A Chilly Weekend Guide

This happens to be the first weekend of the last many for which I have very minimal plans. Tonight I'll be hitting up my favorite happy hour and then spending the night catching up on Dexter, Survivor, & Fringe on DVR and True Blood On Demand. Since the rest of my weekend is fairly open, I'll be debating between lots of fun events in and outside of Manhattan to keep me busy on this chilly October weekend.

Oktoberfest
Ulysses' Folk House . 58 Stone Street/98 Pearl Street
I must admit, I had a difficult time finding any Oktoberfest celebrations, let alone a good one. Ulysses' Folk House seems pretty promising. Located on legendary Stone Street, stop by Saturday October 3rd for live oompah music (love), street fun (not sure what this means, but am hoping it involves Lederhosen) and traditional food (beers and brats!). If for nothing else, I highly recommend checking out Ulysses for the fabulous location on the "first paved street in Manhattan".

Chowderfest
Chowderfest . Beach Haven . Long Beach Island, NJ
If you're just kind of over New York and longing for some serious Fall-ness, on Sunday October 4th head down the Jersey shore for some chowdah! An annual event officially closing out the Long Beach Island summer, Chowderfest features street vendors, beach store closeout sales, live music and a clam chowder cookoff unlike any other around. One side of the outdoor bayside setup features New England style (that's the white) while the other features Manhattan style (that's the red). Designated by color-coded tents, each chowder style generally boasts 10 local restaurant competitors. You can see the complete list of competitors here. For a general admission of $20 each, sample all the chowdah you can handle and end the day with a vote for your favorite red and white. Winners get bragging rights, so vote carefully.

Starbucks Freebies
Starbucks on: My corner . Your corner . Everyone's corner
Kick off both Saturday and Sunday mornings with free java this weekend.In case you haven't heard, obnoxiously globalized and overrated-for-their-basic-coffee Starbucks has launched a new instant coffee brand called VIA. From today through Monday, stop in your local Starbucks for a free tall VIA coffee. Though I'm more of a pumpkin spice latte/caramel apple cider/salted caramel hot chocolate kind of girl, a free coffee could be enough to get me into the store.