Monday, June 28, 2010

The Big Apple Kicks Up A Dancing Summer (c) by Polly Guerin

Grab your partner, let’s go!!! There’s music in the air filling the summer nights with dancing feet in a Speakeasy and swing time setting and a New Orleans style Jazz Mass, FREE movies too. A Deco Cabaret chanteuse sings Gershwin and Porter. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE SPEAKEASY at the Museum of the City of New York kicks off the dance craze and invites you join in the Prohibition gaiety every Wednesday starting June 30-August 18, 6-9 PM. Meet Flapper Jane, and enjoy the Fifth Avenue Terrace, with dancing to the swinging sounds of the Jazz Age. $15, $10 for Museum members secretly admits you with one FREE drink ticket and special exhibitions. 1220 Fifth Ave. at 104 St. Tell them “Jerry” sent you. 212.534.1672. http://www.mcny.org/.
MIDSUMMER NIGHT SWING at Lincoln Center holds an outdoor dance party from June 29-July 17 featuring 25 theme nights including swing, tango, rock ‘n’ roll, and more. Each evening begins with a dance lesson at 6:30 PM and the live music begins at 7:30 PM. Battle of the Bands George Gee Orchestra versus The Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra Big Band Swing kicks off the festivities at Damrosch Park at 62nd St. Individual events cost $17 but you can buy a six-night swing pass for $90 or a season pass for $160. Buy Tics online http://www.midsummernightsswing.org/. 212.721.6500.
JAZZ MASS at St. John’s Christopher Street Lutheran Church lets you get into line and experience the Jazz Mass with genuine New Orleans traditional style music that ends with the famous Jazz Parade outside and around the church. Get into the groove with some of New York’s finest Jazz musicians and some from New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz. Every Sunday at 6 PM. 81 Christopher St. at W. 4th. 212.242.5737.
WEIMAR ON SCREEN at Neue Galerie offers a FREE summer film series featuring the tumultuous years of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) which despite the turmoil brought about a flowering of art and culture in Germany. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, a poetic valentine of the German Capital City is shown June 28 and July 5; Pandora’s Box features the free-spirited Lulu played by Louise Brooks July 12 and 19. Mondays at 4 PM in CafĂ© Fledermaus. 1048 Fifth Ave. at 86th St. For complete list: www.neuegalerie.org/programs.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! Do join me at Lily’s Restaurant in the Roger Smith Hotel, 501 Lexington Ave. where gorgeous lush voice of Kathleen Landis sings Gershwin and Porter with her trio Thursday and Saturday evenings through Labor Day. Reservations: 212.838.0844 or http://www.opentable.com/.

Fan mail is always welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net Check out my Blogs: http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Big Apple Events in Vacation City (c) by Polly Guerin


While tourist flock to the Big Apple New Yorker’s can call it their own vacation city with the inside track on happenings in music, art, poetry and fashion. Only in New York my friends, Only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
I’VE BEEN SCOOPED!!!
Sam Roberts’ book “Only in New York,” (St. Martin’s Press) explores of the world’s most fascinating, frustrating and irrepressible city. Sam ought to know. Since 1968, this city editor for the New York Daily News has been covering New York City in print and in his popular New York Times podcasts. He writes 70 essays about what makes New York tick and draws on his experience as a lifelong New Yorker and on his four prize-winning decades of interviews. Subscribe to “Only in New York” podcast at www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html.
ST. JOHN'S JAZZ MASS
Get into a Jazz mood, St. John's Lutheran Church is having a New Orleans' style Creole dinner June 23rd at 7 p.m. to benefit “Imus Ranch for Children with Cancer” with a lecture, rehearsal and talk by Hallema Sharif , with Sharel Cassity. $10 The actual Jazz Mass takes place Sun., July 11th at 6 p.m. at St. Johns landmark church which has graced 81 Christopher St. in Greenwich Village since 1821. Info: marlenejp524@hotmail.com.
PUCCI IS BROADWAY BOUND
Ralph Pucci, the upscale mannequin maker has created 32 sculpture-like mannequins for the outdoor fashion event “Sidewalk-Catwalk,” which will be along Broadway pedestrian plazas from June 24 to Sept. 6. The event draws attention to New York’s fashion industry with “Timeless Walking Women,” as Pucci calls his collection, outfitted by Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, Anna Sui, Betsey Johnson and other prominent designers in weather-resistant, durable fabrics. Free for the viewing. http://www.ralphpucci.org/.

