How on earth are we now in the last month of summer?! Let’s not acknowledge that. But what I will chat about, is everything that’s going on in New York City this month! If you live here or nearby and are looking for some great activities and pop ups or are planning a trip out here, you’ll have to check out all of these happenings! It’s been incredibly hot this summer, so friendly reminder to stay hydrated and sunscreened up during these events!
Brooklyn is My Happy Place
This summer pop up is located at City Point, Brooklyn. Saturday, July 30th, beginning at 10AM, the pop up will launch! There are tons of activities for kids, like making t-shirts and bags, workshops, dance classes, photo opportunities, a live DJ and so much more! Tickets are online for the classes and all it’s running through the month of August!
Photography: City Point
Pop in the City
This Friday, an immersive experience opens up in NYC! In Midtown, you enter via a slide (how cool!) and see a whole new abstract take on the city. It’s a 120 ft walk-through inflatable. There are live DJ’s, disco balls, fun lighting, giant ball pits and so much more! This is something to bring the whole family to, which is always a plus! It will run for 4 weeks.
Image: Pop in the City
Seaport Dance Nights
Is anyone interested in free dance lessons?! Every week, The Seaport will have free 45 minute dance lessons! This is perfect for a date night, you guys! Following the lessons, is a 45 minute dance party for anyone who would like to stay. The schedule is as follows:
August 10: Country Dance Night – learn country 2-step and try some line dances. Don’t forget to bring your hat!
· August 17: Wednesday Night Fever – learn to boogie down to retro and modern disco tunes. Then, channel your inner John Travolta and enter our disco dance competition.
· August 24: It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that SWING! Learn to dance the upbeat, energetic, magnificent swing, and enjoy the infectious music.
· August 31: Latin Night – move those hips while learning salsa, bachata, and merengue and dance the night away under the stars.
Image: The Seaport
Hudson Yards Family Fun
Hudson Yards has really fun play classes for kids 0-5 in the month of August! Union Square Play is teaming up with ByHear to create some fantastic family fun! The classes range from music to sensory play to watching a puppet show. You can sign up for classes here, and they begin August 4th.
Image: Hudson Yards New York
Spend the Day at Governor’s Island
As summer comes to a close, Governor’s Island has some really cool things going on! The ferry ride is less than 10 minutes and very scenic, might I add! FAD Market will be on Governor’s Island on the 20th and 21st, where you can shop around and enjoy some food and drinks. It’s a great place to get gifts, too. The Rite of Summer Music Festival is on the 20th, as well as the Inventgenuity Festival, which is taking place that whole weekend. There will be tons of activities and performances for kids. A few other things to check out at the Market are the Bee Conservatory and GrowNYC’s Teaching garden. This is only a taste of the fun there, bring the whole family!
Photography: Governor’s Island
Jason Mraz at Pier 17
Who else is a Jason Mraz fan?! Well he’s coming to perform at Pier 17, where they host a ton of outdoor concerts through September. Jason is performing Friday, August 5th and you can check out their site to see all the musicians scheduled the rest of the summer! This is a great activity to do with friends and they have some of the best views!
Image: Pier 17
Watch the U.S. Open
You don’t need to be a tennis fan to get tickets to the US. Open Tennis Championships. In fact, it’s more of a great life experience to go! This is definitely one of the bigger happenings this month, and while tickets are still on sale, you’ll want to snag them as soon as you can! The matches begin at the end of August- August 29th and run through September 11th. Don’t worry if you won’t be able to attend in person, as they are televised in the United States! Who is your favorite player?!
Photography: U.S. Open
NYC Restaurant Week
If you don’t know what restaurant week is, let me fill you in! It’s only one of the best few weeks in the big apple! Basically, a bunch of restaurants come up with great deals with prix-fixe menus. This summer, it’s actually running for an entire 30 days! Check out the list of participating restaurants and bring your friends! Make sure to make reservations, though.
Image: NYC Go
The MET’s Sun Sets
The MET has a super fun summer event happening every single Friday and Saturday night from 5:30-8:30. They are free with museum admission, and what they are doing is having rooftop parties to showcase diversity and celebrate electronic music culture. It’s first come first serve, so you’ll want to make sure to arrive on time, if not early! You can find this event at the Cantor Roof Garden on Floor 5. One thing is for sure, it’s going to be a great time!
Photography: The MET
Portside Pop Up
Portside is an “al fresco lounge” on the waterfront behind Brookfield Place. They will be there all summer long and they have everything you’re looking for with a night out with friends or even a date night! You can find happy hour bites and drinks there, as well as some of the very best sunsets this summer has to offer. New Yorkers, you have to check this spot out! It’s a great way to spend a weekend or weekday night!
Photography: Brookfield Place
See a Broadway Show
Broadway has been back, baby! Have you gone to see any shows lately? I recommend The Phantom of the Opera, Dear Evan Hansen (Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things is on now), Chicago, Beetlejuice, Funny Girl and The Kite Runner. Check out their site for ticket availability and consider supporting the arts, they are always there to cheer us up, even during tough times!
Go To Poster House Block Party
Free event alert!! Who doesn’t love free events?! On August 6th, Poster House is hosting their first ever block party from 12PM-5PM in the Flatiron Plaza. You can expect performances, activities, giveaways, free museum tours and so much more! To get into a bit more detail, there will be live screenprinting, poster giveaways and kids activities! So this is a very family friendly happening.
