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Gothamist Summer Guide: 20 Cool Things To Do In June

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We've finally made it to the promised land: summer, and there's so much happening in New York City during June that it was almost impossible to pare everything down to just 20 events. Consult our tightly-curated guide for details on the Jazz Age Lawn Party, the Big Apple BBQ, DJ Premier, Figment and so much freaking more. Tune up your bike and slip on some dancing shoes because it's time to make plans.

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While the rest of the nation is getting set for barbecue season, up your cruelty-free culinary game at the <a href="http://www.tenement.org/tenement-talks-details.php?id=848">Tenement Museum's Vegetarian Cooking Past And Present</a> gathering. Using the groundbreaking Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook (first published in 1938) as a jumping-off point, culinary historian Jane Ziegelman will host translator Eve Jochnowitz and <a href="http://gothamist.com/2015/02/02/dirt_candy_20.php#photo-1">Dirt Candy</a>'s veggie chef Amanda Cohen in a talk about meat-averse cooking past and present. What's more, the Vilna volume will be on sale at a discounted price, and once you pick up your copy you'll be able to jet over to<a href="http://gothamist.com/2014/05/08/photos_the_long-awaited_russ_daught.php#photo-14"> Russ & Daughters Cafe</a> and enjoy a 10 percent discount. Wednesday, June 3rd, 6:30 p.m. // <a href="http://www.tenement.org/">Tenement Museum</a>, 103 Orchard Street, Manhattan // <a href="http://www.tenement.org/tenement-talks-details.php?id=848">Free</a>

Gothamist

We hate to break it to you, but that Dozen-Oysters-For-Six-Bucks happy hour deal isn't just filling your gullet with shoddy oysters, it's also wreaking havoc on the planet. You can do better, and you will at the <a href="http://www.billionoysterproject.org/get-involved/boparty/">Billion Oyster Party</a>, a sprawling one-day oyster festival that will bring over 15,000 delectable bivalves from 30 sustainable farmers under one roof in Red Hook. Tickets are $150, but proceeds from the party go toward restoring the wild oyster habitat in New York Harbor by 2035. With briny delights coming from Grand Central Oyster Bar Brooklyn, Oceana, and others, take the opportunity really savor a seafood delicacy and make it a little easier for future generations to do the same. Wednesday, June 3rd, 7 p.m. // <a href="http://pioneerworks.org/">Pioneer Works</a>, 159 Pioneer Street, Brooklyn // <a href="http://www.billionoysterproject.org/get-involved/boparty/">Tickets $150</a>

Gothamist

Experimental electronic artist <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/654872534618544/">Holly Herndon</a> is in town as a part of Pitchfork's Show No Mercy and Blackened Music's Tinnitus Music Series at the beginning of June at Bushwick's aptly-named The Wick. Herndon's work is focused on telling a story, namely one of surveillance, modern technology and skepticism, creating critically-acclaimed compositions like "Home" (her love letter to the NSA) and "Chorus," which utilized samples from YouTube, Skype and other mundane audio sources. It's the sort of stuff that any conscious consumer of media today can relate too (that's you, right?). (Sandra Song) Thursday, June 4th, 9 p.m. // <a href="http://www.thewicknyc.com/">The Wick</a>, 260 Meserole Street, Brooklyn // <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thewicknyc?v=app_179585568763105&app_data=eventId%3D806355%26source%3DfbPur%26medium%3DampEvent%26rt%3D%26fb_action_ids%3D">Tickets $15-20</a>

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Get participatory with your art this month (and bring the kids along with you) at <a href="http://newyork.figmentproject.org/event_details">Figment</a>, the annual outdoor festival that turns Governors Island into a polychrome wonderland. All weekend (and for absolutely no entry fee) you'll be able to hold, toss, and contemplate new art pieces that blur the lines between kid and adult fun; think "Adventure Time" spread out across an entire weekend. This year will feature a "Stockpile of Beneficial Mud Balls," a musical boat made of found art objects, a Black Lives Matter Art Show, and something called TRIANGLE FIRE SHIRTWAISTS. (Too soon?) Friday-Sunday, June 6-8th // Governors Island // <a href="http://newyork.figmentproject.org/">Free</a>

