I’ve had one of those weeks where every day felt like it was Friday. So I am relieved that it finally is – and now I can look forward to my weekend plan of cleaning up Prospect Park with New York Cares and heading to the Museum of the Moving Image. There will also be a bevvy or two, I’m sure.

What are your plans? If you don’t have any yet, fear not! Here are a few suggestions:

1 :: The glorious Manhattanhenge is back tonight. The beautiful phenomenon, in which the sun aligns perfectly with the city’s grid as it sets, occurs twice a year and this is the first 2014 installment. If you stand on one of the wider blocks (14th Street, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, 57th) and look west towards New Jersey, you can see the huge orange sun dipping between the buildings. I saw it last year and, believe me, it’s so cool. Just be prepared to scramble over other snap happy viewers to get pictures.

It’s at 8.18pm tonight (Friday). Then it’s back on July 11th and 12th.

2 :: And if you’re not phenomenoned out, there’s also a comet landing in Brooklyn Bridge Park, which you can check out all weekend. Okay so it’s not a real one – it’s part of the World Science Festival – but it’ll still be fun to see, especially because it’ll take you to the park, which has a glorious view of the Manhattan skyline.

As part of the Festival, there’s also an evening of stargazing from 8pm until midnight on the Pier 1 Promenade on Saturday. They’ll have telescopes ready for you to borrow.

3 :: You know I like a good market, and this weekend there are a couple of new ones opening: the New Amsterdam Market at South Street Seaport (a food market featuring regional produce, meats, sweets and lots of treats) and the DayLife Festival, a three-block celebration at Orchard Street featuring pushcarts, food and fashions on AstroTurf.

4 :: There’s a brilliant storytelling series called The Moth, and this weekend, they’re hosting a night in the Bell House in Brooklyn. It’s such great fun – members of the audience tell stories based on a theme (but don’t worry, you can also sit back and just watch). Then each storyteller is given a score to determine the winner. Some of the stories are touching, others are hilarious and some fall flat – it’s a fun night out.

Just make sure you get there very early because there’s a limited number of tickets available at the door, and I can assure you there’ll be a queue.

5 :: Every summer, there is some great free outdoor theater across the city. Last year, I experienced the joys of Brooklyn’s ‘Shakespeare in the Parking Lot‘ (an alternative to Manhattan’s ‘Shakespeare in the Park’). And this year a similar event is back courtesy of Bryant Park. They’ve started with Hamlet, which is being performed on Saturday at 7pm. Later in the summer, they’ll perform Othello and Twelfth Night.

Check out their site for more info. And get there early for a good view!

6 :: And did you see I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens last weekend? If you haven’t been yet, I’d really recommend it for a lovely, leisurely weekend activity. It’s probably best to visit on Sunday, when the weather looks better. Why not take a picnic?

And finally :: If you’re looking for some tunes to accompany your picnic, can I suggest my pal, Lindsay Ellyn? You might remember that I was in her music video last year and she’s now packed up and moved to Nashville to chase her dream, which makes me very proud but also very jealous. She played a show at Sidewalk Cafe this week (with the glorious Fendrick and Peck) and it made me want to play tunes like this one and this one all weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk7xhJh6r8U

Happy listening and have a great weekend!

For pictures, thanks to David Reeves, Fresh Local & Best, Greg Kessler, Cupcake Detroit and Images for Innovation.