SATURDAY, October 4
A good way to convince your friends to move to New York despite having no money is to point out that in this city there are so many great things to do that are free! They will ask you what, and you will reply, firmly, “Concerts in the park.” That’s not the only free thing: there are also movies in the park. However, the main thing is to convince them that their life will be one long festival of song, while they picnic on … nothing. Food from places like Whole Foods is comically expensive. They might also point out to you that there are not concerts in the park after summer. And, to be honest, this is a good time to get really quiet and think about your life choices. Not today, though! Madison Square’s musical performances continue well into fall. On the fourth, they’re featuring folk groups Dom Flemons and The Brain Cloud. People are going to be playing banjos, and the weather will be beautiful, and you will be so glad you live here as you listen to musical stylings that originated in Appalachia (there is not one single free concert in the park in Appalachia). Madison Square Park, 3-5 p.m., free,
SUNDAY, October 5
Remember when Citi Bikes hit the scene? Suddenly we were all biking around like JFK Jr. That was a nice few weeks when we all got into being really green, and enjoying those bikes after having very small, low calorie sodas. Some days I miss Bloomberg, the way I miss the high school gym teacher who tried to casually work the fact that maybe we should just be walking everyplace, that would be fun, right, guys, God gave us feet to walk despite the fact that at the time my inclination was to take a line from Calvin and Hobbes and remark that God gave us feet to work the gas pedal. Those Citi Bikes mostly sit unused now, except when people are drunk and nostalgic. But the important thing is that we learned something. And this weekend you can take advantage of those biking skills as Bike MS New York City offers a traffic-free 30 mile route circling Manhattan, or a traffic free ride through the Holland Tunnel. Proceeds go towards the National MS Society, and it will almost certainly be more fun than sitting in the back of a taxicab. 12th Ave. and W. 46th St., 10 a.m.-2 p.m., $75