via flickr

The long-running Blue Note Festival will bring jazz greats like Natalie Cole, The Bad Plus, and Robert Glasper to venues across the city during the month of June, but it's the free <a href="http://bluenotejazzfestival.com/2015/03/meshell-ndeogeocello-roy-hargrove-gabriel-garzon-montano/">Summerstage concert featuring Meshell Ndegocello, Roy Hargrove, and Gabriel Garzon-Montano</a> that has most jazzheads' radars going wild. Ndegocello's reputation as a genre-defying songwriting savant is almost legendary at this point, and her albums bring together elements of punk, classic jazz, hip-hop, and funk to create something new entirely. Garzon-Montano's opening set of tasteful, vocal R&B should prove to be an ideal warm-up for it all, and it's neo-soul trumpeter Roy Hargrove who'll likely play the part of the wild card. Hargrove's frequent collaborations with D'Angelo, Erykah Badu and more have made him a man in demand across multiple scenes and styles. Saturday, June 6th, 2 p.m. // <a href="http://www.centralpark.com/guide/attractions/summerstage.html">Central Park Summerstage</a>, Rumsey Playfield, Central Park // <a href="http://bluenotejazzfestival.com/2015/03/meshell-ndeogeocello-roy-hargrove-gabriel-garzon-montano/">Free</a>

courtesy of Blue Note

A <a href="http://gothamist.com/2015/04/30/gowanus_flushing_tunnel.php#photo-1">vast and complicated sewer system</a> is what makes our (relatively) clean daily life possibly in New York, and the Brooklyn Historical Society will highlight some of its past in its <a href="http://brooklynhistory.org/exhibitions/current.html">What's Down There?</a> student-curated exhibition. Run by participants in the BHS's afterschool program, the exhibit will offer plenty of grown-up education as it unearths the history of Flatlands, Bushwick, Coney Island and Fort Greene sewer systems, with a broad range of engineering and social issues addressed. Amongst the photographs, drawings, and maps chosen by kids, the museum will also be displaying a bygone chamber pot and a Scientific America cover from 1885 featuring the Knickerbocker Avenue Extension. Opens June 9th // <a href="http://www.brooklynhistory.org/">Brooklyn Historical Society</a>, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn // <a href="http://www.brooklynhistory.org/exhibitions/current.html">Suggested Admission $10</a>

image courtesy of the Brooklyn Historical Society

Join feminist photographer <a href="http://www.strandbooks.com/event/petra-collins">Petra Collins at The Strand</a> on June 11th as she talks about her new book Babe, a collection of works from 30 female artists changing our cultural conversation today. Focusing on the relation between feminism and sexuality, Collins will also be joined by contributors including <a href="http://slutever.com/">Slutever</a> founder Karley Sciortino, poet Jenny Zhang and activist Jamia Wilson. Buy a copy in advance at the Strand to ensure entry. (Sandra Song) Thursday, June 11th, 7-8 p.m. //<a href="http://www.strandbooks.com/"> Strand Books</a>, 828 Broadway, Manhattan // <a href="http://www.strandbooks.com/event/petra-collins">Tickets $15</a>

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If you were listening to New York hip-hop in the '90s, you were listening to DJ Premier. The Houston-born, Brooklyn-reared legend of production crafted beats for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKjj4hk0pV4">Nas</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNwvHEme_JE">Notorious B.I.G</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlz4wZKHNXA">Rakim</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTGxPiEg7iM">Common</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKnEMDmBfFk">KRS-One</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fNtipp5RLs">D'Angelo</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5vw4ajnWGA">Mos Def</a>, and of course his own groups, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucvta7xDo_4">Gang Starr</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PrIX-CZVo0">PRhyme</a>, carving out a signature sound of gnarled, bone-dry drums and picturesque jazz samples. Simply put, his beats are some of the funnest, hardest hip-hop pieces ever made. This month, <a href="http://www.bowerypresents.com/event/842193-dj-premier-live-full-live-brooklyn">DJ Premier will play Brooklyn Bowl</a> backed by a live band as part of the ongoing Northside Festival, and it's sure to be a head-nodding spectacle for the ages. Brush up on your <a href="http://gothamist.com/2014/04/19/represent_nass_debut_record_illmati.php">Illmatic</a> material and prepare to nod your head. A lot. Saturday, June 13th, 6 p.m. // <a href="www.brooklynbowl.com">Brooklyn Bowl</a>, 61 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn // <a href="http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/840085">Tickets $20</a> (Free with Northside badge)

