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Six Things to Do This Weekend

By Daniel Jumpertz | April 11, 2014 8:26am
 The weekend's most exciting events are here for you in one handy guide.
Get Out and Do This - Events Friday, April 11
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Friday, April 11
Chow down on delicacies from the city’s finest curb-side kitchens on the Food Cart Tour of Midtown. Led by Turnstile Tours, a progressive organisation founded by activist Cindy VandenBosch, the two hour walking tour includes a guide, six tastings, a bottle of water and map postcard. The menu rotates depending on availability but may include lamb off the bone, chicken and rice with tamarind sauce, Korean short ribs, kati rolls and Mexican chocolate brownies. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays, meet at the northwest corner of 42nd St and Sixth Avenue in front of the Bank of America Tower, Midtown. Advanced purchase of the tickets ($48) is required.

It’s not every day you have the opportunity of taking a luxurious overnight “gong bath” at a boutique hotel. Tonight, a special performance “Tonight I Am A Ceremonial Dagger” is taking place at Williamsburg’s Wythe Hotel. Led by a Kundalini Yoga teacher, Paramatma Siri Sadhana and percussionist John Colpitts (Kid Millions, Oneida, Man Forever and Spiritualized) the gong is tuned to vibrate at the same frequency as the human body, allowing the body to deeply self-synchronize and heal itself. A guided meditation will open and close the session. Organizers are encouraging guests to arrive an hour early, bring sleeping gear and prepare to stay for the night. Tickets are $108. From 11 p.m. Wythe Hotel, 80 Wythe Ave, Williamsburg.

Saturday, April 12
One of the benefits of being a Transit Museum member is that you have the opportunity to take exclusive field trips unavailable to mere mortals. The completion of City Hall Station in 1904 marked a moment of great civic pride in New York City. The station was the original southern terminal station of the first line of the New York City Subway and was decommissioned in 1945. The station remains in great condition, with  graceful curves, elegant chandeliers, leaded skylights and a vaulted tile ceiling. Tours of the so-called “Jewel In The Crown” are only available to Transit Museum members — join here. There are more tours of City Hall Station on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 22. City Hall Station, Park Row & City Hall Park, Civic Center, various times, tour — $50 MTA membership.

These days, Bill Cunningham is the celebrated 85 year old fashion photographer for The New York Times, well known for his candid takes on street fashion and New York’s party scene.  He’s even had an acclaimed film — Bill Cunningham New York — made about his life. In 1968, ten years before he was regularly published in the New York Times, he embarked on an ambitious eight-year project to document the architectural riches and fashion history of New York City. The project, “Facades,” was created by Cunningham scouting locations on his bike and photographing models dressed in period costumes amid historic settings. Cunningham donated the 88 silver gelatin prints from the series to the New York Historical Society in 1976. They are on show until June 15. From 10 a.m. — 6 p.m., 70 Central Park West at 77th Street, Upper West Side, $18.

Sunday, April 13
It was William Shakespeare who wrote "All the world's a stage.” In “Accomplice,” New York City’s bars, street corners and iconic landmarks become your stage for a unique urban theatrical scavenger hunt. Created by siblings Betsy and Tom Salamon in 2005, the inspiration for Accomplice, as Tom explains, “came from just loving to people watch in NYC, and all the quirky, crazy people that you see on any given day.” The day before the show, you will be given a meeting time and location for the start of your two-and-a-half hour adventure. Tickets are $80.

BikeNYC.org, an info resource for and by NYC cyclists, got together with Tenement Museum educator Emily Galllagher to plan a Citi Bike tour spotlighting the fascinating history of the Lower East Side. Here are the destinations.
1. Corlear's Hook Park — south side of Cherry Street between Jackson Street and FDR Drive. One of New York City's first parks, it was also a site for prostitutes who solicited business from workers on the nearby shipyards.
2. Henry Street Settlement (334 Madison Street), west side of Gouverneur Street near Madison Street. Lillian Wald founded Henry Street Settlement in 1893 as a venue to provide affordable nursing services, education and advocacy for the poor immigrant community living on the Lower East Side.
3. Strauss Square — south side of Canal Street near Rutgers Street. Strauss Square is adjacent to the station. Strauss Square served as New York City's radical "Speaker's Corner" at the turn of the 20th century.
4. Five Points and The Bowery — south side of Bayard Street near Baxter Street. Columbus Park is adjacent to the station. Charles Dickens once dubbed Five Points "The Worst Neighborhood in the World."
Check out bikenyc.org for further historical background on all four destinations.