celebrate Brooklyn broadens the city’s horizons with dozens of shows by an unbelievable lineup of artists to the Prospect Park Bandshell. This year’s 31-show season kicks off with a free concert by Common on June 5; other highlights include The Decemberists (June 13) and Courtney Barnett (July 25). Other productions include dance and multimedia works, with every show accompanied by fare from local vendors. June 5-Aug. 11, Prospect Park Bandshell, bricartsmedia.org
All about the brass
Find trumpets, French horns, saxophones and any other instrument made to party at the first-ever New York Brass Festival at the McKittrick Hotel. The 10-hour marathon of performances will span genres from Balkan funk-jazz outfit Slavic Soul Party to the psycho-mambo sounds of Gato Loco. June 10, 2 p.m.-midnight, $45, nybrassfest.com
The country’s best barbecue comes to NYC
The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party isn’t just any cookout. The massive party takes over Madison Square Park with pits and smokers and grills run by 15 of the country’s best BBQ joints from Georgia, Texas, the Carolinas and beyond, serving up pulled pork sandwiches and smoked chicken wings and ribs, so many ribs. June 9-10, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., free entry, bigapplebbq.org
The year’s most educational block party
The Upper East Side’s museums all throw open their doors and bring culture to the streets during the annual Museum Mile Festival. Fifth Avenue closes down from 82nd to 105th streets with tons of entertainment, activities and free admission to all seven museums along the way, from the Guggenheim to El Museo del Barrio. June 12, 6-9 p.m., free, museummilefestival.org
Dance to the hits of the Jazz Age
All the Dapper Dans and flapper girls head to Governors Island for two throwback weekends every summer where everything is from the 1920s and ‘30s. The spirit of the era lives again at the Jazz Age Lawn Party, with live music from headliner/host Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra plus the Dreamland Follies, piano wiz Peter Mintun and many more and all the usual trappings: dancing, cocktails, photo ops, vintage shopping, lawn games and, best of all, endless gawking at all the amazing ensembles. June 16-17 and Aug. 25-26, $35, jazzagelawnparty.eventbrite.com
March with the fishes
Coney Island’s spectacular Mermaid Parade of all that is beautiful, bearded and proudly freaky takes over Surf Avenue for an afternoon of the most eye-popping costumes, floats and characters you’ll see anywhere. Leading the wildness this year are the proudly strange couple of Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer. June 16, 1 p.m., parade starts at West 21st Street and Surf Avenue
Indulge your lustful soul
There’s an art to intimacy, the slow build of pleasure in another’s company — something we could all use a reminder of in our instant gratification world. Abby Hertz’s acclaimed Lust party at Lot 45 begins with an erotic dinner party served on naked bodies and ramps up from there with sensual performances, interactive art installations, live music and anything else lurking in your lustful heart (short of actual sex). June 16, $75+, 7 p.m.-3 a.m., 411 Troutman St., Brooklyn
Broadway’s sexiest night
Once a year, more than 150 Broadway performers get frisky in a themed night of striptease. Broadway Bares delivers exactly what it promises, with two shows of original songs and choreography that leave nothing to the imagination, and it’s all to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. June 17, 9:30 p.m. & midnight, $65+, Hammerstein Ballroom, broadwaybares.com
Happy 87th Birthday to the Empire State Building, which opened on May 1, 1931. The Tallest building in the world, Empire State broke every record in the book. View construction photos: https://t.co/uyCxkxiFRG pic.twitter.com/wU4OQmJGV9
— Skyscraper Museum (@SkyMuseum) May 1, 2018
Get to know Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan’s tourist attractions are growing by the day, from hot new restaurants to the new riverside concert venue on the roof of Pier 17 at the Seaport District. On Night at the Museums, take a whirlwind tour of 13 cultural and historical institutions, all for free. Take part in a literary scavenger hunt at Poets House, learn how soaring structures are built at the Skyscraper Museum, and stand where George Washington was sworn in as our first president inside Federal Hall. June 19, 4-8 p.m., nightatthemuseums.org
Wave your rainbow flags
The LGBT movement is never going back in the closet again. Celebrate the community during Pride Week with tons of events from the kickoff rally and annual spectacular parade to the two-day music festival Pride Island, a family-friendly block party and events all over the city. June 14-24, nycpride.org
A wildly multicultural street fest
Where else are you going to find a block party that mashes up Jewish, Chinese and Puerto Rican flavors and traditions? Egg Rolls, Egg Creams & Empanadas is a project of the Museum at Eldridge Street to highlight all the cultures of its neighborhood with Chinese opera followed by klezmer music, Puerto Rican artists and challah-braiding demonstrations, craft workshops where you’ll make yarmulkes and lace, a mah jongg tournament and more. And, of course, plenty of the fest’s namesake foods for sale all day. June 17, noon-4 p.m., free, eldridgestreet.org
Sleep under the sea
The American Museum of Natural History does sleepovers for kids all the time, but June 22 is your grown-up chance to spend A Night at the Museum with the dinosaurs and mummies. Your ticket includes a champagne reception, dinner buffet and breakfast — in between, you’ll have total run of the museum’s halls until it’s bedtime under the blue whale in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. $350, must be 21+, amnh.org
Dine under the stars in Prospect Park
Wear your festive best to the Prospect Park Soiree, the second annual dinner party under the stars benefitting the Prospect Park Alliance. You bring the food, wine, tableware and all your fabulous friends, they’ll bring the live music, lawn games, tables and chairs. Proceeds support the park’s maintenance and programs. June 23, $50, must be 21+, 5-10 p.m., 95 Prospect Park W., soiree.prospectpark.org
Take a dip at a public pool
Because sand is a problem for some people (and let’s be honest, the city’s best beaches are kind of a haul), New York City has 53 public pools, and they’re opening for the season on June 27. Swimming hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with a midday cleaning break at 3 p.m., because we know you were thinking about it. Through Sept. 9, mini pools close Labor Day
Where art and music meet
Come for the EDM-focused concert series of over 75 DJs, musicians and singers, stay for the cutting-edge art exhibits and outdoor installations at Warm Up at MoMa PS1. The Museum of Modern Art’s venue for up-and-coming artists resumes its popular concert series (with, yes, drinks) every Saturday of the summer. June 30-Sept. 1, noon-9 p.m., moma.org
A weekend festival where pink is the rule
Two summer essentials — rosé and music festivals — come together at Pinknic, the weekend-long celebration of pink wine on Governors Island. Over 16,000 guests are expected, and all in pink (check the dress code, even for guys!), for a weekend of Champagne and frose drinks, concerts featuring headliners Klingande and Autograf, games more returns. June 30-July 1, $115, pinknic.com