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Footwork music is having a moment, finally garnering the critical acclaim and notoriety it's deserved for years as some of the most exciting leftfield dance to come out of Chicago's Southside as of late. Filled with menacing low-frequencies, chop-n-screw house snippets and breakneck BPMs, the late DJ Rashad's legendary Teklife crew (arguably some of the most visible ambassadors of footwork) will be bringing their sinister spin on Chicago house to Brooklyn's North Side Festival for the stacked <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/560590450746147/">Fathers of Footwork Vol. I</a> event at Palisades.And for electronic music enthusiasts, the roll call reads like an in-depth feature on the origins of footwork, as it includes Teklife founding father DJ Spinn along with Bosses of the Circle legend RP Boo and Planet Mu favorite TRAXMAN, so move those feet. (Sandra Song) Saturday, June 13th, 11:59 p.m. // <a href="http://www.palisadesbk.com/">Palisades</a>, 906 Broadway, Brooklyn // <a href="http://ticketf.ly/1J5d5jG">Tickets $10-15</a>

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Don your deck shoes and prepare for soapy combat in Union Square during the<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/982900388395336/"> Bubble Battle</a>. A regular fixture of NYC summers, the innocuous fight will bring out hundreds of people armed with bubble guns and buckets of suds. This year, <a href="https://www.happn.com/en/">happn</a> is putting on the event, with the promise of a free prize to the first 1,000 people who show up. What will it be? Well, given the battle's special PARTY BOAT theme, we're hoping for captain hats, floaties, and shark costumes. Just please <a href="http://gothamist.com/2015/04/02/flip_flops_nyc_95_theses.php">leave your flip-flops at home</a>. Saturday, June 13th, 6 p.m. // Union Square, Manhattan // <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/982900388395336/">Free</a>

via flickr

In New York City, one only gets two chances to wear a fedora and not look like a idiot. Yes, the summer's first <a href="http://www.jazzagelawnparty.com/">St-Germain Jazz Age Lawn Party</a> is returning once again to Governors Island (there'll be another in August), bringing all the clothes, drinks, music and revelry of the roaring '20s back for a dandy weekend indeed. It's being billed as "The grandest Jazz Age Lawn Party to date" and will include old-time piano, bathing beauties, vintage gramophones, big bands playing standards, and likely enough gin to turn the New York harbor into one giant dry martini. Also, 2015 marks the 10th annual party, which means next year we move on to a decade of Great Depression Lawn Parties, right? Saturday and Sunday, June 13th and 14th; 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. // Governors Island // <a href="http://www.jazzagelawnparty.com/tickets.html">Tickets $55</a>

via flickr

Get set for the tastiest smoke out of your life. The <a href="http://www.bigapplebbq.org/">13th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party</a> is back again this year, bringing together some of America's pitmasters for a weekend of bluegrass and brisket. On hand serving party-goers will be venerable grilled meat institutions the likes of Dinosaur BBQ and The Salt Lick (both just a stone's throw from the BBQ Beer Garden). You can even <a href="http://www.bigapplebbq.org/tickets/">spring for a Big Piggin' VIP pass</a> if you want your 'cue delivered straight to your own private picnic area. To be honest, the lines sometimes get so long that the VIP pass is worth the price, if you can afford it. (Sandra Song) Saturday, June 13th - Sunday, June 14th, 12 p.m. // <a href="http://www.madisonsquarepark.org/">Madison Square Park</a>, Madison Avenue, Manhattan // <a href="http://www.bigapplebbq.org">Free</a>

