Brooklyn Botanic Garden

One of my main concerns about moving to the city was my assumption that I wouldn’t see nature for months at a time.  As excited as I was to explore concrete streets, the thought of not being able to walk through a forest or be surrounded by quiet made me wonder if I would ever feel claustrophobic in New York.

After three years in the city I can confidently say that not only are there plenty of parks and gardens here, but the fact that I can be at Rockefeller Center in one hour and in Central Park the next is a quality about New York I’ve come to appreciate.  After hearing amazing things about Brooklyn Botanic Garden, I finally made the trip. 

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a 52 acre urban garden that boasts thousands of species of plants from around the world.  Depending on the season, there are numerous smaller gardens within the space that vary according to plant type, with educational plaques throughout.  One of my favorite gardens was the Shakespeare Garden.  According to the map, it holds “over 80 flowers, herbs, shrubs, and trees that appear in the works of the Bard of Avon.”   

The garden even hosts educational programs focused on urban gardening and conserving plant communities.  You can find more information on Brooklyn Botanic Garden here.

A List: Parks In New York

While greenery may not be what most people picture when they think of New York, this city offers plenty of beautiful parks and gardens.  Here are a few of my favorite places to go when I need a break from taxis and concrete.

1.  Sheep Meadow in Central Park.  This is kind of an obvious one, but for good reason.  Sheep Meadow is a huge lawn inside the Park that is perfect for a sunny day.  I love getting lunch from Whole Foods at 10 Columbus Circle and walking over.

2.  Brooklyn Bridge Park.  A highlight of my three years in New York has been calling Brooklyn Heights home, mainly because this park is so close to my apartment.  The park offers a beautiful view of Manhattan, basketball courts and soccer fields, and (like I mentioned in this post) Smorgasburg is held here every Sunday.

3.  The Cloisters/Fort Tyron.  A branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters museum and gardens is located in Fort Tyron Park.  The building and its gardens are beautiful in and of themselves and, if you like art and architecture of medieval Europe, the hike is certainly worth it. 

These parks and plenty of others (like here and here and here) offer a space to breathe inside the concrete jungle.

In the spirit of greenery, next week I’ll publish a review on Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  

An Event With Freedom Ladder

I recently attended The Bridal Fashion Show 2015, an event hosted by The Set NYC and Freedom Ladder.  Proceeds from the event went to support Freedom Ladder’s mission “to stop child sex trafficking by using popular vehicles of education and entertainment, such as comic books, to educate at-risk children about the danger of sex trafficking and empower them to protect themselves and live lives of courage, power, and inspiration.”

 

The evening included a bridal wear fashion show by Kristin Costa, live music by Encypher, and a couture bridal and evening wear fashion show by Irina Shabayeva (Project Runway season 6 winner). There was an opportunity to purchase food and drink, raffle tickets, and Freedom Ladder’s educational materials (their comic book “Abolitionista” teaches children how to protect themselves from sex trafficking). 

I enjoyed the event, with a highlight being the show by Irina Shabayeva (I think it’s best to just look at the pictures since I doubt my words could do the dresses justice).  I also won a haircut with Vu Hair which I'm excited about!  

That said, the best part of the night was watching people come together with the hope of fighting this crime against humanity.  Thank you for a fantastic evening, Freedom Ladder! 

A table with Freedom Ladder's materials for sale.

There were vendors selling clothes and jewelry by local designers.

Encypher

          

A List: Supporting Local Artists

Living in NYC provides the perfect opportunity to surround oneself with plenty of talented people.  Here’s a short list of some fun and inexpensive ways to support local artists in the city!

1.  Recession Art is an arts organization that aims to connect emerging artists with art enthusiasts and the general public alike who may not have the means to spend a lot of money in the traditional art market.  Their affordable pieces start as low as $25.  

2.  Nuyorican Poets Cafe has held poetry slams since the late eighties.  Today, anyone can watch poets compete every Wednesday night, where the first 20 people who sign up are allowed to share 1 poem before being judged by 3 randomly selected audience members.  The top 10 move on to the second round (where they share a second poem) and the top 5 move onto the final round.  The top poet is awarded a cash prize and is invited to participate in a Friday Night Slam.

3.  The Moth offers a space for ordinary people to showcase the ancient art of live storytelling.  Storytellers must be invited in order to participate, and each show explores a specific theme.  Some stories are sad, some are humorous, but all of them are personal and allow the audience members to observe human existence from a unique angle.       

There are plenty of ways to support artists in the city.  Have fun exploring! 

