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Brigid Bergin: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. I'm Brigid Bergin, filling in for Brian today. Now, we're going to wrap up today's show with an end-of-summer call-in on your bucket list for the season. I can't believe summer is coming to a close, but yes, folks, I did say it. Labor Day weekend is almost here. Kids are heading back to school. The fun is coming to an end, as much as it pains me to admit. Listeners, what's one activity that you're planning on crossing off your summer bucket list this weekend?

Tell us about the hike you have planned, the meal you've been waiting to enjoy, where you can catch that last sunset before August ends. The number is 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. We also want to know about some of the things you've already crossed off your bucket list. Do you have any summer traditions that you stick to every year? What are the things that you must do in order to feel like you've made the most out of this incredible season? I'm a big fan of summer.

The number again, 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. Do you catch a Yankees game every year with your kids? Maybe you take the A Train all the way to Rockaway Beach for your favorite sunbathing or surf spot, or you take the A in the other direction for a picnic at Fort Tryon Park. Are you brave enough to ride the Cyclone at Coney Island at least once during the season? Where do you and the girls meet for drinks on that last weekend of summer? Tell us what is on your summer bucket list.

The number is 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. Who's hitting the West Indian Day Parade this weekend? Maybe you're marching in it. How long does it take you to get your costume ready? Are you hosting friends and family on your perfect parade route stoop? We want to hear all about it. Listeners, we want to know what is on your summer bucket list. What have you done so far? What have you saved for Labor Day weekend? Is there a trip that you take every year? Do you go to a rooftop movie screening? Do you have a tradition of barbecues on Memorial Day and Labor Day?

Help us close out this summer with your bucket list for the season. The number, 212-433-WNYC. 212-433-9692, and we're going to take your calls right after the break.

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Brigid: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. I'm Brigid Bergin, filling in for Brian today. As we wrap up today's show, we're taking your end-of-summer call-in on your bucket list for this season. We've got a lot of great callers. Again, the number, if you haven't reached us yet, 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. I think we're going to have to start things off with Stephanie in Sunnyside, who's talking about something we talked about earlier in the show related to the PATH train. Stephanie, what are you doing this weekend?

Stephanie: I am hitting the number one thing in a certain bucket list of mine, and that is going to see Oasis.

Brigid: [laughs] How excited are you for this concert?

Stephanie: I have been jumping up and down since I bought the tickets in October. One of my friends went to see them in the '90s, in Nebworth, and we are just beside ourselves. Beside ourselves.

Brigid: We wish you a wonderful time. I hope you figure out a way to get there that does not involve PATH trains or having to divert yourself from PATH trains. Let's try Valerie in Brooklyn. Valerie, you're on WNYC.

Valerie: Hi, how are you?

Brigid: Great.

Valerie: Every month, I do something in August that's related to Black heritage, and I always do the Black VegFest that's in Brooklyn, but also, this year, I went to a landmark in Canada, because Canada is one of the few countries that has Black women on their paper bills. It didn't happen here with Harriet Tubman in the US, so I went to see the town where Viola Desmond was born. She was a Black millionaire. I brought one of the $10 bills home with me and went to some landmarks celebrating her.

Brigid: That's great. Where was the town she was born?

Valerie: Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Brigid: Halifax, Nova Scotia. Valerie, thank you so much for that call. We have another listener who writes, "We're celebrating a friend's birthday by kayaking on the Hudson River this weekend, a bucket list activity we have wanted to do for some time. A new adventure to end the summer." We've got another listener who I think has something similar that she's talking about. Daniella in Madison, Wisconsin. Daniella, thanks for listening, for calling.

Daniella: Yes. Hello, can you hear me?

Brigid: Yes, absolutely.

Daniella: Oh, great. Thank you. Love the show. I grew up in Madison, so I love coming back in the summer, visiting my parents and friends. My partner and I rented a canoe on Lake Wingra, which is awesome. He'd never been in a canoe before, either, so that was great.

Brigid: Wow. It was his first time in a canoe?

Daniella: Yes, I believe so. Yes, we've done a kayak before, but not a canoe.

Brigid: That's wonderful. I'm glad that you were able to do it, and thanks for listening and calling. We've got a couple of listeners who have food on their bucket list for the summer. One listener writes, "Bike and lobster roll." Another listener writes, "An ice cream cone at Ferris Creamery in Newtown, Connecticut, a bucolic dairy farm where the cows that provide the cream can be seen roaming and grazing around as you enjoy your ice cream."

This is all very difficult because lunch is coming, and some of us are hungry. Another listener writes, "After eight attempts doing the in-person lottery for Shakespeare in the Park yesterday, I scored two tickets to the deliciously fun production of Twelfth Night. Another summer must: biking from Midtown to Jacob Riis Park and going for a swim. Got that done last weekend, too." Congratulations. It sounds like you've been having a very productive end to your summer. Let's go to Allan in Midwood. Allan, you're on WNYC.

Allan: Yes, good morning. Our usual vacation to the Berkshires for a few days to see Tanglewood and some shows, we were able to do, my wife and myself, but what I really looked forward to was either doing that for the first time with our grandchildren, who are one and seven, or at least getting to the beach this summer.

It seems every time we wanted to get to the beach, it was either too hot or there were riptides or there were shark sightings or there were schedule conflicts. We didn't get to the beach with the grandchildren one day this summer. If we can, that would be a success.

Brigid: Are you going to try to do it this weekend?

Allan: I'm going to see if they feel randomly able to try it, but it'll depend on no shark sightings, no riptide warnings, and the weather being up to it.

Brigid: I think the forecast for now is at least clear, maybe slightly cooler than some of our summer weekends so far, but I think the odds are in your favor. I wish you luck.

Allan: Thanks.