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New York's folk music history goes far beyond Bob Dylan and the script of Inside Llewyn Davis. When the <a href="http://www.mcny.org/folkcity">Museum of the city of New York opens its Folk City exhibit</a>, music fans will get a sprawling look at just how powerful a hold the genre had on Manhattan in the '50s and '60s. MCNY is promising a multi-media installation that includes video footage and photographs but also hand-written lyrics and a few of the actual instruments that made the Manhattan folk revival possible (and profitable). And these aren't just any old pawn shop finds: Dylan's handwritten lyric sheets to "Blowin' In The Wind" and one of Lead Belly's 12 string guitars are on display. The entire exhibit spans three decades of music and politics, from the coffeehouse to congress, and MCNY members will get to enjoy a special reception on the eve of its public opening. Opens Wednesday, June 17th // <a href="http://www.mcny.org/">Museum of the City of New York</a>, 1220 5th Ave // <a href="https://35948.blackbaudhosting.com/35948/tickets?tab=3&txobjid=1b87ef14-b89d-4a5c-803f-79124cc2bcd8">Admission $14</a>

via MCNY facebook

Travel back to a granier, more romantic era with <a href="http://www.bam.org/film/2015/black-and-white-scope-international-cinema">BAM Cinematek's ongoing Black and White 'Scope series</a>, which dedicates itself to the divine cinematic marriage of monochrome film and widescreen format moviemaking, a coupling whose late '50s heyday produced some of the most gorgeous moments to ever play out on screen. June's series focuses on the international work of legendary European directors like Fellini and Truffaut, plus Hungarian master Miklos Jancso and a half-dozen works from the prolific Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa. Truly an event worth clearing your entire calendar for, 'Scope will give us all the chance to make progress on our art cinema to-do list. Because when the cinematography is as strong as this, even monochrome sunsets can shine with stunning beauty. And if classic, foreign black and white images aren't quite your bag of popcorn, make time for <a href="http://www.bam.org/programs/2015/bamcinemafest">BAM's seventh annual Cinema Fest</a>, which runs June 17-28th and features the premieres of 35 new independent films. May 29th - June 16th; Showtimes vary // <a href="http://www.bam.org/">BAM</a>, 30 Lafayette Avenue // <a href="http://www.bam.org/film/2015/black-and-white-scope-international-cinema">Tickets and Information Available Here</a>

Gothamist

There may be no better way to get to know another culture than to slowly wander about, sampling its street food. For those unschooled in the goodness of traditional Kosher cooking, the <a href="https://circle.org/tojcstreetfair/">Workmen's Circle Taste of Jewish Culture fair</a> will bring dozens of vendors to Midtown for an afternoon of abundance. On site will be delectables from Baz Bagel & Restaurant, Black Seed Bagels, Breads Bakery, Brooklyn Seltzer Boys, Brooklyn Sesame, Court Street Grocers, Dassara Brooklyn Ramen, The Gefilteria, Kossar's Bialys, La Newyorkina, Marani Glatt Kosher Georgian Restaurant, Mile End Deli, OddFellows Ice Cream Co., and Sage Kitchen (just to name a few), and both music and dance ensembles will be there raising a ruckus. What better way to celebrate Father's Day than a fine bite of herring? Sunday, June 21st // 6th Avenue and 46th Street, Manhattan // <a href="https://circle.org/tojcstreetfair/">Free</a>

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This month, the Strand puts aside all of your <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S692f1tnuQ">Hitchens-fried theories on why women aren't naturally funny</a> and hosts a conversation between <a href="http://www.strandbooks.com/event/abbi-jacobson">Susie Essman and Abbi Jacobson</a> on her coloring book: Color This Book: New York City! Along with her role as Ilana's <a href="http://www.cc.com/video-clips/o54m7a/broad-city-ilana-s-mom-at-the-nail-salon">bag-obsessed mom</a>, Essman played Susie Green on Curb Your Enthusiasm and released her own book, What Would Susie Say? in 2010. So when Jacobson shares "the inside scoop" on comedy and writing, she'll be swapping stories with the best of them. In lieu of a ticket, you'll need to buy a copy of Color This Book to attend, but doodling on 30 illustrations of NYC locals is way better than doodling on a stub anyway. (Abbey Rowe) Tuesday, June 23rd, 7 p.m. // <a href="http://www.strandbooks.com/">Strand Bookstore</a>, 828 Broadway // <a href="http://www.strandbooks.com/product/0623-event-book-color-this-book-new-york-city">Purchase of Color This Book</a> required