EVERYBODY WINS:
Investing in Energy Efficiency June 29th, 5:30-7 PM at the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street with the Sierra Club holds a lively discussion: solar, wind and nuclear may make more headlines, but increasing the efficiency of the US’s energy use in buildings could be an immediate opportunity to decrease reliance on foreign oil and dirty fossil fuels. Reservations required, Lindsay Seeger, 212.908.4110 or lseeger@moaf.org FREE for members, $25 for guests.

Ta Ta darlings!!! It's time to catch Kathleen Landis, that popular songbird with a trio June 23 and 26 at the Roger Smith Hotel @47th St. Don’t forget the live Metropolitan opera performances this summer at local movie houses. Theater locations vary—visit metopera.org/hdlive. Fan mail goes to pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit my Blogs: thefashionhistorianpollyguerin, womendeterminedtosucceed and awakenyoursleepingbeauty.blogspot.com.

Monday, June 14, 2010

THE BIG APPLE SERENADE WITH MUSIC AND ART (c) by Polly Guerin

Summer celebrates music in the city with pianos throughout the Big Apple. Just for the fun of it tickle the ivories FREE at different locations and take your photo or video.







Summer serenades the city with Nordic Midsummer music, a book reading al fresco, classical music in the park and artsy Warhol fun. Only in New York my friends, only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!


Tickle the Ivories? “PLAY ME I’M YOURS” Sing for Hope, a public service organization, installs 60 upright pianos in parks and public spaces throughout New York City available FREE for public use from June 21-July 5. The public is also invited to post photos and videos of their performance at www.nycstreetpianos.com which also has a full list of locations. The 6/21 opening takes place with Make Music New York, a one-day festival of FREE concerts in public spaces throughout the city. www.makemusicny.org.
TRANQUILITY AND NOVELS: The Bryant Park Reading Room is the perfect solution with the best voices from the field of creative writing. Word for Word author, fashion publicist and reality TV star Kelly Cutrone, (The City & Kell on Earth), discusses her “real girls” (and boys) guide to making it in today’s world. Complimentary books, magazines and newspaper. FREE For full schedule www.bryantpark.org.
NORDIC MIDSUMMER CELEBRATION: Midsummer, also known as the summer solstice, is the longest day of the year, but Scandinavians know it as “the day that never ends.” It is also a day of non-stop celebration extolling the sun’s path around the earth. Scandinavia House, the Nordic Center in America invites you to its Nordic celebration, featuring music from Copenhagen based musician CallmeKat (Katrine Ottosen), Swedish guitarist Samuel Hallkvist, and Icelandic cellist Saeunn Porsteinsdottir. Monday, June 21. ($15, $12 ASF members). 58 Park Ave. http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/.
NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS, begin June 22 at 7:30 pm at the Naumburg Bandshell, withThe KNIGHTS Eric Jacobsen, conductor; Jan vogler, Cello playing music by Felix Mendelssohn, Antonin Dvorak, Franz Schubert, and Morton Feldman. FREE At the Naumburg Bandshell, Concert Ground, Central Park, south of 72nd St. For full details on music
ANDY WARHOL REVISITED: Soup cans and Brillo boxes, is that what Andy Warhol was made of? Not so, if you visit the Brooklyn Museum where fans have a chance to see a long neglected body of work and the period in which Warhol was most productive. The artist’s works from the late 70s and 80s are the focus of this exhibit that reveals another side of the artist. www.brooklynmuseum.org.
Ta Ta darlings: I’m off to tinkle the ivories. See you there!!! Fan mail send pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs: www.womendeterminedtosucceed, www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin, www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty.

Monday, June 7, 2010

AL FRESCO ENTERTAINMENTS IN THE BIG APPLE (c) by Polly Guerin









Summertime and the living is easy and entertainment goes outdoors opening with The Edible Garden and ending with Poetry of Flowers, opens with live music in the MOMA Summer Garden to walking tours of Jackson Heights. Here’s the scoop!!!

EMILY DICKINSON’S GARDEN: The Poetry of Flowers comes to a close June 13th at The New York Botanical Garden where a replica of Emily’s personal garden and poetry posters throughout the pathways illustrate how plants and flowers influenced her poetry and writing. The Mertz Library gallery artifacts provide rare glimpse into Emily’s world.
THE EDIBLE GARDEN growing the preparing good food brings you locally grown, seasonal food with cooking demonstrations. Mario Batali is a headliner chef with cooking demonstrations. Festival weekend begins with Get Out and Grill, June 19-20, with a Sunday BBQ perfect for Father’s Day. Bronx River Parkway and Fordham Road, Bronx, New York. 718.817.8000. http://www.nybg.org/.

