The Best Things To Do In NYC This Week: From Brasil Summerfest To Meowmania

Midsummer: A Banquet @ Café Fae

From the folks who created the extremely funny Shake & Bake: Love’s Labour’s Lost comes a new foray into interactive Shakespearian dinner theater. Midsummer: A Banquet is co-produced by Third Rail Projects (of Then She Fell fame), and the menu is being handled by award-winning food-designer Emilie Baltz. It adds up to a 360-degree theatrical experience combined with a multi-course tasting menu served by the actors throughout the play. The show runs through the first week of September.

Opens Tuesday, July 16th // Café Fae, Manhattan (exact address with RSVP) // Tickets: $75–$200

Society for the Advancement of Social Studies @ Caveat

After a long hiatus, clever lecture series Society for the Advancement of Social Studies is back and at a new Lower East Side location. The theme for the evening will be digging up dirt on the history of our city. Lecture topics range from the history of Manhattan's newspapers to Gilded Age gossip.

Wednesday, July 17th, 6:30 p.m. // Caveat, 21A Clinton St., Manhattan // Tickets: $10

Twice the Moon @ The High Line

For four years, the Out of Line series has presented intriguing, experimental, and playful contemporary art on the High Line every month. The latest site-specific performance, Twice the Moon, comes courtesy of Bex Kwan and Sophia Mak, two of the artists in the queer Chinese group Mooncake Collective. The intimate work takes inspiration from fireside storytelling, Chinese opera, and shadow puppetry.

Wednesday, July 17th, and Thursday, July 18th, 8 p.m. // The High Line, 14th St., Manhattan // Free

Explore serious social issues under cover of a playful escape room, Thursday (photo by Talisman Brolin)

The Privilege of Escape @ Onassis USA

What can an escape room teach us about the social dynamics of privilege? Sculptor and installation artist Risa Puno set out to answer that question in her new art experience, presented by Creative Time. The Privilege of Escape does present an escape room, filled with a series of sculptural puzzles that attendees works together to solve, but Puno's aim is for the project to have additional meaning beneath the playful exterior, inviting open-minded dialogue about the role privilege plays in all of our lives. The experience takes about an hour; it will be on view through August 11th.

Opens Thursday, July 18th // Onassis USA, 645 5th Ave., Manhattan // Free; advance registration required

Summer Done Right @ Bronx Brewery

Quench your thirst for music and art—and, of course, beer—at the Bronx Brewery's marquee warm-weather series, Summer Done Right. The day-long party brings together old-school hip-hop and R&B acts Flawless, Ray Gats, JFuse, and Rich Kidd. There will also be a selection of visual artists onhand from their Up & Comers platform, through which local artists design custom logos for limited-edition brews and receive a portion of the sales. Plus food from the Fried Kitchen.

Saturday, July 20th, 12 p.m. // Bronx Brewery, 856 East 136th St., Bronx // Tickets: $10

See a slew of splendid belly-dancers at Harlem Hafla (photo by Monzeeki Photography)

Harlem Hafla @ National Black Theater

Shake your body with Sisters of Sharqui at Harlem Hafla, a day of workshops followed by a night of performances in North African belly-dancing. Classes begin with a taste of the basics and then get more advanced, with Amar Gamal teaching attendees how to find their own signature style and Yasser Darwish sharing folkloric Saidi dance moves from his native Egypt. Then the teachers become the performers in an evening extravaganza that also features Somra El Nubia, Khuzama Lavender, Zenaide Zeina, Natalia Perlaza, Troupe Asmara, and many more.

Saturday, July 20th, workshops 10 a.m.; performance 7 p.m. // National Black Theater, 2031 5th Ave., Harlem // Tickets: $25 and up

Meowmania @ Rubulad

Cuddle a cadre of kittehs at Meowmania, a fête and fundraiser for feline fanatics. Expect a broad array of activities and treats, including tons of cat swag, flash "cattoos," cat-themed-outfit contests, selfies with kittens, and of course, furry friends available for adoption. The fluffy party is presented by Whiskers-a-GoGo, North Brooklyn Cats, and Bushwick Street Cats, and proceeds will go to local cat-rescue orgs.

Saturday, July 20th, 2 p.m. // Rubulad, Bushwick (address with RSVP) // Tickets: $5 suggested

NYC Summer Ice Cream Blizzard @ Grand Bazaar

Summer is fully, scorchingly here, so go get some sweet relief at the fourth-annual NYC Summer Ice Cream Blizzard. The event brings together a plethora of artisanal creameries to cool you down, with plenty of unique and unusual flavors. Plus the Grand Bazaar's regular 130+ curated artists, designers, craft-makers, vintage dealers, and food vendors will all be around to browse while you slurp, and proceeds will go to four neighborhood schools.

Sunday, July 21st, 10 a.m. // Grand Bazaar, 100 West 77th St., Manhattan // Free

Brasil Summerfest Street Fair @ Hester Street Fair

Transport yourself to someplace even hotter (if you can stand it) at the Brasil Summerfest Street Fair, a day to sample the sounds, tastes, and culture of Brazil. There will be music by Tupi Collective and all-female Afro-Brazilian drum ensemble Batala New York, vendors selling everything from soap to clothing, and all kinds of food: churrasco, samba bowls, feijoada, pão de quejio, acarajé, brigadeiros, and more. The fair kicks off Brasil Summerfest, the world's largest contemporary Brazilian music & arts festival outside of Brazil, which will feature 33 artists at 15 venues over the next two weeks

Sunday, July 21st, 12 p.m. // Hester Street Fair, Essex St., Manhattan // Free

Leave the city behind at the Great Forgotten Garden Party (photo by Nick Curran)

Great Forgotten Garden Party @ Untermyer Gardens

Note: Due to this weekend's extreme heat advisory, this event has been postponed until next Sunday, July 28th. More here.

Step back into the past at one of Atlas Obscura's signature immersive events: the third-annual Great Forgotten Garden Party. Hosted at the onetime home of Samuel and Minnie Untermyer, who were renowned for their turn-of-the-century soirées, attendees are invited to roam the grounds and happen upon performances all evening long. The strange delights run the gamut, from theremin virtuoso Armen Ra to bug-whisperer Aaron Rodriques; from otherworldly butoh dancers Corpus Callosum to groove-oriented psychedelic musicians Mr Twin Sister. Picnics are welcome (though no outside alcohol) and festive attire is encouraged.

Sunday, July 21st, 5 p.m. // Untermyer Gardens, 945 North Broadway, Yonkers // Tickets: $70