Not Your Typical NYC Tourist Activities
It’s easy to be inspired by all of the cultural influences in New York City. And while many visitors tend to make the rounds to the usual suspects (The Met, MOMA, Broadway shows), some of my favorite cultural activities are on a much smaller, intimate, not to mention cheaper, scale. So if you find yourself in New York City, be sure to check out some of my favorites.
MOONWORK’S Evening of Original Work
I was first introduced to Moonwork in 2001 and have been a big fan ever since. Their “Evening of Original Work” series runs monthly from September – June and presents original work of emerging and established artists, comedians, and musicians. Hosted by Tom Shilllue, it’s a great way to be introduced to new talent just getting started. You may also recognize many faces from the Daily Show and Comedy Central on occasion.
In 2002 a friend and I fell in love with a new comedian for his very dry humor and unique talents of incorporating drawings and musical instruments into his act. We soon began following his act throughout New York City and saw his venues and fans begin to grow at a huge rate. Soon he was appearing on the Daily Show and even had his own series on Comedy Central. And this week his movie, “Taking Woodstock” opens – his first lead-starring role (and cast by none other than Ang Lee). By “finding” Demetri Martin in the beginning of his career at Moonwork, I am so inspired by how far he has come.
Now the best part about Moonwork? It’s set in a high school gym set up to resemble a cabaret. Even better? It costs just $20 and includes all the beer you can drink until it runs out. And one final plus? They have a kids program that works to develop new and innovative ways to bring theater to kids.
UPRIGHT CITIZEN’S BRIGADE
There are many great venues for seeing comedy in New York City, but they can be very pricey, especially when you factor in the minimum drink costs (and they aren’t cheap drinks either). So besides Moonwork, I like to get my comedy fix from Upright Citizen’s Brigade.
UCB presents three to four sketch-comedy and long-form improvisation shows nightly, seven days a week. Every show is unique and different, especially if it’s improv, and many times the audience gets to have a say in the direction of the show. And since it was co-founded by Amy Poehler, the chances are pretty high that you may even see comedians from Saturday Night Live and even 30 Rock perform.
And you definitely can’t beat the price. Most shows average $5 with the occasional $10 entrance fee. And if you’re open to seeing some of the students of their improv classes perform, you can go for free. My favorite part? $2 PBRs. Nothing but class.
THE MOTH
Another form of live performance, though not always on the comedy level, is The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization. The Moth began as an informal gathering of storytellers in 1997 and has now grown into a monthly series in various venues throughout New York City. Each show has a theme and features five or six storytellers who share a ten-minute story from their lives – without notes. You never know who you are going to hear as potential storytellers must submit their names just prior to the show and then chosen at random.
Most shows are performed at small, intimate venues and cost just $7. But be warned, the popularity of the shows has grown to the point that you need to line up an hour before.
I recently attended a “less-crowded” Moth performance where students of their community program, MothShop, performed and it was just as great as seeing accomplished storytellers. This outreach program offers storytelling workshops to students and marginalized adults from underserved communities in New York City.
Four times a year graduates of these programs perform as part of the “Stories on Stage” series at The Nuyorican Poets Café. At the one I attended, I heard a young man recall how the first time he was left home alone at the age of 12 set him on the path of independence. A young woman opened up about the first time her mostly neglectful father wanted to spend time with her, only to have him walk out of their lives shortly afterwards, never to be heard from again. And a grandmother of seven remembered being upstaged by a young man, Jimmy Brown, at a local dance only to upstage him later at the Apollo Theater when he was known as James Brown.
BOOK READINGS
There are a number of great venues that host book readings in New York City, but my two favorites are The Half King and Housing Works Bookstore Cafe.
The Half King is a restaurant/bar owned by “The Perfect Storm” and travel writer, Sebastian Junger. Their weekly Monday readings usually feature authors and journalists who have some sort of travel angle to their works. Among the many I’ve attended included readings by Liz Gilbert (Eat,Pray, Love), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), and Laurence Gonzales (Deep Survival). They also feature a gallery of inspiring works from various photojournalists and war photographers.
Housing Works Bookstore Café is part of the non-profit organization Housing Works, which is committed to ending the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness. They provide services for homeless men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS in New York City.
