Summer time, love and lust are in the air, and hormones are a jumpin’. It’s time to try and go on a date. However, there’s the problem of figuring out what to do and, potentially even more important, how to impress your new lady without spending a whole lot.
Well, thank the lord above that you’re living in the only city that matters! Being in the City gives you plenty of fodder for dates at any time of the year, but this season in particular provides a plethora of opportunities. Here are just a few different date ideas that will either cost you nothing or close to nothing.
Free Outdoor Concerts
To start things off right, seeing a free outdoor show can be a tremendous amount of fun. Music can sometimes form an even tighter bond than movies. So if you and your newfound friend can be bopping together to Ted Leo or They Might Be Giants, good times can happen afterwards. The big kahuna of outdoor shows is Central Park Summerstage. Coming up next, we have a Shel Silverstein tribute this Saturday, for those women and men who want to indulge their inner child. Sunday is the main free indie rock show with the headlining act being a group called Friendly Fires, which, according to the Summerstage website, mixes, “kinetic art-funk, electronic euphoria and stadium-sized anthems.” And hey, aren’t all those elements, just like chocolate and peanut butter or the two of you on this date, meant to be together?
Walking Through The Most Beautiful Blocks Of NYC
As of now, the City hasn’t tried to raise revenue by charging people for walking, yet. Which is a good thing, because there are so many beautiful streets to walk on that will enchant many a soul. In particular, Fort Greene is one of the most quintessential brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods around, and with S. Portland Ave. betweenDeKalb Ave. and Lafayette Ave., you have one of the most prefect blocks in the entire city. People say that Times Square is a theme park nowadays, but if people walked this block, they’d feel like they’d been taken to the epitome of what a New York City street should look like. It’s the kind of ideal look that allows your woman to be enchanted with the city while you only had to pay the price of a Metrocard.
Greatest Happy Hour Special at Keybar
You could be like this happy couple!
If you’re going for a casual bar meet-up for a first date, why not go to one which has the greatest, least heralded happy hour of all time? From all the way up to10 pmon Tuesday-Saturday, and lasting all night long on Sundays and Mondays, it’s two for one drinks at Keybar. While you spend money, you end up spending less on such amazing concoctions as the Mango Madras, the Shango Tango, and, possibly most thrilling of all, the Rolo Vodka shot, which tastes like pure candy alcohol in your mouth. Why not start things off on a sweet note for the sweet person you’re going out with? Plus, there’s a more dance-y vibe hanging over the weekend, allowing you to strut your stuff after plenty of liquid courage, which always goes over well.
Free Outdoor Movies
Finally, there’s a fork in the road, where you can either go down the path of least resistance, go to your local cinema, pay $13 a person and who knows how much else on snacks and drinks, and see the latest blockbuster. Or you carve a different path, save the money, and go and see a movie outdoors in a park, enjoying nature, film, and the person you’re with equally. There are plenty of choices for parks. The most famous one is the one sponsored by HBO in Bryant Park every Monday when the sun goes down. In addition to a classic Looney Tunes cartoon, Bryant Park is known for a top notch selection of classic films. For the rest of August, you and your honey could surely go see Airplane!, enjoy the beginning of Humphrey Bogart in High Sierra, or feel really lucky with Dirty Harry. However, being the most famous also means being the most crowded. For an alternative, Epix, the poor man’s HBO, has launched a brand new outdoor film series in parks all over the city. Speaking for the Tompkins Square Park series, which screens every Thursday, there is no need to get there super early, as there’s plenty of space and no line to get in. In addition to the film, there’s live music beforehand, a free photo taken of you and your date that can be viewed online the next day, and you might end up with a short film that is really, really inappropriate for little kids. The next showing is a reminder of Mickey Rourke when he looked good, The Pope Of Greenwich Village, followed by Kick-Ass, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Godfather. If you’re with a woman who’s interested in any of these films, you know you’ve hit the jackpot before the date even begins. [NY Pudding, Scott Goldfarb]