Here are cakehead's hand-picked cheap eating & picnic opportunities around NYC:

Friday, July 22nd

Alec Ounsworth at Pete's Candy Store
Pete's Candy Store won't be serving candy tonight, but the free music playing there will be like candy to your ears. Cakeheaders love to cook to the sounds of Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Thanks Freewilliamsburg.com for this tip. For more information click here.

Brooklyn Country Music Festival
This weekend and next Brooklyn will be hosting its 2nd Annual Country Music Festival. "The Brooklyn Country Music Festival is a grass-roots effort put forth for the sheer love of the music. The bands work for tips. We hope you have a good time at this and several other events we put together including The Brooklyn Country Music Festival, The CasHank Hootenanny Jamboree, The Brooklyn Winter Hoedown, & JugFest. Alex also performs his own country compositions in his act called The Whisky Rebellion, which contains anywhere from 1-7 members, depending on venue constraints and the weather."
Date: July 21st - 24th and July 28th - 31st (schedule)
Time: Varies by day
Location: Freddy's Bar & Backroom, 485 Dean St. at Sixth Ave., Park Slope
Cost: Free

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Saturday, July 23rd

Special Birdwatching Cruise!
Take a guided tour through Brooklyn's only freshwater lake, the Lullwater, and check out some of Prospect Park's most scenic flora and fauna.
Location: Audubon Center at the Boathouse Noon, Flatbush Ave at Empire Blvd, Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Cost: $10, children $6.
Okay, so this event isn't free. But consider it an investment. Just make sure you bring a rifle to kill the birds you see. We have heard that pigeons and other Prospect Park birds make delicious meals. Feel free to submit your recipes.
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Sunday, July 24th

Kick It, Kick It Good
An oldie but a goodie...Join the fun and play some Kickball. Every Sunday in Brooklyn's McCarren Park there is organized kickball and bbq. Everyone is asked to bring a small donation to pay for the renting of the field and bbq.
Time: 6pm
Location: McCarren Park, N. 15th and Bedford, W'burg
Cost: Basically free

The Riant Theatre's Outdoor Strawberry Festival
Time: 11am–6pm
Location: The McCaffrey Playground, 43rd St between Eighth and Ninth Ave
Cost: Free
Okay some of the stuff listed at this event sounds questionable. Namely the singers, dancers, spoken-word artists and comics for storytelling, arts and crafts. But if you eliminate the accessories and take this event back to basics, it all comes down to the strawberry shortcake-eating contest. We expect to hear that one of you cakeheaders won this worthy contest.