All proceeds from their used bookstore and many thrift shops go to this cause. The bookstore is a great venue for book readings, concerts, and Moth events. And even without an event, it is a great atmosphere for perusing used books, writing, or catching up with friends over a coffee or beer. Some of the readings I’ve attended featured Alex Garland (The Beach) and Dave Eggers (What is the What), and I’ve even seen small intimate concerts, including one with English jazz-pop pianist Jamie Cullum.
So be sure to check out some of these local events the next time you are in New York City. And let me know some of your favorites!
Unique Destination Wedding Save-the-Dates
I was never the girl who dreamed of her fairy tale wedding. In fact, I never thought I would get married – and I was okay with that. So when I did meet my prince charming I was pleasantly surprised.
When we decided to get married we didn’t want to go the typical route – church, big wedding party, 4-hour reception. It wasn’t enough time to celebrate! We essentially wanted a big party that lasted for days as our friends and family rarely have a chance to get together.
The question was how to pull that off. Neither of our hometowns meant much to the other, and our current hometown, NYC, was too expensive for just such a party. So it was easy to settle on Long Beach Island, NJ – a place we both spent a lot of time during our “early” years and a place in which we’ve vacationed together since we’ve met.
Since it wasn’t a typical wedding (we had funnel cake instead of wedding cake), we didn’t want typical invites. Good thing I’m a designer!
For both our save-the-date and invite, I based the design on the vintage postcards from the shore, with their “Greetings from….” feel. They evoked the laid-back essence of our celebration in a way that a traditional invite couldn’t. Not only were we thrilled with how they turned out, but guests loved the uniqueness of them as well.
And that got me thinking – maybe there are other couples that would love something different to announce their destination wedding. So I decided to create a line of destination wedding save-the-dates inspired by vintage travel postcards.
As eight of the top ten wedding destinations are beach-related, I started with designs for tropical destinations. All of the postcards are templates and can be customized for the couple, the destination, and the date.
I’d love feedback as this project unfolds and if you know of anyone who is planning a destination wedding, please forward this on!
Click on image to view larger
Playing Tourist In My Hometown – NYC
When NYC is your home, one rarely sees it as a tourist.
As an avid traveler, I’m embarrassed to say that my passport is extremely dusty. It hasn’t seen the light of day since February of 2008. But in my defense, I’ve been spending the past year and a half helping to inspire others to travel through my website, Briefcase to Backpack.
The ironic thing in all of this is that I live in a place where most people from around the world would love to visit – New York City. Yet I spend most of my time in my home office, in front of a computer screen, preaching the wonders of exploring the world. Why not explore my own world?
I saw an opportunity to escape from my 8’x8’ space when a friend from Australia, Lauren, came to visit. This was a great time to embrace the tourist in me and see parts of the city in a new way – beyond the typical tourist attractions.
One of my favorite activities actually took me to a place that I commuted in and out of for a year – Grand Central Terminal (often referred to as Station, which is in fact the name of the post office). As I raced to and from work, I rarely took the opportunity to really take in the beauty of the terminal. And to think, it was nearly demolished in the 1970’s to make room for some non-descript towers until Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis stepped in to intervene. With her help and a Supreme Court ruling (the first on a matter of historic preservation), the Terminal was saved. A plaque in her honor is in Vanderbilt Hall, a place I had often visited for its holiday craft fair, but this I never noticed before.
The current beauty of the Terminal is due to a restoration project that began in 1998. At the time, the gorgeous celestial ceiling and marble was completely covered in black, which was believed to be from coal and diesel smoke. It was later discovered to be 80% tar and nicotine from tobacco smoke. A small patch still remains to remind visitors what it was like. I personally think that alone would make a great anti-smoking campaign!
These facts, and many more, were unveiled during a very entertaining and enlightening 90-minute walking tour sponsored free by The Municipal Arts Society (suggested donation of $10). The tour meets every Wednesday at 12:30pm at the center information booth on the Main Concourse.
While we were in the area, we decided to stop by the New York Public Library, an area I’ve been to countless times visiting Bryant Park, but had never been inside. It was like a journey back in time to see hundreds of people actually using the library for research and study purposes, though a bit ironic that just about everyone had a laptop in front of them. It was, however, a pleasant surprise to see some tables reserved for “non-computer” purposes.
It was great to take the opportunity to revisit places I’ve been to countless times but see them as if it were the very first time. And one place that I did visit for the first time with Lauren was Governor’s Island. The island served as a military base for British and American forces for over 200 years and was transferred to the Coast Guard in 1966. And on January 31, 2003 was transferred to the people of New York through the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation.
