1. Between this weekend’s pulsing Electric Zoo, rap-tastic Rock the Bells, progressive P.S. 1 Warm Up, and the free Fool’s Gold bacchanalia with Just Blaze and Danny Brown, there’ll be no shortage of spots to enjoy music outdoors. Just remember to wear sunscreen and, when appropriate, have glow sticks handy.
2. Or if you’d rather a roof over your head, seek shelter on Saturday at the Laboratory warehouse party in an old Pfizer plant in South Williamsburg, with D.J.s spinning from a catwalk twenty feet above the action, a cabaret room with live performances, art installations, and interactions. Tickets (some which include a lab coat in the price) here.
3. Hungry? Gorge yourself on one of these festive food options at local restaurants, from patriotic strawberries to an oyster-eating contest.
4. Or head to Sunset Park on Monday for a food, booze, and barbecue party, or Governors Island on Saturday to stuff your face with pork at the Pig Island festival, featuring 25 New York chefs repping places like Talde, Delicatessen, and more working on 80 New York hogs (that’s pigs, not motorcycles).
5. Maybe burlesque is your thing? Gotham Burlesque spices up the holiday with Angie Pontani, Dirty Martini, hula-hoop artist Pinkie Special, and more world-class shimmy-shakers.
6. Or maybe you’re more into Shakespeare. Have you seen Into the Woods yet?
7. Hey! Laughing is always fun. This weekend funnyman John Pinette is making Times Square guffaw at Carolines on Broadway.
8. Or show the world what you’re made of at UCB’s Liquid Courage, where anyone can submit a sketch and perform it. Don’t forget your rubber chicken.
9. Be sporty—or be near sports, at least—at the U.S. Open through September 9, or the NYC Unicycle Festival (it counts) on Saturday and Sunday at Governors Island.
10. Or catch some culture at the Brazilian Day Festival on Sunday or the West Indian American Day Carnival on Monday. Bonus points if you dress up.
11. Celebrate the end of the 4x4 Baroque festival, with a concert of Bach’s Jesu meine Freude juxtaposed with vocal work by Buxtehude, Capricornus, and Weichlein.
12. Or expose yourself to opera on the big screen (for free!) at Lincoln Center’s Live in HD presentations, through Monday. Happy weekend!