Brigid: I'll put my vote in for Rockaway Beach because I'm partial, but there are a lot of great beaches around the New York City area. Let's go to Kelly in Brooklyn. Kelly, you're on WNYC.

Kelly: Thank you. This weekend, I'm going to go to some porch concerts that are run by Operation Gig. It's basically a crowdfunded porch concert series in Brooklyn, all different kinds of music. On Sunday, I'm going to see a jug band.

Brigid: Oh, wow.

Kelly: Yes, they're called Fatboy Wilson & The Ripleys. I've never heard their music before, but I'm excited. People bring chairs, food, drinks, and local people donate the use of their porch.

Brigid: That sounds like a great event, Kelly. Thank you so much for sharing that. Is there a place-- if someone wants to find more information, where they might find that?

Kelly: Yes, it's operationgig.org, and you can sign up. There's a mailing list, and you can get the exact address of all the shows. It'll actually go into September, so this is not the last weekend for it.

Brigid: That's great. Kelly, thank you so much for that. I want to bring in Bob from Morristown, who wants to push back on us. Bob, I don't disagree with you entirely. Summer's not over, but what are you doing this weekend? What have you done so far?

Bob: What I'm doing is reminding people that the summer is far from over. There's three or four more weeks of great weather. There are no fees at the Jersey Shore. There's very little traffic. There are no lines. Prices are lower, and the ocean temperatures are as warm as June. The air temperatures are great, too. I remind people that September is a great month to go out and enjoy summer-like weather. Technically, it is summer.

Brigid: Bob, did you have any big highlights of your summer so far?

Bob: Yes, we did some traveling. I do a lot of work on the house, so it's been a good summer for that. Some other things I can't think of at this moment. I wasn't prepared for that.

Brigid: [chuckles] I just thought I'd throw it out there since you have some good advice for people to keep their summer state-of-mind going forward. I didn't know if there was anything that kept you in your summer state-of-mind because you'd done it already. Thank you so much for your call. Another listener texted, "I crossed off my Fire Island trips, visit to Providence, and 4th of July shenanigans."

If you've still got a trip that you're waiting to do, let us know. We'd love to hear. The number is 212-433-9692. You can also text us what you're doing at this end-of-summer, or maybe a highlight from your summer so far. For now, let's try Grace in Harrison, New York. Grace, you're on WNYC.

Grace: Thank you. First of all, I want to say real quick, if I won $10-million lottery, I'd give you guys $1 million.

Brigid: Aww, Grace, thank you. We hope you win the lottery. [chuckles]

Grace: You're welcome, and I hope I do, too. [chuckles] Yes, I've been a swimmer my whole life, and to emphasize what the previous caller said, the water temperature in Long Island Sound, the ocean stays warmer much longer. He's right, we have another month of summer, or two with global warming. I've been swimming as late as the end of October and, last year, November 3rd in the Sound, without a wetsuit. [chuckles]

Brigid: That's so great.

Grace: Swimming is just such a passion.

Brigid: Have you done any big swims so far this summer, Grace? I know there was a swim across the Hudson River that I know some people do from Newburgh to Beacon. Is that the type of swimming that you do, or do you just kind of enjoy it on a day-to-day--?

Grace: I think this summer, I enjoy it on the day-to-day, but I swim long distances. If I had really thought about it, I think maybe this summer, I swam 15 miles, maybe, put together, or more.

Brigid: That's still pretty impressive.

Grace: [chuckles] My parents were from Sweden, and my mother, when they moved here, loved the extended summer because it gets cold in Sweden, and we would swim. Oh, she'd pick us up after school in September, we'd go to the beach, take a swim, do our homework, and that was that. You take enough sunlight and warm water. He's right, the Sound saltwater retains the warmth so you can swim. It's still summer. [chuckles]

Brigid: That's great. You don't do the cold-water swims? Because I know a group of people who do cold-weather plunges all through the winter. You're just a warm-water swimmer?

Grace: [chuckles] Oh, I'll stick to the warm water, because my mother would swim in cold water, but I just couldn't get there. I mean "cold" for other people, but no. [chuckles] It'd be hard.

Brigid: Grace, thank you so much for your call. We're going to sneak in a producer pick. We have our own Vito here in Soho. Vito, what's on your summer bucket list?

Vito: What's on my summer bucket list is that normally, every single year, I take the train out to Montauk to go and swim in the water, check out the lighthouse, and I've been doing it every year for the last five years. It's one of my favorite things to do. The water's wonderful. It's great swimming. I haven't been able to do it this year because I've been working really hard on The Brian Lehrer Show, but once I'm done, I'm going to go and take a trip out to Montauk and go swim in the waves again.

Brigid: That sounds wonderful. Thank you so much for that. We're going to sneak in one last caller, Martina in Brooklyn. What's on your summer bucket list?

Martina: Hi. Yes, it's the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, and gearing up to the parade, Saturday, it's the Children's Carnival. Also, Saturday is the Panorama Competition with the Steel Band, and there's also other concerts all in Brooklyn happening this weekend.

Brigid: Martina, thank you so much for that. There's a little glitch in your line there, so just for our listeners, Martina is going to be going to the West Indian Day Parade. She said there's also concerts going on all weekend. A lot of activity in Brooklyn, a lot of celebration of West Indian culture and heritage. Definitely worth checking out if you've never been to the parade. We're going to leave it there for now. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, everybody.

The Brian Lehrer Show's producers are Lisa Allison, Mary Croak, Amina Serna, Carl Boiserand, and Esperanza Rosenbaum. Our interns this summer are Vito Emanuel and Adelina Romero. Megan Ryan is the Head of Live Radio. Juliana Fonda and Milton Ruiz are at the studio controls. That's it for The Bryan Lehrer Show today. Happy summer. Stay tuned for all of it.

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