take advatage of all of the summer concerts and free events in NYC

I have been out of town for a month so I haven’t had too much time to dedicate to summer activities in NYC but I have done a few things here and there.

Last Wednesday I went to the South Street Seaport for some fresh air salsa dancing. This was not free but dancing under the stars is always a nice summer treat. I would like to do this again as it is an ongoing event (until mid September). But next time I will bring a light weight sweater so that I can enjoy swinging in the hammocks in between dancing. (It gets chilly!)

I also took in the Jazz fest at Thompson Square Park last weekend. It was fantastic and really opened up my appetite for jazz. It made me want to start buying jazz records and have boozy get-togethers during cold and rainy evenings.

For me the point of going to these types of events is the chance of exposing myself to different genres of art/ music/ film. And even though I feel like I have gotten something fresh out of the little I have done I wish I would have dedicated more time to this. (AH, there is always next summer!)

Technically I shouldn’t count this because it wasn’t free but these neighborhood house tours are only offered in the summer and though I have been meaning to go on one for years this is the first time I actually got around to doing it.

There were a total of 9 homes on the tour, all different architectural styles with a vast range of interior design. What was great about this tour was meeting our neighbors. I am embarrassed to say that after two years of living here, not only do I know less locals than I should, but I haven’t ventured beyond a 6 block radius from my apartment.

I had no idea that there were so many gems just a stones through away from my own pad and was blown away by some of what I saw today. There was one homeowner (a novelist) that I wouldn’t mind befriending and I am having the couple that showed their apartment over for drinks tonight.

Great way to network and invest myself in my community.