DAYTRIPPING TO THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN: By Polly Guerin

As New York City slowly opens up people anxious to get out, after months of guarrantine, need only Day Trip it to The New York Botanical Garden, to reconnect with nature. The reopening of Outdoor Gardens and Collections marks a welcome general oublic.  The best way to get there is by public transportation and Metro North where 250 acres and one million plants await your pleasure to experience nature in all its glory.  New safety protocols in accordance with State of New York requirements wearing masks and social distancing.                                                                                                As the great outdoor adventurer John Burroughs wrote "I go to nature to be soothed and healed and to have my senses in order."                                                                                                                               NYBG is an urban oasis and integral part of he cultural fabri of New York City, located in the Bronx. The verdant landscape currently features a trove of vibrant daylilies, hydrangeas, water lilies, and lotuses among its one million plants. Take a leisurely stroll waking paths and trails that crisscross the Garden providing moments of discovery through nature.                                         As the French painter wrote "There are always flowers for those who want to see them."                                                                                                                                                          The  reopened gardens, outdoo collections and natural features include the Native Plant Garden  with its meadow , woodland promenade and centerpiece water feature, Bronx River with its waterfall which runs through the 50-acre Train family forest, layered and colorful patterns and plant group-ings of the Perennial and Herb Gardens, lushly shaded Chilton Azalea Garden, the award-winning Rockefeller Rose Garden, tropical and aquatic plant-filled Conservatory Courtyards and Pools, and so much more to enchant you and soothe your eyes by the glorious colors that have so much significance. As the color therapist's say: Red for life itself, green for healing, blue for spiritual growth, yellow for happiness and sunshine to name a few that remind us that the colors in nature are the perfect tonic to restore one's pent up feelings. As Albert Einstein wrote "Look deep into nature nd then you will understand everything."                                                                                                                The reopening incorporates enhanced safey measures including staff and visitors  over the age of two to wear face coverings and obseerve social distancing pratices; rewuiring time-entry tickets purchased in advance which will promote social distancing and mitigate the risk of crowding in high-traffic areas. TO RESERVE TIMED TICKETS IN ADVANCE visit the NYBG website nybg.org. Visitor Amenities include: Pine tree Cafe (10 a.m-6p.m, limited menu and outdoor seating) Hudson Gardeb Grill Terrace (12-5 pm; snacks and refreshments, including water, and beer.  The Clay Family Picnic Pavillion.  Please check the NYBG websute for a ccmplete list.                                              THE NEW YOK BOTANICAL GARDEN IS LOCATED AT 2900 SOUTHERN BOULEVARD, bRONX, New York 10458.  Visit nybg.org. 

                        

HOPE WANTED Exhibit at NYHS By Polly Guerin

Take Care of Each Other, Kings Theater Brooklyn

As New York City slowly gets back on track, the New York Historical Society is the first museum to reopen on August 14 with an outdoor exhibit, HOPE WANTED NEW YORK CITY UNDER QUARANINE.  As the title indicates, the exhibit takes a look back at New York City's traumatic and recent past, its people and environments. Treating the quarantine of New York City as history the New York Historical Society presents images and interviews  relating to the lockdown as early as April of this year.
       Installed in the museum's rear  courtyard located at West 76th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, the exhibition also includes a quiet seating area, surrounded by plants where visitors can record their own experiences of the pandemic in an open aided story booth. These oral histories will be archived by the New York Historical Society. 
      Admission to HOPE WANTED is FREE, but access is limited, and face masks are required for
entry, with social distancing enforced through time entry tickets and on-site safety measures. Tickets are available online at nyhistory,org/hopewanted. The exhibition will be open on Thursdays 11 am-5pm for visitors 65+ and to the general public on Fridays from 10 am - 8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am-5pm. Audio interviews are accessible to visitors though their cell phones, and exhibition text and audio are offered in both English and Spanish.
     

TIMES SQUARE during Pandemic

"Hope Wanted" is a joint project between writer and human rights activist Kevin Powell and photographer Kay Hickman. At the height of the quarantine they spent and intensive two days, April 8-9, traveling the five boroughs to interview and take photos of ordinary New Yorkers living during an extraordinary time of quarantine in New York City.
      Hickman's empathetic photographs of people and their neighborhoods across all five boroughs and Powell's searching interviews  capture both the tragedy of the pandemic as well as the remarkable resilience of New Yorkers---like "Mama Tanya" Fields, an activist and urban famer whose whole family contracted coronavirus, pictured smiling with her six children in the hallway in her Bronx home and photographed on their balcony and in the middle of the street in Queens, Mark Zustovich and Melton Sawyer shar that "self-care has taken anew meaning for us in this era of COVID-19. 

