#1 Catch an outdoor movie. Click here for a roundup of locations screening films in the great outdoors, and read about how one Astoria resident has been hosting a film festival in his backyard for 10 years.
#2 Eat in a restaurant’s backyard seating area. Bareburger (33-21 31st Ave.), Sek’end Sun (32-11 Broadway), Milkflower (34-12 31st Ave.) and many, many more have great outdoor seating areas away from the hustle and bustle of the sidewalks. Or, grab a coffee and a book and relax on the sleek wooden benches in the area behind Gossip Coffee (37-04 30th Ave.).
#3 Practice your vinyasa outdoors. Bring your mat for free weekend classes by the Yoga Room in Gantry Plaza State Park and Astoria Park. Or move through your asanas on Saturdays and Sundays at the free classes in Socrates Sculpture Park.
#4 Dive into Astoria Pool. Cool off during the heat wave by gathering your family or friends to go for a swim at our neighborhood’s own Olympic-sized pool.
#5 Kayak on the East River. Sign up for free paddling at Anable Basin or Hallets Cove.
#6 Feel the wind in your hair on the East River Ferry. Use the subway to Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo, and when you’ve finished exploring, take the ferry home to the Hunter’s Point South terminal in Long Island City.
#7 Drink a pint (or more) at the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden. What summer in Astoria is complete without an evening drinking beer and stuffing your face with German grub at this neighborhood staple? If you’ve been there, done that, try going to Bohemian Hall on a night when Quiet Clubbing takes over (10 p.m. on Aug. 26), put on some headphones, and dance the night away.
#8 Enjoy a free concert at Astoria Park. Bring a lawn chair for the last waterfront concert of the summer: Bon Journey New York City at 7:30 p.m on Aug. 18.
#9 Stock up on produce at an outdoor farmers market. Get your fruits and veggies at the Socrates Sculpture Park Greenmarket, the Astoria Greenmarket, the Ditmars Park Youthmarket or the Sunnyside Greenmarket.
#10 Watch the sun set over the Manhattan skyline. The view from Hunter’s Point South Park in
Long Island City can’t be beat, so grab a drink at LIC Landing by COFFEED to watch the sun go down and the lights in the buildings flicker on.