The New York City Traveler

Most cities in the US will celebrate Gay Pride this month and the mother of them all– Gay Pride Week 2008-New York City (also known as Heritage of Pride)– is less than a week away!  This year, the New York gay community has a little extra to celebrate with New York’s recognition of same-sex unions.  Here’s a schedule of New York’s gay pride festivities:
Sunday, June 22nd | The Rally  Hosted by comedians Judy Gold and Bob Smith, this kick-off to the week’s festivities will include performances by well-known performers and motivational speakers from the LGBT community as well …read more

2 Comments

New York City’s Heritage of Pride celebrations aren’t scheduled to begin until June 22nd, but there are plenty of pride events going on this weekend to prepare you for the mother of them all… New York’s Gay Pride March.
“Live, Love, Be” is the theme of this year’s Brooklyn Pride event.  There is a full day of events on Saturday, June 14th with a festival in Prospect Park from 11am-6pm and a Night Parade from 6-8pm.  More information can be found on the Brooklyn Pride website. 
Washington DC’s Pride Fest finishes this weekend with a parade and festival.  To …read more

Comments Off

Shakespeare in the Park it is not.  For something a little more avant garde, try Shakespeare under the bridge… the Brooklyn Bridge, that is.   
Polish theater company TR Warszawa and director Grzegorz Jarzyna breathe new life into Shakespeare’s Macbeth with performances at St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO, Brooklyn.  This Shakespeare classic tragedy will be presented in an a two-story, open-air, column-free structure that was specially constructed for the event.  The production will be a true multi-media experience complete with video walls and English supertitles, as the play will be presented entirely in Polish.
For more information on Macbeth under the bridge, …read more

Comments Off

ABC’s hit show Dancing with the Stars has just crowned a new champion.  But if you’re going through withdrawals from Dancing With the Stars, why don’t you dance under the stars?
The dance that has been called a “three minute love affair” is returning to Central Park again this summer.  Central Park Tango, a free dance meeting, is set to begin next week, Saturday, June 7 with Hernan as the DJ.  
Central Park Tango began in 1995 with a handful of people and a boom box at Bethesda Fountain.  At the time it was called “Hit and Run Tango” because if …read more

4 Comments

Visit the rainforest of Brazil without leaving the jungle of New York City.  Amazônia Brasil has a four-part exhibit that provides insight into the complex Amazon of Brazil.  Learn about how climate change is affecting the diverse ecosystem of the rainforest, visit a re-creation of an Amazon village, and meet indigenous artisans and shamans.    
Amazônia Brasil – Main Exhibit:  South Street Seaport, Pier 17
South Street Seaport has been transformed into a re-creation of the Brazilian rainforest.  In the 13,000-sq.-foot experience, visitors can see the sights and sounds of the Amazon and walk through a replica of a Amazon village.  Lending …read more

1 Comment

The warm, beautiful weather we have had recently in New York has given us the hope that we can put away our big coats and boots.  This last week I walked the streets of Soho to see what spring fashion trends I am seeing on the locals on the streets of New York City. 
 
Leggings   All of the major fashion mags may have said that leggings are out but there are still quite a few girls rocking this look on the street.  Remember, these are not to be work in place of pants, so always wear this look …read more

Comments Off

The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival debuted Wednesday night with the lukewarm reception of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s comedy, Baby Mama.  This weekend, marking the first full weekend of festivities, more independent, foreign films will make their New York, North American, and World Debuts. 
As I sit here in a Tribeca coffee shop, cinemaphiles to my left and right are are pouring over the 2008 TFF Official Guide, trying to decide which films they want to put on their list.  Here is a short list of films that the feel are noteworthy:    
Friday, April 25th

Eden (Ireland)   Adapted from an award-winning …read more

4 Comments

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) kicks off next week, Wednesday, April 23rd and individual tickets will be available to the general public starting tomorrow, Saturday April 18th.  This is your chance to be part of the downtown event that Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro made famous. 
There is something for everybody at this year’s TFF.  The festival will feature films from Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, as well as from New York.  Such special interests as Women’s Issues, Environmental Issues, Political lssues, Health Issues, and Social Issues will be covered in films.  There will be films for …read more

Comments Off

Spring is “film festival season” in New York and today marks the opening of the Havana Film Festival New York (HFFNY).  The film festival celebrates the best of Latin America cinema featuring films from Cuba, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America.  The festival runs until Thursday, April 17th. 
Tonight’s opening film, La Noche de los Inocentes (The Night of the Innocents) (Cuba/Spain/Italy), opens with a badly beaten man in the emergency room of La Habana hospital.  Everyone assumes that he’s been assaulted for being a transvestite, but as the night continues, mysterious characters “come out of the woodwork.”  The …read more

1 Comment

The 15th Annual New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) started yesterday, April 9, in New York and will run through May 26th.  The festival features over 40 films from 22 African countries.
The films in this year’s festival emphasize history and storytelling, technology and the future.  This year’s theme, “Cinema and History: Africa and the Future,” will mark the 50th anniversary of the independence of Guinea from colonial rule and will feature footage of this independence as captured by Russian archival footage. 
Among this year’s films are:
Cuba: An African Odyssey (France), which examines events surrounding Che Guevara’s military campaign in …read more

Comments Off