By Tracy Zwick

It’s the best season of the year and the weather’s been late-summer perfection! For sports nuts like me, it’s a dream weekend. The NFL kicked off its first week of games last night; it’s U.S. Open finals weekend; there’s a pennant race on (let’s not discuss the White Sox); and it’s marathon season! It’s also Armory Week in New York City with major art fairs and gallery openings. The fall cultural calendar is suddenly chockablock with theater, museum shows, film festivals, performances, and some of the year’s most anticipated literary releases. We’ll get to all of it this fall, but for now I’ll share what I’m most excited about over the next few days. Let’s Weekend! 

September 6 – 9, 2024

Are You Ready for Some Football? 

This is one of the year’s great sports weekends. For one thing, it’s the first weekend of the regular NFL season. Football’s not for everyone, but I grew up on it in the Midwest. (Go Chicago Bears!) If you have YouTube TV’s Sunday Ticket, you’re probably staying home to watch. In that case, how about some take-out from Koko Wings on 106th Street & Broadway, or whipping up a quick 7-layer dip? (My hack is skipping all the individual seasonings and using a packet of prepared taco seasoning like Old El Paso’s instead). We’ve talked about great UWS sports bars before, including Bodega 88 on Columbus Avenue and 88th Street, and The Upside on Amsterdam Avenue near 89th. Get acquainted with the new kick-off rules and the Bears first-round draft pick, QB Caleb Williams – and have a great first weekend of football! Drop your favorite place to watch or shout out your team in the comments.

The NYRR’s New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile: From the Met to the Plaza on Fifth Avenue, Sunday September 8, starting at 7:20 a.m. and continuing through 1:00 p.m. with professional athletes running at 12:30 p.m. 

If running’s your thing, one of the year’s iconic road races is just across the park this Sunday. The NYRR’s New Balance 5th Avenue Mile starts at the Met and ends at the Plaza, from 80th Street to Grand Army Plaza along Fifth Avenue. I’m registered to run, but sadly if you aren’t, it’s too late to get in this year’s race. You can watch and cheer though, either in person or on WABC-TV, Channel 7 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., and streaming on ESPN+. The professional field for this race includes 20 athletes from the Paris games, including defending champ, British Olympic silver medalist Josh Kerr, and U.S. Olympic medalist and world champ Emma Coburn. Kerr won last year in 3:47.9. My goal time is significantly more modest. 

Last Chance for Tennis: U.S. Open Finals Fan Fest: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens (Saturday starting at noon, with the women’s final at 4:00 p.m.; Sunday starting at 2:00 p.m. with the men’s final at 4:00 p.m.)

If you regularly read this column you’ve shared in a couple of weeks of excitement about the U.S. Open tennis championships, which reach their apotheosis this weekend. The biggest events are the women’s singles final on Saturday starting around 4:00 p.m. and the men’s singles final on Sunday beginning at 2:00 p.m. For the first time in more than twenty years, both will feature Americans. Either Taylor Fritz or Francis Tiafoe will play in the men’s final, depending on who wins tonight’s primetime match; and Buffalo native Jessica Pegula will compete in the women’s final tomorrow. It’s a busy weekend for the Pegula family, which owns the Buffalo Bills. Courtside tickets go for thousands, but you can get in the USTA’s Billie Jean King Tennis Center with a grounds pass that costs around $30 and enjoy the Finals Fan Viewing Party with on-court seating inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. For an extra fee of around $30 you can stick around for an after party with live DJ and dancing. The men’s and women’s finals will be televised on ESPN.

Autumn Art Season Kicks Off, Independent 20th Century (Sept. 5-8, Casa Cipriani, 10 South Street, tickets from$45 to $120); Jacob El Hanani at Aquavella Galleries (Sept. 10 – Oct. 18, East 79th Street; free); Matvey Levenstein at Kasmin Gallery (Sept. 4 – 28, 514 West 28th Street; free)

One of the few areas where the UWS is lacking is in art galleries, especially since Susan Eley moved downtown in 2022. If you know of any, please drop them in the comments. I’m headed downtown on the 1 this weekend to Kasmin Gallery to see Matvey Levenstein’s newest paintings: small-scale landscapes and domestic interiors seeping with aura. I visited The Armory Show yesterday at Javits Center, so I can save you the trouble. Other than two lovely small Alex Katz studies for summer at Peter Blum Gallery and a standout booth at Sean Kelly featuring new and recent work by Alec Soth and Sam Moyer along with great stuff from the estate of ilse D’Hollander and Candida Höfer, this sprawling show was a miss for me. I’m eager to check out Independent 20th Century at Casa Cipriani, especially Nahmad Contemporary’s selection of work by Raoul Dufy. I’ve also got Moroccan-born artist Jacob El Hanani’s exhibition of recent drawings on my calendar. Opening night is open to all this Tuesday, September 10, from 6-8 p.m. at Aquavella Galleries on East 79th Street between Fifth and Madison avenues. Take the crosstown bus or a Citibike! His meticulous drawing work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney, MoMA, the Guggenheim, the British Museum, and many other world-class institutions. You can check out his latest drawings with me for free this Tuesday just across the park, or go anytime before the show closes Oct. 18. Check the gallery’s hours at the link above.

A Last Hurrah at Summerstage in Central Park: WNYC & Friends Centennial Celebration, Monday September 9, at 7:00 p.m., free, no RSVP required; Central Park at Rumsey Playfield (near East 71st Street & East Drive). 

 I’m a Brian Lehrer super fan, so I’ll be waiting when the gates open at 6:00 p.m. Monday to get into WNYC’s live radio broadcast celebrating the station’s 100th birthday from SummerStage in Central Park. (Summer’s not over yet, people!)  I have a crush on Ira Glass from “This American Life,” who’ll be there, along with John Schaefer, Brooke Gladstone, Alison Stewart, and other local public radio celebs. Freestyle Love Supreme, Laurie Anderson, and other musicians and DJs will perform. The show will be broadcast live on WNYC at 93.9FM, AM 820, wnyc.org or the WNYC app.

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