concerts, outdoor activities and parties in NYC for free

August 8
Asian Dub Foundation at Prospect Park Bandshell
British punk-influenced electronica outfit Asian Dub Foundation performs a live score to THX 1138 (1971), George Lucas' first feature film. What's not to like? For more info, visit bricartsmedia.org.
August 8
Black Bananas at South Street Seaport
Singer-songwriter and record producer Jennifer Herrema's band Black Bananas, known for noisy, distortion-filled indie rock with electronic dance sounds, performs a free show as part of the Seaport Music Festival. Shockwave Riderz open the show. For more info, visit seaportmusicfestival.com.
August 9
Motown Gospel Revue at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
SummerStage presents this evening of gospel, pop and R&B, featuring artists Tasha Cobbs, Smokie Norful, Pastor Charles Jenkins, VaShawn Mitchell and others. For more info, visit summerstage.com.

August 9
Rosanne Cash at Damrosch Park
As part of Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Cash brings her rock, country and blues sensibility to the City. For more info, visit lcoutofdoors.org.

August 9
St. Vincent at Prospect Park Bandshell
Singer-songwriter Annie "St. Vincent" Clark plays this hometown show, showcasing her self-titled album released earlier this year, which features songs like "Birth in Reverse" and "Digital Witness." (Sidebar: her performance of "Lithium" at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was fairly stellar.) For more info, visit bricartsmedia.org.
Friday, August 8
Luke Bryan
Where: Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
When: 7–9am
Watch country singer Luke Bryan perform in Central Park during an early morning set as part of Good Morning America's "Fun in the Sun" summer concert series. Expect to hear songs off Bryan's newest album, Crash My Party, which includes the number-one Billboard country chart hit "That's My Kind of Night."

summer Streets
August 9 and 16
For three Saturdays in August, the sounds of honking horns and idling delivery trucks give way to the gentle footfalls of pedestrians and the ring-a-ding-ding of bicycle bells. From 7am to 1pm, a corridor connecting Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park—long stretches of Lafayette Street and Park Avenue, and a few connecting streets—will be closed to motor vehicles and open to the public for biking, strolling, dancing and aimless peregrinating. There are five "rest stops" along the way, though that's something of a misnomer, as they'll be offering activities galore—mini golf, a climbing wall, parkour, learn-to-ride bicycling classes (and free bike rentals), yoga and a 165-foot zip line across Foley Square.
Saturday, August 9
Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival
Where: Flushing Meadows Corona Park
When: 10:30am–4pm
A colorful multicultural tradition, this festival paddles back to Flushing Meadows Corona Park for a weekend-long celebration (the official Dragon Boat Festival holiday is the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar—or June 2—but events are held at different times). The fest gets its name from the roughly 180 dragon boat teams from around the world that come to race on the Queens park's lake. Back on shore, expect plenty of traditional food and live entertainment, martial arts demonstrations from the monks of the Shaolin Temple, lion dance performances, Chinese crafts and children's activities. Races take place throughout the day.

New York International Fringe Festival
August 8–24
A brief synopsis can't do the New York International Fringe Festival justice. FringeNYC brings together more than 200 companies from down the street and around the globe for some 1,200 performances on 18 stages in 17 days. Musicals, mash-ups, solo shows, comedies, tragedies, parodies, performance art, puppetry...you get the picture. FringeCENTRAL, new this year, gives theatergoers a place to find their bearings, get information on individual shows and buy tickets in advance (sans online "convenience" fees); it's scheduled to open on July 25, well before opening night. Until then, you can find a complete schedule of shows online, at fringenyc.org.

Great Jazz on the Great Hill
Date: August 9, 2014, 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Location: The Great Hill
Inside the Park at West 103rd – 106th Streets
Bring your picnic blanket and dancing shoes! Join us for an afternoon of live music and dancing. This year's line-up includes:
Wycliffe Gordon
T.S. Monk
Alyson Williams
with special guests!
Make sure to take a break and enjoy delicious food truck fare from Domo Taco Japanese inspired tacos, Uncle Gussy's authentic Greek food, Rouge Tomate healthy bistro bites, and CoolHaus gourmet ice cream sandwiches!
http://www.centralparknyc.org/calendar/events/great-jazz-on-the-great-hill-080914.html

Saturdayat 9:00pm - 11:00pm Light saber battle
Washington Square Park
newmindspace.myshopify.com
Lightsabers available to reserve in advance: https://newmindspace.myshopify.com/products/color-changing-lightsaber

SoulFULL MOON Dance Celebration
Saturday at 5:00pm
Havemeyer Park Brooklyn
https://www.facebook.com/events/259149584292178/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Sunday, August 10
Americanafest NYC
Where: David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center & Damrosch Bandshell Park
When: 1pm and 5pm
The Americana Music Association and Lincoln Center Out of Doors have teamed up to launch Americanafest NYC, a free four-day concert series (August 6–10) featuring some big names, such as Emmylou Harris and Rosanne Cash. The final day includes an early afternoon screening of Heroes of American Roots, with archival footage of performances by Elvis Presley, Johnny and June Cash and Woody Guthrie. Later in the day, the funk act Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, soul band St. Paul and the Broken Bones and blues singer Bobby Patterson will play at the band shell and help put the fest to rest.

Super moon and a meteor shower
When the full moon coincides with being closest to Earth, or perigee, it is called a supermoon.
The annual Perseid meteor shower could entertain us with as many as 100 shooting stars an hour; it's expected to peak between Aug. 10 and 13, then last for one week. The Perseid shower is created when debris from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet hits the Earth's atmosphere. The super moon, which happens four to six times a year, occurs when the moon is 30,000 miles closer to Earth than usual.

Astronomer Tony Berendsen told ABC News that the best time to see the showers is at 2 a.m. "Because the moon will be incredibly bright in the earlier evening, the smaller showers will not be a match," he said.