The future of the island is still in development but current plans have it serving as a great public open space – and it does. Open Friday-Sunday, access to the island is just a short 5 minute free ferry ride from Downtown. Once on land, there are a variety of activities to do, including car-free biking (rentals are $10 an hour, free on Fridays), running paths, picnic areas, mini-golf, historic walking tours, and art & cultural activities. There is even a beach area with picnic tables, concessions, and concerts. Or if you prefer, you can just relax on the grassy hills or hammocks.
For our part, we decided to take advantage of the free bikes and thoroughly enjoyed being on two-wheels for the first time in many years. (Note, I love biking, but I think bikers in NYC are really gutsy. Being able to do it without worries of a car door opening on me or a taxi side-swiping me was a delight.)
These were just a few highlights for me during Lauren’s visit. In addition, it’s one of my greatest pleasures sharing what I love about the city with visitors like Lauren. NYC is so inspiring in so many ways, so I plan to share more of what I love about it on my Inspiration Blog.
Cambodia Mandala
I was first introduced to Cambodia when it was still known as Kampuchea. As part of my International Relations class in high school, I had to devise an international crisis-type of scenario and the rest of the students had to debate how the United States government should get involved. I chose to focus on Cambodia, in particular Pol Pot, his reign of terror, and the aftermath. I don’t remember the specifics of my scenario, but whatever it was, I had the class stumped. More importantly, my eyes were awakened to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge and the millions of people that suffered under them.
When I decided to travel to SE Asia in 2001, I knew that Cambodia had to be on the itinerary. Most people who travel to Cambodia do so to visit the vast complex and amazing temples of Angkor, and that too was on my to-do-list. But people who pass over visiting Phnom Penh, the Killing Fields, and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, are doing a disservice to themselves and the lives that were lost.
Of course, Angkor Wat and the various other temples in the heart of the country are miraculous to see in person. The complex was begun in the 12th Century as a Hindu temple and later converted to Theravada Buddhism. Most people recognize the main temple, Angkor Wat, but there is believed to be over a thousand temples in the area. You can easily spend weeks exploring all that the complex has to offer. And like most temples that have been deteriorating over time and lie in ruins, your imagination is put to the test.
(Incidentally, National Geographic recently published a great article on the history of Angkor – “Divining Angkor: After rising to sublime heights, the sacred city may have engineered its own downfall”)
For my Cambodia Mandala, I wanted to evoke the sadness that the horrors of the Killing Fields brought on, yet celebrate the rich history of Angkor. I feel the contrast of the two emotions is represented in the cold grays of the stonework and the brightness of the Buddhist robes. And I think that because of this dichotomy, this has always been one of my favorite mandalas. But I know it is not for everyone. Maybe it makes other people uneasy without them realizing it, and if that is the case, then I think it is successful.
What does this mandala evoke in you? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Alaska Mandala
After many years of spending my travel time abroad, I decided that I wanted to see more of my own country. The summer of 2003 was the second year in a row that I did a travel holiday in the United States with Trek America, a tour operator that offers active small group adventures throughout the Americas. They offered a great opportunity to explore and camp through Alaska, a trip that would have been difficult to pull off on my own.
Our guide served as both our tour leader and driver, and our small group of 11 served as cooks, camp set-up/clean-up crew, and overall entertaining company. In our two-weeks on the road we had many incredible adventures, including:
-
Flying by seaplane to our camp site in Kachemak Bay, where juvenile eagles soared overhead as we enjoyed the first salmon of the season; - Carefully navigating our kayaks through the chunks of ice that calved the night before off of Schoop Glacier as seals swam along side us;
- Camping along the river banks in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and tramping on Root Glacier where we set-up ropes on an ice wall for some intense ice climbing;
- A breathtaking flight over the Alaskan Range;
- And four days of 100% visibility of the majestic Denali (Mt. McKinley).
Being in Alaska was like a breath of fresh air – its beauty is invigorating and the only other time I felt so alive was in Nepal. There must be something truly magical in areas where mountain ranges and glaciers dominate. And that is the essence I wanted to portray in my Alaska Mandala.
If one color were to represent Alaska it would have to be blue; from the sea to the sky and iceberg to glacier, its vibrancy is everywhere. And for me, this mandala completely encompasses the electricity that Alaska created in me.
