UWS Weekend: Great Things to Do in and Around the Neighborhood

By Tracy Zwick

There are still a couple of weeks of summer left and, whether you prefer sports or the arts, there’s plenty to do. So … let’s weekend!

August 15th to 18th

Get Ready for the U.S. Open: Fan Week starts Monday, August 18th and goes through August 23rd at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens; free (Free Fan Access Passes available online now)

It’s time again for the U.S. Open, one of four annual elite Grand Slam tennis tournaments, alongside Wimbledon, the French Open and the Australian Open. It grabs the world’s attention for a few weeks in late August through early September, and it takes place just a short ride from the UWS on the No. 7 train. On Monday, it kicks off with Fan Week and its qualifying tournament, when you can go for free and watch the best tennis players in the world, plus some up-and-comers, practice and compete to advance to the finals where they could take home a $5 million prize, the largest purse in tennis history.  Get your free Fan Access pass here, and you’ll gain access to some special on-site experiences and the ability to sit courtside at Arthur Ashe Stadium while top players practice.

You can also purchase tickets to the revamped Mixed Doubles Championship (starting around $45), which takes place Tuesday, August 19th and Wednesday, August 20th. It features pairings such as Venus Williams and Reily Opelka; World No. 4 Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul; and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro. The Mixed Doubles winners get a cool $1 million.

Watch WSR for much more on the U.S. Open, ways to experience it and how UWSers are working, volunteering at and competing on tennis’s biggest stage.

Practice cheering for the NYC Marathon at New York Road Runners’ Tune-up 12-Mile Race: Saturday, August 16th, 7 a.m., Central Park; free

Sorry athletes, the race is sold out, but there’s plenty of space in Central park for athletic supporters. Make signs, bring cowbells and pack yourself some coffee for this 7 a.m. race that has runners traversing the entire Central Park Loop — twice.  It’s the first of two NYRR-sponsored marathon-training races and a great opportunity to prep your signs and be moved by the grit and determination of these future marathoners as they tune up for the big race on November 2nd.

Movies, music & “Monstrous Beauty”

If art’s more your thing than athletics, there’s plenty of culture close to home this weekend. The Met’s “intriguing” feminist take on chinoiserie and porcelain closes Sunday. “Monstrous Beauty” highlights a decorative style that swept Europe until the 19th century and encompassed Europe’s fantasies of the East “and fixations on the exotic, along with new ideas about women, sexuality, and race.”

Jackson Browne’s playing The Beacon Theater on Broadway between West 74th and 75th streets Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. The 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is finishing up a four-show stand at the Beacon.

There’s also “Noise,” a film by Kim Soo-jin at Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center this Monday, August 18th. It’s a New York premiere and part of Film at Lincoln Center’s “Scary Movies XIII” showcase. Described by NY Magazine as a “wicked Korean chiller … about a woman who returns to the apartment she used to share with her sister, who’s vanished.” See it at 6:15 p.m., before it gets dark out!

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