Pencil This In
MUSIC: Apes & Androids are back for their first show in 2009. In typical fashion, they won't be going on til around midnight, so get a nap in after work. And if you want to go, buy tickets now because they're just about sold out!
Friday // 11 p.m. // Music Hall of Williamsburg [66 N 6th St, Brooklyn] // $15
EVENT: Seaport Ice, lower Manhattan's only ice rink, is officially open...and kicks off their winter concert series tonight. While you take some turns on the rink you can listen to Brooklyn-based Neckbeard Telecaster and Grand Mal, drink hot chocolate, and enjoy the nice winter breeze coming off the East River. The show is free but the skating will cost you 5 bucks. And don't forget to bundle up!
Friday // 7 p.m. // Seaport Ice, Pier 17 // Free
ART/POETRY: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder, one of the last living lions of the Beat generation, is in town tonight to read a selection of his own work (including his essential collection Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems), as well as translations from classical Chinese and Japanese poetry. The event kicks off the Guggenheim's new exhibit, "The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989." Last October, the New Yorker published a great profile on Snyder, whose travels have led him around the world, from monastic life in Japan to trail-clearing in the Northwest. You'll also recall that Snyder's swinging California days in the mid-50s were famously chronicled (and embellished) by Jack Kerouac in Dharma Bums. — John Del Signore
Friday // 6:30 p.m. // The Guggenheim [1071 Fifth Ave at 89th St] // $10
RACE: This Saturday get ready for chaos in your neighborhood! The annual Idiotarod race is back, bringing teams, themes and shopping carts down the streets. If you participate, remember to clean up after yourselves! Register here.
Saturday // Location TBA
THEATER: Cornbury: The Queen's Governor is a well-reviewed campy satire starring the brilliant David Greenspan as Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, the English governor of New York and New Jersey from 1702-1708. Hyde is remembered mostly for his (rumored) habit of dressing as his first cousin, Queen Anne—in public. Martin Denton at nytheatre.com calls it "an arch, lighthearted, and frequently hilarious romp filled with absurd juxtapositions." And the Times's Charles Isherwood says Greenspan's "rococo portrait of a man who would be queen gives the production an entertaining focus." — John Del Signore
Saturday // 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. // The Hudson Guild Theater [441 West 26th St] // $18
PARTY: It's that time of year again: the annual Army of Björk theme party is going down at Stain Bar this Saturday. This time around the event will feature: cold weather like Iceland, warm wine (glogg) and of course the music of Björk (as well as other Icelandic music). AND there will be blue popsicles.
Saturday // 9 p.m. // Stain Bar [766 Grand St, Williamsburg] // Free
FOOD: Mmmm...dessert tour. It's a little more guilt-free when you get to walk off the treats, right? Take a walking tour this weekend that'll bring you to "sweet spots with treat stops including excellent French pastries, delicious hand-painted chocolates, and a made from scratch pie company." Two hours and one mile later you can hit the gym...or take a nap.
Sunday // 11:30 a.m. // Financier Patisserie [35 Cedar St] // $1 donation
PARADE: The Chinese Lunar New Year Parade will take over Mott Street this Sunday (from Hester to Chrystie). "The spectacle features elaborate floats, marching bands, lion and dragon dances galore, Asian musicians, magicians, acrobats and procession by local organizations." Over 5,000 are expected to march, and at the end is an outdoor cultural festival (on Bayard Street) featuring more performances by musicians, dancers and martial artists.
Sunday // 1 p.m. // Mott Street // Free
