The Pond at Bryant Park
FRIDAY 6
Yet another excuse to get hands-on with your SO: The Pond at Bryant Park, the city’s only free ice rink (BYO blades or rent a pair for $12), reopens today. If you’re wary of large bodies of ice, roam the Shops at Bryant Park, which house more than 100 international boutiques, designers and food merchants. If you still haven’t gotten your fill of worldly goods, cross Sixth Avenue to Kinokuniya, a Japanese bookstore; at the second-floor café, you can split a holiday-spirited chestnut cream cake.
SATURDAY 7
Devoted members of the Colbert Nation, get ready for some raw honesty. Uh, sort of. “The Truthiness Behind the Lines: An In-Depth Look Behind the Scenes with the Colbert Report Writers” is a mouthful, but we’re guessing the star wouldn’t have it any other way. Eleven members of the program’s writing staff, including head honcho Barry Julien, will break down the rise of faux news at this Paley Center must-see. New Yorker cartoonist Zachary Kanin will moderate the panel, which’ll also field user-submitted questions (if time permits). Afterward, rehash the night’s epiphanies over two glasses of Smiling Pumpkin Ale at the nearby Heartland Brewery & Chop House.
SATURDAY 7, SUNDAY 8
KingCon: A Brooklyn Comic and Animation Convention is about as badass as comics-geekdom gets, and the Brooklyn Lyceum is the ultimate date spot for fanboys/girls. The two-day convention boasts panels featuring American Splendor creator Harvey Pekar, Mad magazine cartoonists, Marvel authors and more. You can shop for vintage comics, bone up on Batman history and even enter a LolCat captioning contest. If all that superhero talk works up an appetite, grab empanadas and other Latin American fare at Palo Santo, about a minute’s walk away.—Shayna Courtney
