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

By Tracy Zwick

July 17th through 19th

“Women of the Wiener Werkstätte” at the Jewish Museum: 1109 5th Avenue at East 92nd Street; opening Friday, July 17th; open Thursdays to Mondays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with late hours (till 8 p.m.) on Thursdays; tickets here, starting at $10, children under 18 are free

I took a Citibike, but the bus or walking’s just as easy. This special show is worth a quick trip across the park, however you go. Paintings, ceramics, glassware, works on paper and lace, jewelry and dresses along with gorgeous Wiener Werkstätte playing cards, and two wonderful silent film clips comprise “WoWW” – an outstanding, efficiently laid-out exhibition that you can tackle in under an hour or linger over. It spotlights the women, many of whom were Jewish, who were part of the famous early 20th-century Vienna cooperative that was founded by Josef Hoffmann and known for bringing a new aesthetic sensibility to everyday products. The museum’s basement cafe, Lox, is a nice spot for a nosh before or after the show. The menu is full of Jewish comfort foods, from bagels to borscht to blintzes and babka. Salads and sandwiches are also on offer.

The Great Goat Graze-Off in Riverside Park: Saturday, July 18th from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at West 151st Street and West Side Highway (the lawn north of Ten Mile Playground); free

Riverside Park Conservancy’s kicking off the seventh year of its “Goatham” initiative with an afternoon of goats, live music, local food vendors, goat-themed games, crafts, and photo-ops. You’ll be able to “meet” 15 goats, including a few babies, and watch three competitors – Mallomar, Romeo, and Big Buddy – face-off in a goats-only eating competition. After the festivities, the goats will head to West 137th Street, where they’ll spend the rest of the summer grazing on invasive plants in the park, like poison ivy and mugwort.

“Fantasy Life” and “Reading Lolita in Tehran” at New Plaza Cinema: at the Museum of Arts & Design, 2 Columbus Circle (theater on lower level); tickets here 

I’ve been wanting to see “Fantasy Life,” Matthew Shear’s “warm, off-kilter dramedy” that came out this spring, starring Amanda Peet with a supporting cast that includes Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Alessandro Nivola and Andrea Martin. Shear will be on-site at New Plaza’s summer home at MAD this Saturday after the 4:30 show to talk about the film. Make it a double feature by hanging around for the 7:10 p.m. showing of ”Reading Lolita in Tehran,” the 2026 film based on Azar Nafisi’s best-selling 2003 memoir.

Watch the World Cup Final: Sunday, July 19th at noon on the Great Lawn in Central Park; free but tickets required

If you already registered and got free tickets to watch the World Cup final in Central Park on Sunday, you know where to go and what to do. For the rest of us, there are plenty of options for catching the big game with friends, neighbors and fellow fans. TVs are everywhere, from corner grocers like Six Corners Marketplace (on Broadway and West 106th Street), to restaurants like Cafe du Soleil (on Broadway near West 104th Street) and jazz clubs like Smoke (Broadway near West 106th Street), to sports bars like Bodega 88 (on Columbus at West 88th Street), and they’ll all be tuned to the final. WSR readers have shouted out The Upside (on Amsterdam near West 88th Street) and Reverie Room (on West 72nd Street between Verdi Square and Columbus Avenue) as good spots for watching the soccer. There’ll also be a free watch party on the deck of the Intrepid, and you can catch the game at some NYPL locations. The Museum of Art & Design is hosting a family party with art-making and a screening of the final, starting at 2 p.m. Drop your preferred venue in the comments!

Celebrate National Ice Cream Day with a Cup or Cone: Sunday, July 19th all day

I put together a guide to UWS ice cream two summers ago, and there are a few additions worth noting as we hit the heart of ice cream season. Salt & Straw on Amsterdam Avenue near West 77th Street hadn’t yet opened when the guide was published. In honor of the holiday, they’re offering a “build-your-own pint sundae” for $15 (three scoops with fudge, whipped cream and a cherry). Omonia Cafe, on Broadway near West 108th Street is also in the 2026 mix, with a gelato case to compliment their cookies and pastries. Gelateria Gentile also offers Italian gelato, on Amsterdam and West 84th Street. Have a favorite scoop shop? Please drop it in the comments.

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