You finally achieved your base tan, and all of the sudden people are talking Labor Day plans? WTF? If there’s one thing that never changes about summer, it’s that it’s gone before you even got your juicer out of the cupboard. Luckily, there’s still time to squeeze in a few NYC must-dos before those white jean shorts go back into storage for the winter. Here, the top ten you still have time for:

1. Warm Up @ PS1
New York artists tend to be “multimedia” —they act, they sculpt, they calculate pi to one thousand places using audiovisual installations! In true New York renaissance-man style, PS1—the modern-art museum housed in a former Queens elementary school—hosts weekly Saturday afternoon dance parties that run the creative gamut. House and hip hop DJs, live bands, gospel choirs gone electronic, an eclectic lineup rocks the front entrance while dancers work the stairs, concrete stage and architectural installation designed by the winner of the yearly Young Architects Program. Beer, wine and BBQ is available for purchase. August 28 or September 4, 2pm to 9pm, $15 cash-only admission or free for MOMA members and Long Island City residents + guest.

2. Hit up the (Water Taxi) Beach
Here’s an opportunity to double dip your summer’s-end activities: As PS1 starts to wind down, stroll the few blocks to the Long Island City waterfront and hit the beach…the fake beach, that is. Harry’s Water Taxi Beach brings the sand to the city, giving you an opportunity to kick off your sandals and order a round of pina coladas without dealing with any LIRR schedules. Grab a picnic table and rest your tired feet while refueling on grilled dogs and burgers, then take to the mega-tent for a continuation of Warm Up’s dance party. Cap off a sweet city night by hopping the Water Taxi back to Manhattan and taking in the glittering skyline. $10 cover after 9pm, Cash Only.

3. Watch the Opera Outdoors
So you missed the Opera in Central Park—who can really hear what’s going on up there anyways?! Stay out of doors but get close enough to bask in all the drama at Lincoln Center’s Summer HD Festival. Starting August 29th, 2800 seats will be available for ten consecutive nights on a first come, first serve basis to view the Metropolitan Opera on a huge HD Screen in the Plaza. Bring your star-crossed lover and tear up to Romeo and Juliet on Sunday, August 30, or your mother (eek!) to Macbeth on Tuesday, September 1. Order a special three-course takeout dinner to your seats and take in a truly NYC experience. Free, www.metoperafamily.org

4. Rock out for Free
One of the many ways in which winter is lame is that you generally have to pay for stuff, which is shocking to the system after a season where you can do virtually everything sin dinero. The best summer freebies? Multitudes of big and small-name outdoor live music shows. Time is running out and soon you will be shoved back into the stale air of Webster Hall, so take advantage of your last few weekends to sway back and forth with the muggy masses. Free shows you still have time to catch: Bryant Park: John Farnsworth Quintet, Aug 25, 6pm. Coney Island: Annual Latino Music By the Sea Aug 26, 7:30pm. Today Show: Katy Perry, Aug 27, 7am. Good Morning America: Lady Antebellum, Aug 27, 7am. Central Park Summerstage: Pavement, Sept 21, 7pm. 

5. Enjoy a (Drunken) View from the Top
There’s nothing like a nighttime view of the city lights to make you feel alive. There’s nothing like a few martinis to make you tell everyone how alive you are. In a few months the city’s rooftop bars will be covered in tarps, and you will be huddled on some basement dance floor. Here are five worth checking out before autumn cometh: RareView, Night of Joy, The Upstairs, Press Lounge, Le Bain.


6. Use Your Sea Legs
Just because we live in one of the world's urban centers doesn't mean we can't get our yacht on. The Frying Pan, a bar-on-a-barge on Pier 66, will get you tipsy no matter what you're imbibing. You have until October to grab some pals, a bucket of Corona and rock this boat—then the sails come down until next spring. Or, if you like your ships to actually (gasp!) move, try one of the many boozy-tours offered by Manhattan by Sail. 


7. Get Your Bar-B-Que On!
Really, does anything say summer better than “smoked meat”? The ‘cue craze is on this season, and NYC is suddenly pushing out as many BBQ joints as fro-yo shops (ok not true, but we can dream). Brunch is for sissies–start your Sunday in Williamsburg at Fette Sau’s outdoor pork-and-whiskey heaven, or head under the bridge at Fatty ‘Cue, where the Asian-inspired offerings are actually quite light despite the name. Looking for more traditional, tried-and-true smoke joints? Stick to Chelsea’s Hill Country, where the Central Texas scene is more honky-tonk than hipster, or the (Way) Upper West Side’s Dinosaur Bar-B-Que—the massive brisket platters and vodka-laden “Dino Demise” will put you in a food coma just long enough to last your long ride home on the 1 train.

8. Get to Governor’s
Just two summers ago, Governor’s Island was a forgotten relic of US war history—overgrown lawns, dilapidated forts and empty houses. Today, it is one of NYC’s hottest summer concert venues, hosting big names like MIA, Kid Cudi and up-and-coming Brooklyn bands like Yeasayer. You can still get to Governor’s to check out one of the remaining shows held on “The Beach”—catch Snoop Dog, Tribe & Lauryn (Aug 28), legendary songwriter John Prine (Sept 10) or Animal Collective’s Panda Bear (Sept 11). Pack a picnic (and some gin and juice) and get there early to explore this newfound slice of New York City serenity before it turns into Doggyland. Or, pull on that cloche hat and flapper dress for the "Jazz Age Lawn Party," transforming the island into the Gatsby estate during the daytime on August 28 and 29.

9. Explore Coney Island
Who says eating lit cigarettes and regurgitating razors isn't culture? No one who's been to Coney Island's freakshow boardwalk. Take a ride on the F train (or B or Q) to America's most famed and feared beach attraction. If tattooed ladies aren't your thing (what's wrong with you?), there's always Skee-ball, swimming and the brand-new Luna Park. Gulp a cold one at a Nathan's while watching the Brooklyn Cyclones, or hide out in the famed Aquarium. It’s even a real-live beach, people—turn on your Speedo-radar and hit the sand and surf. Ah, Coney Island: Freaking the f&*% out of people since 1905.

10. See an Outdoor Movie Screening!
Outdoor movies, big screen, fresh grass, wine in a box: Oh yeah, your cinema experience can be all this and a bag of free popcorn with the bevy of films al fresco in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Here's where to still catch 'em before the inevitable return to the stale AC blast and poverty-inducing concession prices of your local Loews. Central Park Conservancy's Film Festival Aug 24-28, Brooklyn Bridge Park: Movies with a View  Aug 26/Sept 2, Rooftop Films through September, (including a first-ever screening on the Highline Sept 22), Coney Island Film Festival Sept 24-26.

Drugstores, with their back-to-school displays and Halloween candy specials, want you to believe that autumn is already upon us. Do not fall into their marketing traps! There is still time to save your summer, you have the back sweat to confirm it. So get that romper out for one or two last romps, and make sure to take some photos—that pic of you with a solo cup and Snoop just might be what keeps you going through the long months of wool tights ahead.  

-Mishka Vertin