ART, PARTIES AND MUSIC, CULTURAL EVENTS THIS WEEKEND

LIC Arts Open
Galleryhoppers know to head to Chelsea and Dumbo to see and be seen in the art world, but rising rent continually pushes creative types to seek more under-the-radar locales. Those who have landed in Long Island City are putting their burgeoning arts community on display with the LIC Arts Open. Check out exhibits, openings (many with free booze) and performances, including live Brazilian tunes at restaurant Beija Flor (9pm–2am), a drink-and-draw session at art space Local Project (7pm–midnight) and contemporary classical vocal group Face the Music at the Secret Theatre (8pm; $20). Come back Saturday and Sunday for more activities, and to investigate the ’hood’s 160 active artist studios. Various locations and times.
Queens. Until Sun May 18


Celebrate Brooklyn! Dance Parties
The formula for this trio of weekly dance parties is a sly one: Ply the crowd with a dance lesson, and maybe a beer (the fiesta’s just a chassé away from Brooklyn Bridge Garden Bar), and they’ll be sure to get down when a funky dance-band–DJ combo takes the stage. The May 8 affair boasts an exotic Eastern European vibe with a tutorial from reps of local belly-dance haven Dance of Venus followed by clubby tunes from folktronica trio Balkan Beat Box and DJ Joro-Boro, who got his start on the Lower East Side at Bulgarian watering hole Mehanata. Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn. Brooklyn Bridge Park Main St, at Fulton Ferry Landing, 11201
Thu May 22


SATURDAY

Union Square: Crossroads of New York
Union Square Partnership and Big Onion Walking Tours present this free, 90-minute jaunt around one of New York's best-worn junctions. You'll get the history of the bustling neighborhood, as well as of the square itself, named sensibly for its location at the union of Broadway and Fourth Avenue. Meet in front of the Lincoln statue, Union Square Park, enter at E 16th St and Union Sq. Subway: L, N, Q, R, 4, 5, 6 to 14th St–Union Sq. Union Square 14th St to 17th St, between Broadway and Park Ave South Sat May 17 - Sat Dec 27

New York Dance Parade. We know you like to shake what your mama gave you at your favorite watering hole, but did you know that “social dancing” in bars is technically illegal without a permit? Fight the man, Footloose-style, at the Eighth Annual New York Dance Parade & Festival, which was created to defend public dancing as a constitutional right. More than 10,000 dancers from across the globe will sashay, B-boy and conga their way along the route—stopping at the Union Square grandstand on the way to perform everything from ethnic folk dances to contemporary hip-hop. The promenade ends at Tompkins Square Park, where DanceFest—featuring more performances, lessons and parkwide social dancing—will already be under way. From Broadway and 21st St to Tompkins Square Park.


SUNDAY

WORLD FAIR IN QUEENS!

Sacred Sites Open House Weekend

Even if you’re not a godly guy or gal, New York Landmarks Conservancy offers a great chance to take a peek at the art and architecture of houses of worship across all five boroughs with its annual Sacred Sites Open House Weekend. This year’s 40-plus structures are organized around the theme “Sacred Sites and the Community: How Immigration and Migration Shape New York.” Visit St. Anselm’s Church in the Bronx—modeled after the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul—to learn about the Benedictine monks who decorated it so ornately. Or take a trip to the Museum at Eldridge Street to see how two Catholic immigrants designed an exquisite space for Jewish émigrés to escape the tenements and factories of the Lower East Side. Locations and times vary.