New York Spring Spectacular

Last weekend I saw the New York Spring Spectacular featuring The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.  While I know the Rockettes are quintessential New York, I figured I can make an exception and feature them on the blog due to how exceptional the performance was.  A few highlights:

1. The opening dance was to T-Swift’s “Welcome to New York” and it was perfection.

2. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey were in the show (just their voices, but still!) 

3. There was singing.  In the rain. 

4. LIVE PUPPIES RAN ACROSS THE STAGE

5.  There was a montage featuring some of the best New York moments in film.     

The storyline centered on a tour guide taking the audience on a journey through New York, with a ton of interesting facts and history about the city along the way.  The actors were hilarious, the Rockettes were incredible and the show was enjoyable whether you're a visitor (see first photo) or a resident.  And not only was the show entertaining, it made me proud to call New York City home (the next morning I was still so pumped from the show that I woke up at 7 am and ran around Brooklyn Bridge Park listening to “Welcome to New York” approximately eighteen times).  I can’t recommend this show enough, and I fully plan on dragging every friend and family member I can find to the Christmas Spectacular in December.  

You can find more information about the show and buy tickets here.

These ladies were visiting from Sweden and they loved the show!

Museum Series: The Brooklyn Museum

I recently took a trip to The Brooklyn Museum.  While the museum offers plenty of exhibits and hosts pieces from many different periods, the most interesting part of the experience (and the reason a friend invited me to go in the first place) was an exhibit called The Dinner Party.

The museum describes Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party as “the most significant icon of 1970s feminist art.  Begun in 1974 and finished in 1979, with the help of hundreds of collaborators, the large-scale work celebrates the achievements of 1,038 actual and mythical female figures, most of whom had been neglected by history until they were reclaimed by feminist scholars.  In honoring those individuals, the work at the same time pays tribute to all women who have been lost to history.” 

The first part of The Dinner Party included panels of women who influenced various cultural spheres throughout history.  At the top of each section marked a woman who represented a specific cultural space (whether it was writing, painting, activism, etc.) and following that name was approximately a dozen other women who left a similar impact throughout history.  

The second part of the exhibit was set up as an actual dinner party complete with a huge triangular-shaped table hosting thirty-nine place settings.  With each woman’s name stitched on an embroidered runner, every utensil, napkin and plate honored a specific woman’s culture and place in history.  Not lacking in detail, the names of the 999 other women were inscribed on the floor below.

Not only is this exhibit visually stunning, it was the first “monumental work of American art, conceptualized by a woman, to survey the contributions of women to Western civilization over the millennia.”  The fact that I recognized only a portion of the names made the exhibit especially impactful for me, and I was reminded of the importance of honoring the generations of women who have helped change the world for the better.

You can find more information on The Brooklyn Museum here.

The museum offers Pay What You Wish during all open hours (and is free from 5 to 11 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month, except September).

  

Eats: Smorgasburg

Food is culture, right?  Great.  Now that we have established that, let me tell you about one of my favorite weekend things: Smorgasburg.

Smorgasburg is an outdoor food market open every weekend from April through November.  On Saturdays the market is held in Williamsburg, and on Sunday it’s held in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Smorgasburg is an excellent way to try new foods and enjoy the sunshine!  I recently spent a weekend at both locations, and thought it would be helpful to write a review on a few foods I tried.

The first vendor I went to sold grilled corn with cheese and spices for $4.  It was so good!  I believe the name was Vaqueros, but I can’t seem to find the vendor on the Smorgasburg website. 

The second vendor I went to was one of the more popular vendors (I had to wait in line for about 40 minutes) called Ramen Burger.  Instead of normal hamburger buns, Ramen Burger serves buns made out of cooked, unflavored ramen noodles.  I thought it was just okay.  Other than some sort of barbeque sauce and a couple of greens, there was little flavor, the texture wasn’t great and, for $9, I know I can find a better, more classic hamburger elsewhere (maybe I just don’t like messing with a good thing).

The last vendor I went to was Piece of Velvet, and I got a piece of red velvet cake for around $5.  As far as desserts go I’m pretty much an expert (trust me on this), and everything about this cake was amazing.

The next day I bought Injera with a side of Yatakilt Alicha for $4 at an Ethiopian vendor called Bunna Cafe.  This was probably the best, healthiest and most flavorful dish I’ve tried so far.    

Finally, I got bubble tea at Thirstea Cafe which was good (it's probably difficult to mess up bubble tea though...) 

Smorgasburg is cash only and open every weekend 11 am-6 pm rain or shine.  You can find more information on Smorgasburg and their many different vendors here.