Day: October 14th, 2007

CultureFest 2007

Sunday, October 14th, 2007 | All Things, Arts, Events, Music

CultureFest 2007

In Battery Park this brisk Autumn afternoon for the seventh annual CultureFest — a “celebration of the City’s magnificent and diverse cultural offerings.” More than 125 cultural organizations were on site to showcase their new exhibitions and offer performance highlights at this weekend-long festival, complete with two stages, a park full of exhibits, scientific demonstrations and interactive activities — sort of one-stop-shopping for upcoming cultural events.

CultureFest 2007

Giant bubbles:

CultureFest 2007

The human graffiti wall:

CultureFest 2007

Among the usual scads of glossy brochures, postcards and magnets, several of the tables were sprinkled with colorful metal enamel pins. I picked up my first from the French Institute Alliance Française (a hot pink “Bisous!”), which I attached to my new knitted scarf, eventually adding a “Gaga” from the Goethe-Institut New York, one from the New Museum of Contemporary Art (reopening at 235 Bowery on December 1, 2007), an “I *heart* Orpheus” from the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and a square green one from StoryCorp, the national oral history archive project (“tell your story, pass it on”). The motherlode, though, was to be found at the NYC Visit booth which had bins and bins of brightly-colored pins emblazoned with the names of neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs, as part of the new “Just Ask The Locals” tourism campaign. Almost every area I could think of… except for mine. (Spuyten Duyvil is represented but not the Upper West Side? What’s up with that?)

By afternoon, I had built up quite a collection of flair.

CultureFest 2007

Of course, no family-friendly festival is complete without clowns:

CultureFest 2007

Performers like Empire Opera soprano Jamila Amala Sockwell entertained us all through the park, while on the dual stages, a roster of live acts cycled through. Here, on the “Kids Stage,” spritely Irish step dancers from The Niall O’Leary School of Dance moved at least one member of the audience to her feet.

CultureFest 2007

Despite having lived in New York City all my life, I continue to be amazed at the diversity of offerings around the city: the sheer number of museums, music, theater and dance companies, educational and historical organizations, is staggering. I only very recently came across the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden on the Upper East Side; the historic carriage house is just a mile and half from my apartment, and according to the website, one of the seven oldest buildings in Manhattan. And I never knew The Museum of American Finance existed until this afternoon; the collection will be moving to 48 Wall Street in January 2008, just a block’s walk from my office.

New discoveries: that’s what keeps us coming to these events.

Check out the rest of the CultureFest set on flickr.

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Brunch in Wonderland

Sunday, October 14th, 2007 | All Things, Eats

MB and LW were newly returned from their trip to Nuit Blanche à Paris, so we arranged to meet for crêpes at the original (“Chapter I”) location of Alice’s Tea Cup on West 73rd Street.  (There are two newer spin-offs on the Upper East Side.)  I’d been to Alice’s several times for afternoon/evening tea, but have never before ventured for brunch. We found this ultra-feminine Wonderland to be the perfect place to take a four-year old girl (and her somewhat older dining companions.)

Alice’s Tea Cup

Alice’s Tea Cup

The poached eggs in Alice’s version of Eggs Benedict are served up on a split scone (choice of buttermilk or ham and cheese) instead of the more traditional English muffin, and come with a generous side of potato-chicken hash.

Alice’s brunch

HM had “Alice’s Curious French Toast,” baked bread pudding style, infused with apricot brandy tea and topped with fruit coulis and crème anglaise. I have to admit that it looked pretty tasty, and I’m usually not one for sweet breakfasts. And of course, we each ordered our own personal pot of tea from the extensive tea menu. After such a meal, is it any wonder there was no room left for crêpes?

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