Gothamist

Back in 2001, Brendt Barbur was just another New York City cyclist <a href="http://gothamist.com/tags/visionzero">recovering from injuries</a> after getting hit by a bus. Thankfully for us, Barbur decided to turn the otherwise horrifying experience into something positive, and created the first ever <a href="http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/city/new-york/">Bicycle Film Festival</a>, an annual event that bills itself as a platform to celebrate the bicycle through music, art and, of course, film. You, along with any of the city's other <a href="https://transalt.org/issues/bike/bikefaq/">500,000</a> odd bike-enthusiasts, can catch the festival at Anthology Film Archives, where it has made its home for the past 15 years. Watch a trailer for last year's fest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDqT0-NXPEw">here</a>, in which daring cyclists leap over cars, play polo, chase love, forge rivers, and cook pasta. (Abbey Rowe) June 26, 7 p.m., June 27, 12 p.m. June 28, 12 p.m. // <a href="http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/">Anthology Film Archives</a>, 32 Second Avenue, Manhattan // <a href="http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/buy-tickets">Tickets $6-10</a>

via Galvarez51's flickr

<a href="http://funhomebroadway.com/">Fun Home</a>, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/theater/review-fun-home-at-the-circle-in-the-square-theater.html?_r=0">critically-acclaimed</a> hit musical about a secretly gay funeral home director and his long-suffering family, just released a new block of tickets for a run that's been extended through January. Based on a best-selling graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, the alternately haunting and humorous story dives deep into Alison's uniquely dysfunctional family, as seen from Alison's point of view as she comes of age and discovers her own sexuality. With inspired staging in the round and gripping performances from Michael Cerveris (he plays Alison's tortured dad) and Judy Kuhn (his unfortunate wife), among others, Fun Home invites the audience to join in a colorful reflection on self-deception, and its painful consequences. There are still <a href="http://funhomebroadway.com/tickets.php">some tickets left</a> for June, but they're selling fast. If you're feeling lucky, you can try scoring through the <a href="http://www.todaytix.com/us/nyc">TodayTix</a> app, which lets you enter a lottery using your mobile device for the chance to win $32 tickets. You can enter after midnight on any day there's a performance; if and when you win you'll be notified 3-4 hours before the selected performance begins. Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street)

Joan Marcus

The city and all its dingy, mass-produced commodities will be on display for all to (re)consider in <a href="http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1527">Zoe Leonard's upcoming photo exhibition at MoMA</a>. Leonard, a fixture of the Lower East Side, travelled all over New York (and all over the world) for years using a '40s-era film camera to capture the strange travel routes of recycled goods. From Africa to Cuba, Eastern Europe to the East River, the places visited and shot by Leonard will now be remembered by the exhibit's 412 color and black and white photographs. The exhibit, entitled simply Analogue, is being compiled and displayed in full for the first time in history. Consider this a chance to put your iPhone down for just a minute and take pointers from a true master of street photography. Opens Saturday, June 27th // <a href="http://www.moma.org/">MoMA</a>, 11 W 53rd Street // <a href="http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/tickets">Admission $14-25</a>

Zoe Leonard (American, born 1961)Analogue detail. 1998-2007. (Courtesy: MoMA)

MoMA's <a href="http://momaps1.org/warmup/">PS1 Warm Up 2015</a> series kicks off this month, and marks the experimental sound fest's 18th year as one of the summer's hippest, sweatiest staples. Operating outdoors in PS1's Long Island City courtyard, Warm Up's opening show will feature live performances from Blood Orange's Samantha Urbani and Amnesia Scanner, along with sets by Pachanga Boys, Ãclair Fifi, and The Black Madonna. The lineup (which you can view in full <a href="http://gothamist.com/2015/05/22/moma_ps1_lineup.php">here</a>) shows off MoMA's dedication to new and unique sounds, with artists hailing everywhere from Gary, IN to Santaigo, Chile. As an added bonus to Queens dwellers, anyone with proof of residency in LIC gets in free (on a first come, first serve basis, that is). (Abbey Rowe) Saturday, June 27th, 3 p.m. // MoMA PS1, // <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/o/moma-ps1-8184194121">Tickets $18-20</a> (Free for Queens residents)

via Scoboco's flickr