B4B NYC: The 5 Best Bang-for-Your-Buck Adventures in New York City This Weekend

NEW YORK, NY — This weekend's bang-for-your-buck (B4B NYC) lineup runs the gamut from sports to food to art to theater, which should make for a pretty exhausting weekend if you silly hipsters manage to fit it all in.

Here are five of the coolest cultural events — in every price range! — that the city can offer these next three days. And while we can't guarantee you'll find a Snorlax at any one of them, we can guarantee you won't miss your Pokemon Go one bit!

But first, it's a...

WORTH-THE-TRIP ALERT!

ROCKAWAY!

Photo by Pablo Enriquez

Where: Gateway National Recreation Area at Fort Tilden, Breezy Point [map]

When: Friday, 8/12, Saturday, 8/13, and Sunday, 8/14, noon to 6 p.m.

What: Site-specific art scratches a few itches at once: The piece itself is often quite arresting. The setting — even a place you may already know and love — is redefined by the artwork. And you get to soak in a specific moment in art history — because once the piece is gone, it's gone. In this case, talk about an arresting image: Rockaway! by German artist Katharina Grosse uses vibrant washes of paint sprayed directly onto the condemned aquatics building at Fort Tilden park in Breezy Point, Queens, which was ruined by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Presented by MoMA PS1 and on display until Nov. 31 — at which point the structure will be demolished — Rockaway! seems to be something of a companion piece to a 2008 Grosse work, which used similar techniques on a New Orleans home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Sense a pattern? More information here.

How much: FREE!

50 OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS IN SPORTS

Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic (2008), by Heinz Kluetmeier

Where: Soho Contemporary Art Gallery, East Village [map]

When: Friday, 8/12, and Saturday, 8/13, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 8/14, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

What: With the Olympics in full swing, we've been thinking a lot about the once-in-a-lifetime sports moments from our past. For example, you probably remember where you were when Michael Phelps out-touched Serbia's Milorad Cavic by one-one-hundredth of a second to win gold in Beijing. And even if you're not old enough to remember the fight itself, you've likely been affected by Neil Leifer's iconic picture of a victorious Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston after a first-round knockout in 1965. These images and many more comprise Soho Contemporary Art's 50 of the Greatest Moments in Sports, an exhibit that casts well-deserved light on that overlooked intersection of art and athletics. Even better, it's just down the street from Katz's; stop by before or after you wolf a pastrami-on-rye and celery soda! More information here.

How much: FREE! (although the art is for sale!)

DAY SHOW: PALEHOUND, GOLD CONNECTIONS, AND MORE

Pictured: Gold Connections

Where: Trans-Pecos, Ridgewood, Queens [map]

When: Saturday, 8/13, 12 noon to 6:30 p.m.

What: A day concert is always good, clean, equal-opportunity fun, regardless of your hipster cred. The rear patio at Trans-Pecos in Ridgewood is the site of a killer (and fair-priced) five-band bill this Saturday. Popgun Presents has put together a cohesive lineup of indie rock 'n' roll, including some great area talent — Yonkers-based Palehound, Lemon Twigs from Long Island and Heliotropes from Brooklyn — along with D.C.-based Witch Coast and Gold Connections from Charlottesville, VA. For tickets and information, and to listen to the bands first, go here.

How much: $9 and up

AFRICAN FOOD FESTIVAL

Where: Duggal Greenhouse, Brooklyn Navy Yard [map]

When: Saturday, 8/13, and Sunday, 8/14, 12 noon to 8 p.m.

What: If your knowledge, like ours, of African cuisine is limited mainly to the savory stews, spongy injera bread and complex flavors found in the many Ethiopian restaurants in the NYC, prepare to take one large culinary step forward this weekend at the first annual New York African Food Festival, to be held within the same hip, airy Brooklyn Navy Yard venue that hosted the Bernie Vs. Hillary debate. Over 25 chefs from, yes, Ethiopia — as well as Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone — will serve up traditional dishes, drinks and cooking demonstrations. Other pavilions will offer coffee, music, hookahs, art and fashion. Vegan options will also be available. More information and tickets here.

How Much: $30 for one-day, general-admission tickets (or $50 for the weekend)

SARASOTA BALLET AT THE JOYCE

Photo by Frank Atura

Where: The Joyce Theater, Chelsea [map]

When: Friday, 8/12, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 8/13, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

What: Sir Frederick Ashton, founding choreographer of the Royal Ballet — widely credited with creating the signature "English style" — is the focus of Sarasota Ballet's witty program of dance pieces this weekend at the Joyce, a celebration of the company's 25th Season. Dance noobs will appreciate the easily accessible humor of dances like Facade and Tweedledum & Tweedledee, while more knowledgeable audiences will appreciate a program dedicated to one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th Century — all while keeping a sharp eye out for Ashton's signature "Fred step" tucked away in the choreography somewhere! More information and tickets here.

How much: $56 and up (although some $10 tickets may be available by calling 212-242-0800)

THE EFFECT

Where: Barrow Street Theatre [map]

When: Friday, 8/12, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8/13, and Sunday, 8/14, at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

What: If to find true love, all one needed to do was take — well, keep taking — a pill, wouldn't all the world's problems be solved? No more wars! No more inequality! Then again, what would love actually mean, if we could all achieve it without much investment? When two fetching subjects sign up for a four-week trial of a new love drug that's basically Prozac-on-steroids, the complexities in Lucy Prebble's acclaimed play "The Effect" begin to unfold with the satisfaction of a good whodunit. First presented to much fanfare in 2012 at the National Theatre in London, it's now at the Barrow Street Playhouse through Sept. 4. More information and tickets here.

How much: $79.50 and up

And last but not least, a...

DON'T-LET-IT-SLIP-YOUR-MIND ALERT!

JAZZ-AGE LAWN PARTY ON GOVERNOR'S ISLAND

Where: Governor's Island [map]; catch the ferry from Manhattan here and from Brooklyn here

When: Sunday, 8/14, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What: Just one last gentle reminder that on Sunday, this summer's last Jazz-Age Lawn Party takes place on Governor's Island! You can bring your own picnic (but not your own alcohol) as well as lawn chairs and blankets, and you're encouraged but not required to let your flapper-flag fly with period Jazz-Age dress. Tickets still available here.

How much: $55 a person and up

Submit your event to arts@patch.com to be considered for the B4B NYC weekly roundup