Hot Time, Summer in the City: 8 Events for the Dog Days

By Troy Segal

Feeling hot, hot, hot? No worries — here are some cool NYC performances, activities, and talks that reflect the best of all the summer fun and stimulation that the city has to offer.

PARTY ON: Attend a Bluegrass Bash, deep in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen, that features barbecue from leading local joints, some live R&B and excerpts from The People vs. Mona, a self-styled Southern-fried musical on July 12 … The next day, it’s three cheers for the tricouleur at the French Institute Alliance Francaise’s Bastille Day on 60th Street, July 13, a big block party that brings Gallic culture, crafts, music, and food to midtown Manhattan … The following week, festivities take on an Asian cast at the Rubin Museum of Art’s July 20 Chelsea Block Party, offering crafts demonstrations, musical performances and, of course, tasty chow.

SHOW TIME: Sit as still as the surrounding statuary, as the Museum of Modern Art’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden becomes the site of intimate jazz concerts on July 13 (featuring a premiere, complete with narration and tap dancer, by the Jonathan Ragonese Ensemble) and July 27 (the Helen Sung Quintet, whose namesake is a classical pianist who switched to syncopation early in her career) … Prefer a full-bodied philharmonic sound? The New York Philharmonic  takes it to the parks, as it does every summer — specifically, Central Park on July 14 and Van Cortlandt Park on July 15; both concerts feature violinist Joshua Bell and fireworks as a finale … And sway along to show tunes at the lunchtime Broadway in Bryant Park concerts, offering up excerpts from current musicals, every Thursday through August 14.

© Aaron Rose Courtesy Museum of the City of New York

ARTY TALK: Nothing says “NYC summer” like Coney Island. In the early 1960s, photographer Aaron Rose snapped a whole series at the beach there, currently on display at the Museum of the City of New York; learn about them in a curated gallery tour, July 27 … This year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Roof Garden exhibit is a mirrored glass maze, designed by artist Dan Graham and Günther Vogt; before or after losing yourself in it, head downstairs for a gallery talk that discusses Graham’s style and process, August 15.