Things To Do This Weekend In New York City & Roosevelt Island- Fireworks, Free Concerts, Shakespeares's Lear On The Run & RI Tour

You Tube Video of July 4 2008 Fireworks at Southpoint Park Roosevelt Island

Looking for fun or interesting things to do on Roosevelt Island or in some other part of New York City this weekend? Here are some ideas:

Tonight there are a couple of free music concerts to choose from including the River to River Music Festival performance of Here We Go Magic at the South Street Seaport. According to Free NYC:

Free, summer, concerts roll on tonight as River to River kicks off their Seaport Music Festival on the East River tonight with a live performance by Here We Go Magic and Bachelorette. "Brooklyn's Luke Temple, a singer/songwriter with critical acclaim as a solo act, assembled Here We Go Magic to create groovy, pretty, psychedelic jams driven and shaped from melodies that can turn from gorgeous to challenging to a little scary and back again

Another option for a free Friday night of music is the Alice Smith School Children's Choir which will be appearing at Roosevelt Island's Good Shepherd Community Center at 8 PM as part of the R & R Concert Series.


Saturday is the Fourth of July and of course the big event is the Macy's Fireworks Spectacular. Remember that this year the fireworks have been moved from the East to the Hudson River so there is no opportunity to watch the fireworks from Roosevelt Island as in past years. New York Magazine reports on the best spots on the West Side to watch the Hudson River Fourth of July Fireworks.

The NY Times Spare Times feature reports that:

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, handwritten by Thomas Jefferson, on view through Aug. 1 at the New York Public Library, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Gallery, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. Also on view: early printings of the document and a letter to George Washington from Benjamin Franklin. Holiday hours this Friday through Sunday: 1 to 5 p.m. (917) 275-6975; nypl.org.

as well as other Independence Day activities in the NY metropolitan area. More on Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence draft at the NY Public Library here.

Although there will be no Roosevelt Island Fireworks Spectacular Celebration at Southpoint Park this year, there will be the Nonno's 4th Of July Festival held on Roosevelt Island's Riverwalk Commons with Kid's Rides, Dunk Tank, Burgers, Hot Dogs and other Fun Stuff.

On Sunday, head on down to Battery Park's Castle Clinton for the New York Classical Theater's presentation of King Lear on the run. According to the NY Times:

This poetic portrait of dysfunctional family dynamics may not be your idea of a child’s introduction to Shakespeare. But the setting is undeniably fun — Battery Park — and the actors, the members of New York Classical Theater, change locations with every scene, so audiences roam the night as much as the demented Lear (and no one grows bored). Picnicking is encouraged, and on Tuesday the company also offers preshow fun for aspiring actors 7 through 12: a free drama workshop, in which they will have a chance to perform from the script. Workshop from 5 to 5:45 p.m.; performances at 7 p.m.; meeting at Castle Clinton, Battery Park, Lower Manhattan , (212) 252-4531, newyorkclassical.org; free.

I saw a production they did in Central Park a couple of years ago and it was lots of fun.

Also, on Roosevelt Island this weekend, in addition to the Malaysian Choir and Nonno's July 4 Festival, the Farmers Market is open as usual on Saturday. Another suggestion - RIOC has produced a great self guided tour map (PDF File) of Roosevelt Island for any visitor or resident looking to stroll the Island and learn something more about it.

The MTA is reporting no Roosevelt Island F Train subway advisories this weekend and neither is RIOC with Tram advisories.

Check out some other ideas on what to do in New York City this weekend from the NY Times Urban Eye and Spare Times, Free NYC, NY Post Weekend Calendar and Newyorkology.