"I'm honored to be part of such a historic exhibit featuring more than 50 of my photographs," said Kay Hickman. "This will be my most important exhibit to date.  In documenting the City at the height of the COVID pandemic you see a rare glimpse of grim and deserted streets, both though Kevin Powell's 12 audio interviews you also get a sense of hope. In viewing this exhibit it is my hope that there is a sense of healing." Kevin Powell is a poet, author and a human rights activist and Kay Hickman is a documentary photographer and visionary artist. The exhibition is on views from August 14 to November 29, 2020.
        "Our goal with HOPE WANTED is to honor and celebrate the strength of New Yorkers," said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of New York Historical. "We hope this exhibition can offer our visitors a moment of solace to reflect on what they and the city as a whole have experienced in recent months and to better understand this moment in time. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to the New York Historical Society."
       HOPE WANTED is part of All in NYC, Public Art Exhibition, showcasing dozens of programs across the city, and initiative launched by NYC and Company.  The New York Historical Society is located at 170 Central Park West at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street) New York, NY 10024. Follow the museum on social media at @nyhistory on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Tumblr

Serenity in GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY: By Polly Guerin

Serenity in a Cemetery? You may have reason to consider that question, but let me remind you
that within the wrought iron walls of American cemeteries, beneath the oak trees and glorious tombs here you will find a sacred space to escape the cacophony of the city. 
       

Tranquility Garden Koi Pond Green-Wood

While some people came, as the earliest did, to honor the deceased, individuals of the still-breathing sort gathered in the cool comfort of a cemetery, to rest, read and even picnic in peace. During the 19th century and especially in its later years, snacking in cemeteries, beneath the shade of oak trees and tombs happened across the United States. Since many of the towns lacked proper recreational areas, many people even had full-blown picnics in their local cemeteries. The tombstone laden fields were the closet thing, then, to modern day public parks. Of special note, Green-Wood's popularity helped to inspire the creation of public parks, including New York City's Central  and Prospect parks.
        Like the Victorians, though picnics are not encouraged, today we can find sanctuary in a cemetery for these places  offer sacred spaces where one can find serene serenity and only the gentle wind will caress your face. Although I am writing about Green-Wood Cemetery, just about any park-like cemetery with magnificent ancient trees, winding paths and  wild flowers might be more convenient, because Green-Wood Cemetery is located in Brooklyn, New York. 
       Wherever your destination for contemplation or meditation, I suggest that like any other outdoor excursion, that you bring a bottle of water.  In some instances you may find a bench which may at one time welcomed the bereaved and now may serve to accommodate your visit. So sit down and center yourself and release the cares of the day that  are shouldering your thoughts and weighting you down. Breathe in the clean un-polluted air and clear your mind for a refreshing meditation that releases you from the mind wrenching grip of the city.             

Green-Wood Cemetery Winding Path

There is no more peaceful place than a cemetery and Green-Wood with its 478 spectacular acres of hills, valleys, glacial ponds and winding paths provide one of the most  sacred and serene areas in which to sit down and contemplate, restore one's
equilibrium and emerge refreshed and inspired. 
         And you will be in good company, too. Among the permanent notables are baseball legends, politicians, artists, entertainers and inventors.  Leonard Bernstein. Louis Comfort Tiffany, whose stained glass adorns many tombs, the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat rests there as do many other celebrities of stage and screen and prominent families including the Roosevelts.
        Green-Wood's spectacular acres of hills, valleys, glacial ponds and paths presents four seasons of beauty from century and a half old trees and the largest outdoor collections of 19th and 20th-century statuary and mausoleums.
        You will be in good company among the  permanent residents who will not disturb your
privacy or deep thinking meditation.     

Fort Hamilton Gatehouse Green-Wood

Although the focus of this feature is Green-Wood with its sacred spaces there is first time news that is rather exciting. Over its nearly two-century history Green-Wood has served as inspiration for countless artists--from musicians, to poets, to painters.  Quite recently they announced their first ever
ARTIST-in-RESIDENCE PROGRAM. One artist will have the opportunity to create in Green-Wo0d's Fort Hamilton Gatehouse, using Green-Wood's landmarked cemetery as their muse.
       Applications remain open through September 2. 2020.  It's an extraordinary opportunity for emerging or mid-career artists in the visual or performing arts. The nine-month residency will run from January through September2021.  The selected artist will be provided with a $7,500 honorarium, a private studio space in the Gatehouse, and access to the cemetery's professional staff and archives, and historical collections. For further information please contact: artistinresidence@green-wood.com. 
      In conclusion: Green-Wood Cemetery is located at 500 25th St., Brooklyn, NY 11232, www.green-wood.com. It is a NYC National Landmark and is listed in the National
Registry of Historic Places