B4B NYC, Back-to-School Edition: 5 Best Bang-for-Your-Buck Events in NYC This Weekend

NEW YORK, NY — Chances are you've already tucked your white boat shoes away for the year and bid a fond, if unofficial, adieu to summer. But New York City still has at least one more weekend's worth of blistering heat in her — and for those of us savoring every last lumen of natural light before the days grow short, this week's back-to-school edition of our bang-for-your-buck event roundup (B4B NYC) is loaded with outdoorsy options for hipsters young and old, in every price range. Comfortable shoes, people, comfortable shoes!

But first, it's a ...

FOR-THE-BIRDS-AHEM-WE-MEAN-KIDS ALERT!

BIRDING BASICS FOR FAMILIES: THE RAMBLE

Where: Meet at Belvedere Castle, Central Park [map]

When: Saturday, 9/10, 10 a.m.

What: Now here's a city outing that'll kill two... OK, bad metaphor. Anyway, this weekend you can explore the winding paths of The Ramble, learn about the birds that call Central Park home — including those who do so temporarily, on their way to warmer climes — and enrich your rugrats in one fell swoop. The Audubon Society and Central Park Conservancy team up to lead a guided birding walk for budding ornithologists this Saturday morning. The event is open only to families with kids. Bring binoculars if you have them; however, there will be pairs to borrow as well. Space is limited, so registering in advance is highly recommended. For more information and to register, go here.

How much: FREE!

FERRAGOSTO 2016

Where: Arthur Avenue, Bronx [map]

When: Sunday, 9/11, from noon to 6 p.m.

What: Arthur Avenue in the Belmont area of the Bronx — the real Little Italy, it is said — will be a hive of activity this weekend thanks to Ferragosto, the centuries-old Italian festival marking the end of the harvest. Now 15 years old, the Bronx version of the event draws around 20,000 visitors, who can be seen strolling the avenue in search of New York's best cannoli or sitting and enjoying a Peroni at one of hundreds of outdoor tables. Scores of bistros and merchants take part in this one-day-only fest, and live entertainment includes comedy, music and — of course — a '70s-themed dance band. Molto bene! More information here.

How much: FREE!

SAUNA YOUTH, FUTURE PUNX, BODEGA

Pictured: Future Punx (top); Sauna Youth (bottom)

Where: Union Pool, Williamsburg [map]

When: Saturday, 9/10, 8 p.m.

What: The Patch Culture Hound hereby decrees that the best room in Brooklyn for live music is currently — and, for the foreseeable future, will remain — Union Pool. Yeah, we know, there are hipper joints popping into and out of existence at any given moment like quantum foam (R.I.P. Death by Audio and AVIV), but no other spot offers quite as perfect a mix of space, sound and above all hang as the Pool. Plus, a taco truck! So it is with unfettered delight that we recommend a triple rock bill this Saturday night befitting so fantastic a venue. Local punksters Sauna Youth and "post-wave" dance meisters Future Punx are joined by West Chester, PA's Bodega — who are pretty much the bastard nephews of Thin Lizzy and, somehow, Elliott Smith. More information and tickets here.

How much: Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door

SUZANNE FARRELL: BALANCHINE'S GOUNOD SYMPHONY

Photo of Suzanne Farrell by Paul Kolnick

Where: Skirball Arts Center, NYU [map]

When: Sunday, 9/11, at 3 p.m.

What: Get some fascinating insight into how a ballet is born — or, in this case, reborn — when former Ballanchine principal ballerina, collaborator and muse Suzanne Farrell presents a "staging in progress" of the second movement of Ballanchine's obscure Gounud Symphony. Afterward, Ms. Farrell sits down with Jennifer Homans, director of the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, to discuss the Gounud project, which will premier in full at the Kennedy Center in October, along with her other projects with Suzanne Farrell Ballet. More information and tickets here.

How much: Tickets are $20 and $25

ETHEL AND FRIENDS

Where: The Balcony Bar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art [map]

When: Friday, 9/9, and Saturday, 9/10, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

What: Beginning this weekend and continuing through October, acclaimed New York string quartet ETHEL — famed for their 21st-Century repertoire and sound — returns to the Met's Balcony Bar for the popular quasi-residency ETHEL and Friends. For three full hours on Friday and Saturday evenings, these contemporary-classical firebrands will play new interpretations of familiar tunes as well as their own cutting-edge works. Guest artists and collaborators periodically join in the fun while you sip a dry rosé and peer out over the Met's Great Hall. More information — and a complete schedule — here.

How much: Included in museum admission (a suggested donation of $25)

TASTE TALKS BROOKLYN

Where: Various locations in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn [map]

When: Friday, 9/9, through Sunday, 9/11

What: Now in its third year, the Brooklyn-born Taste Talks festival returns to the scene of the crime with a jam-packed menu of events directed at foodies of the highest order. Twenty-odd celebrity chefs — including Wylie Dufresne and Francis Lam — join forces with pit masters, brewmasters, winemakers, food writers and countless other culinary luminaries for a full weekend of tastings, seminars and demos. Opening and closing night parties, an All-Star BBQ and other special events punctuate the proceedings and offer different ticket price levels. All this, while the Future Food Expo takes over the Wythe Hotel (RSVP is free for that one). More information and tickets here.

How much: The Future Food Expo is FREE!, the All-Star BBQ costs $49 and conference tickets cost $99 and up

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