Image: Poster House
Mini Golf
There’s a new mini golf spot in town! Swingers is made for adults and has super fun things like cocktails, gourmet street food and overall a party atmosphere. I think this is a great date night idea or you can go with a bunch of friends! I’m not kidding, the food and cocktails are seriously so good!
Photography: Swingers
Go to a Sample Sale
What is more NYC shopping than a good sample sale? One of my favorite sales companies is 260 Sample Sale. They announce a ton of info on their Instagram page, including prices of items, which is super helpful. And a week heads up of what’s to come. Some of the sales are online, as well, so anyone can shop them! The items range from clothing to shoes to accessories to bedding and kids clothes and so much more. But the brands are all outstanding!
Photography: @260samplesale on IG
Free Kayaking
If you’re into the outdoors and want to cool down near the water, try any of the free kayaking spots the city has to offer! We are experiencing one of the hottest summers in a very long time, and while I don’t recommend swimming in the water here at all, you can get close to it in a kayak! And it’s one of the best free things!
Photography: TimeOut c/o Etienne Frossard
Hamptons Day or Weekend Trip
If you’ve ever been to the east coast, you know the Hamptons is the place to be! There are so many things to do out there, and I actually have an entire blogpost on it! But you can totally rent a car with friends and just go for the day and check out the beach, eat and shop or make a whole weekend out of it!
Find a Pool
If you don’t have a pool in your apartment building or at the hotel you’re staying at, it can be difficult to go out and find one. Here’s a great post that offers information on the best pools in the city. You can find one that is kid-friendly or one to sip cocktails by and cool down this month. It almost feels like the average temperature lately is 100 degrees! Governors Island has a spa that recently opened with a pool that has a stunning view of the Statue of Liberty!
Grab Brunch
There are so many great brunch spots in the city, it’s nearly impossible to narrow in on a place to book a reservation. I have a few blogposts with great recommendations that I will link here! If you can find a rooftop for brunch, that is bonus points! The West Village and Greenwich Village are some of the best places for brunch and they’re easily accessible via public transportation.
Check Out Rooftop Bars
I have a bunch of information on the blog about my favorite rooftop bars and rooftop restaurants! Views are a huge factor, but the food and cocktails need to be worth it, as well! Make a whole day out of it and check out little island, walk the high line and then finish the night at a rooftop bar!
Spend the Day in Williamsburg
Williamsburg is in Brooklyn and easily accessible from the L train from midtown. If you’re unfamiliar, Williamsburg is a great spot to do some vintage shopping, check out a flea market like Artists and Fleas and have a good time at Smorgasburg, checking out all the food vendors. Domino park is also one of the great things about the area, it’s an adorable park with next level views of Manhattan! There are great spots for live music (Brooklyn Bowl) and really good bars (Barcade), as well!
Photography: Your Brooklyn Guide
Shakespeare in the Park
The Public Theater is moving onto the last Shakespeare show for the summer months in early August! A musical adaptation of As You Like It premieres August 10th and runs through September 11th. Tickets are free, but you do need to book them so they know how many people to expect!
Image: The Public Theater
Seltzerland
Good news for all seltzer fans! On August 6th at Pier 36, Seltzerland is coming to town! There will be over 100 seltzer companies, games like corn hole and golf, seltzer pong, pizza, a DJ and so many photo opportunities for you and your friends! I think this sounds like the best time and they do go all over the country, so this August, it’s New York’s turn!
Photography: Seltzerland
For more NYC things to do, visit here!
18 thoughts on “Everything to do in NYC in the Month of August”
There are so many amazing spots to enjoy in New York City! I really love all the family-friendly spots.
Oh totally! SO many family friendly options!
There is always something to do in New York City! If I was there, I think I would focus on Restaurant Week and anything else that has to do with food and drink, like the rooftop bars.
I hope to head to the city in a few weeks for a couple of nights. I am going to bookmark this post so I can refer back to it for ideas. Thanks!
Yes! Come to NYC! There’s always so much to do!
So many great events and things happening! Would love to take a trip to NYC!
Wow, sounds like you have a lot of options! There’s gotta be something here for everyone. We have restaurant week in Houston, too, but I’ve never done it before.
I love restaurant week!
These are awesome things to do. People have fun in NYC in the summer.
Yes! So much fun!
Time flies quickly. I cannot believe we are already in August. But the best thing to do is to be present and just enjoy our time with these fun activities. I’d love to visit Hamptons before August ends.
I know! I can’t believe it’s August!
NYC is really a happening city. Many years back we visited there and we really enjoyed. You have mentioned some fun filled activities for people to do in NYC . And just now I realized half of the year gone already. Its August now!!
I would really love to go to NYC with my family! There’s a lot of amazing things to do there, so wonderful!
Ooohhhh…I love the sound of the New York Restaurant Week and the US Open! Fooding would be first, everyday in that week.
I think we’d love the mini golf place! Those look like great places to visit.
New York sounds really awesome the way you put it. Maybe one day I will take a trip there.
These are some great ideas and fun places to visit in August in NYC. I like to thought of enjoying a good match