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Fri 1
Coney Island Subway Firework Party Madison Square Tavern; 6:30pm; $30–$40
Bring your MetroCard for an adventure that begins in a Manhattan pub and ends beneath the fireworks at Coney Island. After checking in at Madison Square Tavern, you’ll receive a pair of headphones that are tuned into DJ sets for a silent disco on the subway to Coney Island. The headphone-based party rages down the boardwalk until 9:30pm, when Luna Park unleashes the full force of its fireworks arsenal. By then, you’ll be dancing and watching the spectacle with new buddies.
Cartoon Monsoon Annoyance Theatre; 10pm; $10
Joe Rumrill and Mary Houlihan host this Pee-wee's Playhouse–like variety show in which local comedians and puppeteers perform characters, show off cartoons and pull audiences into a world of crazy sketches.
AfropolitanNYC Copacabana; 6pm; free before 7pm with R.S.V.P., advance $10, at the door $20
NYC's largest Afro-Caribbean mixer celebrates the independence of 10 countries: the U.S., Liberia, South Sudan, the Bahamas, Rwanda, Somalia, Burundi, Algeria, Cape Verde, Comoros and Malawi. Show up for a lively evening of music, art and networking, not to mention delicious Afro-Caribbean hors d'oeuvres like suya, jerk chicken wings and fried plantains. Be sure to look sharp; no t-shirts, hats, or tennis shoes allowed.
Ruffhouse Sausage Fest Nowhere; 10pm; free
Burly, brawny, bearded men and their admirers have a chance to get down at this wild shindig, which features house and pop music and plenty of sweaty dancing. Skimpy beachside barbecue attire is recommended, so arrive in a bathing suit or just trunks and get ready to move.
Born on the Fourth of July Museum of the Moving Image; 7pm; $15
Fireworks aren't the only things that go off with a bang in July: Fourth of July weekend has seen the release of many a blockbuster hit. Revisit some classics at this three-day series featuring Back to the Future on Fri 1, Armageddon on Sat 2 and War of the Worlds, Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL on Sun 3.
Sat 2
Party Like it’s 1999: Independence Day Weekend Edition The Bell House; 10pm; free
Dig out your freshest neon duds, because this Saturday the ’90s blow up the Bell House with an Independence Day–themed rendition of Party Like It’s 1999. In honor of the original sci-fi blockbuster’s 20th anniversary, the free monthly throwback dance party heavily rotates tracks from Will Smith’s music career in addition to the normal playlist of late-20th-century hip-hop, R&B and pop hits. To really seem fly, base your wardrobe off the fashions of a certain Fresh Prince, and you know, get jiggy wit it.
Rocky IV Nitehawk Cinema; midnight; $15
Fist-pump your way through Independence Day with Cold War–era propaganda, hot dogs and epic boxing fights at this midnight screening of the 1985 hit. Nitehawk is honoring some American classics for the holiday, including Friday and Jaws, and for the main event, it’s screening the legendary showdown between Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago in Soviet Russia. While you marvel at the epic training montage (the beard! the snow!), try special sips and bites from the Independence Day menu, including the Jaws-themed cocktail Blood in the Water and a Liberty Dog with beef chili and queso.
Warm Up 2016: Theo Parrish + DJ Stingray + Lena Willikens MoMA PS1; 3pm; $22, at the door $25
DJ-producer Theo Parrish—the don of deepness whose sets can veer from cranking acid to string-drenched disco on a dime—heads to MoMA PS1's daytime series, alongside masked Detroit veteran DJ Stingray and Cómeme's Lena Willikens.
Everyday People Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center; 7pm; free
The party Everyday People started in 2012 as a brunch gathering for stylish New Yorkers to get down. Since then, the soiree has grown into a dance party behemoth and toured the nation, but it’s never lost track of its roots. As part of SummerStage, it takes over Herbert Von King Park with banging sets of Afrobeat, hip-hop, reggae and more. Bring your summer style A-game: Body paint, fanny packs and wild hair are always appreciated.
Spice World Sing-a-long and Costume Party Videology; 7pm; $5
People of the World! Dress up as your favorite Spice Girl (or as Roger Moore or as an alien, if that's how you roll) and sing along to every lyric from every scene of the outrageous 1997 camp spectacular.
Midsummer Night Swing: The Black Rock Coalition Get-Down Revue Damrosch Park (at Lincoln Center); 6:30pm; $17–$25
Is there anything more American than rock & roll? Not really, cool guy. And this weekend, Lincoln Center’s alfresco danceathon taps into the genre’s ’50s and ’60s roots when cover band Black Rock Coalition delivers hits by the likes of R&B legend Ruth Brown, blues shouter Big Joe Turner, doo-wop staple the Drifters and soul stompers Sam & Dave. Show off your fancy footwork, or if you’re worried you’re not ready to bring it, come early and take a free dance class to learn the dips and spins. And if you’re still feeling invigorated after it’s over, keep the party going at the Silent Disco ($5)—WFMU DJ Gaylord Fields spins 45s from the era that are streamed directly into your ears via wireless headphones.
Sun 3
Freesome Block Party various locations; 2pm; $20
Since 2011, the party collective Fun with Friends has hosted throwdowns, shindigs and hootenannies on rooftops and in clubs all over Brooklyn. Just in time for the holiday, it’s taking over a secret block in the borough for an all-day bash that includes rowdy DJ sets, drinks in water guns and yummy barbecue on the grill. And with old-school neighborhood partying, including double Dutch, backyard movie screenings and more, you’ll have more fun on the street than the kids from Hey Arnold! Wear something comfy—you have a long day of partying ahead of you. Location disclosed after ticket purchase.
Crew Love presents Love Train La Marina; 2pm; $40–$50
Wanna get your waterside party on, but think traveling to the ends of Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx takes too long? Look no further than this bash at idyllic Inwood Park’s La Marina. This all-day, all-night marathon Sunday rager—dubbed Summer Love—from the MATTE & Crew Love team features French house heavy hitter Dimitri from Paris, Brooklyn’s groovy eight-piece disco revivalists Midnight Magic, quirky EDM producer Nick Monaco and DJ duo Soul Clap. Just remember the sunscreen—you want to be wearing red, not looking red, on Monday.
SummerStage 4th of July Weekend Central Park, Rumsey Playfield; 2pm; free
New York’s biggest series of outdoor concerts, SummerStage, is back in full force with free shows representing music from near and far. On Sunday, feel prideful for the country’s melting-pot heritage when amazing world music fills Central Park with joyous, infectious beats. Nigeria’s most popular musician King Sunny Adé headlines with his full band, which includes dancers, several guitars and phenomenal drummers, and it’s a great way to kick off the holiday weekend right. Fellow Nigerian Orlando Julius sets the mood with his signature Afropop style, and Philadelphia’s DJ Rich Medina spins between sets.
Mister Sunday July 4th edition Nowadays; 3pm; $20
There are few regular dance gatherings in New York more beloved than DJ duo Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin’s Mister Sunday. And at this edition of the outdoor, daytime shindig—held in its new permanent home, Nowadays, an expansive junkyard turned bar on the edge of Bushwick—you don’t have to worry about calling it quits early. Give yourself free reign to throw back cheap drinks and eat tasty burgers, hot dogs and veggie options at the shaded picnic tables, and tear up the dance floor.