MUSIC FILLS THE SUMMER NIGHTS in MOMA’S Sculpture Garden, showcasing an international range of music FREE on four Sunday evenings beginning with musicians from the Juilliard School on July 11 and 25, and groups selected by Jazz at Lincoln Center on July 18 and August 1. Instrumentalists include the Don Byron Ivey-Divey Trio, led by the acclaimed clarinetist and saxophonist, and an impressive roster of composers from around the world. 11 W. 53 St. http://www.moma.org/.

CELEBRATE HISTORIC JACKSON HEIGHTS and take a self-guided tour of private interior gardens surrounded by 1920s-era garden apartments, only open to the public once a year, Saturday June 12th from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Visit nine gardens at your own pace, following a map included in your ticket. Pick up tickets $10 at the Community church, 81-10 35th Ave. on Sat. morning where a FREE slide lecture on the history of Jackson Heights is given 10:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Escorted walking tours of the Historic District 12 noon on Sunday, June 13th. 718.565.5344. http://www.jacksonheightsbeautifucationgroup.org/.

DRESSING THE SOUL, Mixing fashion and fine art, international artist Caterina Bertolotto shows her unique art dresses each inspired by a book bought at the East West Living bookstore. The event features nine handmade dresses with topics ranging from meditation to ecology. Each piece is full of depth, thoughtfulness, and whimsy. Artist’s reception is FREE to the public. 78 Fifth Ave., http://www.caterinabertolotto.com/.
Ta Ta darlings. You know I’ll be at Dressing the Soul, See You there!!! Looking for your fan mail: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs: http://www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty. blogspot.com; http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.blogspot.com and for an inside track visit: http://www.newyork’shiddentreasures.blogspot.com.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

SUMMER SIZZLES WITH BIG APPLE DIVERSIONS (C)

SUMMER SIZZLES WITH BIG APPLE DIVERSIONS ©
By Polly Guerin

Life in the Big Apple is FREE as the breeze with sizzling summer diversions some FREE, other worth the price. Go to the West Side for Apollo I, head to Bryant Park for poetry and music, take in book signings. Keep your ‘cool’ and and never get bored. I guarantee it. Here’s the Scoop!!!
“27 Seconds,” at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, honors the heroes who died in the Apollo I explosion with a timeline of the different phases of America’s race to the Moon, a video of John F. Kennedy’s race to the moon speech and the role the USS Intrepid played while acting as a space capsule recovery ship. “27 Seconds,” represents the amount of time that passed from when the spark ignited the first to the final voice transmission of the Apollo I crew. Free with price of admission to the museum. Pier 86 (46th St. & 12th Ave.) http://www.intrepidmusuem.org/.
BRYANT PARK ‘Free as a Breeze’ gets you in the mood to hear some of the city’s best pianists tickle the ivories with some jazz, ragtime and summer favorites 12:30 to 2 p.m. Gather round the park’s custom-made piano at 42nd St. and 6th Ave. The Bryant Park Reading Room offers complimentary books, magazines and newspapers and is the host site for Word for Word presentations by authors and poets. For full listings and updates, visit http://www.brantpark.org.
“La Senora,” Andree Aelion Brooks, presents the incredible story of Donna Gracia Nasi, a l6th Century Jewish woman banker who developed an escape network that saved thousands of her fellow conversos from the terrors of the Inquisition. At The Brotherhood Synagogue, 28 Gramercy Park South, Sun. June 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. $18 adults, $9 students. Tapas, Sangria and Music. 212.674.5750.
THE WEAVING is the story of Corrie ten Boom who courageously aided hundreds of Jews in escaping the Nazis during WWII, and brought hope into the darkness of the Ravensbruck Camp. Film June 13th, 7 p.m. only one night, at Alice Tully Hall. Tickets: 212.671.4050 or at the Box Office.
INDO-AMERICAN ARTS COUNCIL presents Pepita’s Seth’s ‘Heaven on Earth,’ book launch of a photographic journey of the Universe of Kerala’s Guruvayur temple. Talk and slide show followed by Q&A and reception. Suggested donation $5. Rsvp: admin@iaac.us. Wed. June 2, 6-9 p.m., Aicon Gallery, 35 Great Jones St.
Ta Ta darlings!!! I’m taking myself to Word for Word to recite my own poetry “Broken Pieces,” which mends many of life’s dilemmas. Do be a good pet send fan mail to pollytalk@verizon.net; visit
http://www.thefashionhistorian.blogspot.com/; health advice http://www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty/; amazing women http://www.womendeterminedtosucceed.