Falling For Fall (In NYC) by Phoebe Knowles
Posted on 14. Oct, 2011 by Birdsong in Community, Hotel
I love the fall! Sweaters come out, knee-high boots too, apple cider and pumpkin flavored items hit menus city-wide from Starbucks lattes to seasonal pancakes to freshly made pumpkin ravioli…YUM! In New York, post summer, the wheels of the city start turning again…groups reconvene (book groups, networking groups, sports teams) and things start to happen.
Here are a few things that I’m looking forward to in October….
The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (In it to End It) on the weekend of October 15th and 16th is a great way to see the City and be part of the critical fight against breast cancer. The walking route takes you from the starting point on Pier 84, where they have opening ceremonies on Saturday morning as you watch the sun come up over the Hudson River, then around Manhattan, eventually arriving at Randall’s Island (where the Wellness Village is and where people can choose to spend the night)…and then back again. (www.avonwalk.org/new-york/ )
Of course, being a Yankees fan means that post-season baseball is always great! Here’s how it works…there are two leagues in Major League Baseball; the American League and National League. The best teams of each league (plus coveted Wild Card positions…which are still very much up for grabs) go to the Playoffs and ultimately get a shot at facing each other in the World Series. The Yanks have secured a playoff spot!! So, October in New York will have that extra electricity and excitement while our team defends its reputation of amazingness. Any bar with a TV will be showing the games. Feel the buzz!
It was a good September here in NY…The 10 day-long Craft Beer Festival was a highlight…cruising the City with a beer passport, seeking out participating bars and locales that normally would not have hit my radar…trying strange (and often wonderful) flavors of beer – reminding me of my college days when my friends from the Biology Department at Brown used to brew beer in their basement just off campus and we’d test their newest concoctions…banana flavored beer stands out in my memory (!?). With the onset of October, the Craft Beer Festival is over…but, all is not lost…I’ve recently discovered a grrrreat bar that serves American craft beers year-round called The Pony Bar (45th and 10th Ave – www.theponybar.com ).
No pony unfortunately (though they do have a beautiful wooden canoe suspended from the ceiling…)…but the beer menu is fantastic in its own right (new brews become available over the course of an evening, a huge wall menu with sliding slats shows what is on tap at any given moment – a bell rings whenever a new one is added…) with titles like Haystack Blonde and Caddy Wompus. All beer is priced at $5.00…and, as odd as it sounds, I thoroughly recommend that you order the fried green beans to go with your craft beer. Unexpected and delicioso. If you are seeking something more Germanic and Octoberfesty, I would recommend the new Bierhaus (712 3rd Avenue between 44th and 45th – www.bierhausnyc.com ) – they have live German beer garden-type music in honor of October Fest and a great pretzel & sausage menu for the occasion. Waitresses wear dirndls and the beer is tasty.
October also kicks off the classical music season in the City. There is such an expansive offering of groups and styles and concert venues that, for the classical music enthusiast, there really is something for everyone. The vocal area network (www.van.org) shows choral concerts that are scheduled to take place in the City throughout the year. I, myself, am looking forward to Musica Sacra’s performance of Rachmaninoff Vespers on October 12th. Even if you are not a huge choral music fan, if you find yourself in Midtown, on or near 5th Avenue in the early evening (post shopping, on your way home from Central Park, etc.) step into St Thomas’ Church (5th Avenue and 53rd Street – www.saintthomaschurch.org) at 5:30 to see the men and boys choir sing evensong. This church has a boys choir school attached to it (think Westminster Boys Choir) and part of their daily activity is to sing during an afternoon service. Sit up front if you can…Fun (and frankly impressive!) to see the little guys sing up close.
While Charlie Sheen has been self destructing before the world’s eyes, his father and brother have been working on a movie together called The Way (www.theway-themovie.com) which is filmed almost entirely on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. Now…I happen to be a huge West Wing fan…and I grew up with the Brat Pack (Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, etc.) so am particularly excited about the Martin Sheen-Emilio Estevez creative team. The trailer reveals some breathtaking footage of this stunning part of the world (another obvious plus for the film). Story line…well…there is a sort of tragic father-son situation played out by Sheen and Estevez and the cathartic spiritual process that takes place along the age-old pilgrimage route, traversing the French and Spanish Pyrenees, culminating in Galicia’s Santiago de Compostela. The movie opens on October 7th. I’ll certainly be checking it out!
In NY we LOVE Halloween. The fall farmers market at Union Square (www.grownyc.org/unionsquaregreenmarket) explodes with pumpkins of all sizes (incidentally, great for carving jack-o-lanterns) and those outrageous gourds that are shaped like goose necks or UFOs and come in the most exotic color/pattern combinations, spotted, striped, and beautiful. Costume pop-up shops can be found throughout the City as well throughout the month of October (examples: Ricky’s at 14th and 5th and Spirit Halloween on 6th Avenue between 25th & 26th Streets…). Lines get pretty crazy the closer you get the big day so think through your costume options early and plan ahead! If you happen to be in town on October 31, the Halloween parade is a must see…and actually – it’s open to anyone who dares to participate…so get your face paint, your costume/gear (and your camera!!) and head downtown!
Here are the details:
Date: October 31, 2011
Time: The actual parade is from 7 – 10 PM (If you want to walk in the parade, arrive at Spring Street and 6th Avenue between 6:30 and 8:00 PM)
Location: The parade begins at 6th Avenue and Spring Street and goes up to 6th Avenue and 23rd Street
Other useful info: Gets crowded! Might get chilly…It’s a busy night for bars and restaurants – might be a good idea to make reservations if you’re with a group in the area of the parade.
The Roger Smith is a hub for social media in #NYC. People. Art. Food. Wine. For 10% off our best available rooms rate: bit.ly/RSrooms
twitter: twitter.com/rshotel
fb: facebook.com/rogersmithhotel
blog: bit.ly/RSlife
web: rogersmith.com/
