It’s August, when summer Saturday mornings are in full swing, and never more so than on the blocks between 137th and 140th streets along Lenox Avenue. The Salvation Army hosts a variety of vendors displaying an interesting and eclectic array of merchandise. It’s definitely worth checking it out. I know I will be back with my daughter Julia, as one merchant is offering boxes full of fabric, which Julia, who is now taking sewing classes, is always on the lookout for.
The 139th Street playground provides an open house, with a slamming live DJ and free franks, burgers and water for everyone. Top this fun time off by watching a basketball game in the Holcombe Rucker Tournament at 145th Street. This location is a move from the original court at 155th Street and Eighth Avenue, but that’s okay because the tournament carries with it the same excitement. Just watching the boys warm up while the DJ is pumping a slow, steady beat until game time is enough to get the crowd ready. Red team versus orange team, winner takes all. Whatcha like today?
Across the 145th Street Bridge to the Bronx, on the way to the mall, the Mill Pond Park is all set up for a cooking hot barbeque time, with the aromas wafting through the air. There are also tents, blankets, chairs and people just spending the day relaxing. Oh, the good old summertime.
Hosting a good old summertime party was Barbara Bolden, who pulled out all of the stops for her friends near, dear, far and wide: food, fun, music and cocktails. Don’t blame it on the sunshine. Don’t blame it on the moonlight. Don’t blame it on the good times. Blame it on the boogie.
No matter how high on the hog you want to live or how hard you want to play, it’s not a throw down unless you add a heavy dose of old school to the mix. Take for example the recent fete hosted by avant-garde theater and visual artist Robert Wilson, who in 1992 founded the Watermill Center, located on the East End of Long Island, in (Where else?) Watermill. The Watermill Center is an interdisciplinary art space, created to support young and emerging artists. The center offers a year-round Artist Residency Program, an International Summer Program and education seminars.
The recently held 23rd annual Summer Benefit and Auction was an all-out blowout, as more than $2 million was raised to benefit the year-round programs. The more than 1,000 guests included Nicola Night, Jack Watters, Darice and Jason Fadeyi, Alana Simone, April Hunt, Hassan Pierre, Chantal Monaghan and Recardo Nelson. Of course there were celebrities mingling about the gardens, and a live auction featured a trip to South Africa, with an exclusive art experience and a luxury safari on the itinerary. The highlight of the evening was a live performance by Ja Rule. Yah mon.
Many residents are fleeing the dog days of August for various parts of the country. One such lucky couple just returned from a cruise to Alaska, where they have reported that the glaciers are slowly melting. One only needs a light jacket, sans gloves, and it is rather sunny and warm rather than damp and rainy. Others are off to tour Sonoma and Napa Valley, the wine region of San Francisco, which I hear is absolutely breathtaking. Welcome back Vernon Manley, who just returned from the San Sabastian Jazz Festival in Spain.
Should you dash off to Sag Harbor, or Martha’s Vineyard, it might be fun to take time from the beach and venture off into some of the cultural attractions. After all, these are two places whose history dates back to the days of whaling, and the stories are fascinating. Sag Harbor’s Whaling Museum features the exploits of the Black whalers, who would sail out into the nearby Atlantic Ocean to hunt for whales. The island of Nantucket, off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, is equally captivating. From the early 1700s to the 1840s Nantucket was the whaling capital of the world. Whales were hunted for their meat, bones and blubber, which were used to make many commercial products.
Much like the rest of the New England area, the area followed the Quaker religion, which focuses on one’s spiritual being over the quest for material goods. But whaling persisted until—no, not the extinction of the whale—the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania (also Quaker country), where kerosene replaced the whale oil used in lanterns, making the cumbersome and dangerous ordeal of going out to sea to hunt whales obsolete. Interesting isn’t it?
Battery Dance, in association with Battery Park City Authority, announces the 35th annual Battery Dance Festival. Formerly known as the Downtown Dance Festival, the performances, which are held Aug. 14 to Aug. 19, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park in Battery Park City, are free. The closing event and reception takes place Aug. 20, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Schimmel Center at Pace University. Battery Dance Festival is New York City’s longest-running free public dance festival. Audiences are drawn from all over the city, with a combined attendance of more than 10,000 during the course of the performances. It is a unique opportunity for local and international dance companies to present original works of high artistic merit in a free public forum, with strong emphasis on the inclusion of diverse dance styles and an international roster of performers. Featured alongside the American choreographers are works of pre-eminent companies from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.
Get ready to gear up for the 21st annual Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference, Nov. 10-13, 2016. The conference promises to be rich with programming focused on trade and investment policy issues that affect the business environment. There will be an abundance of networking opportunities and numerous workshop sessions, along with the great recreational highlights Panama has to offer. Call Carol Bruno at 347-283-2838 for more information.
Not to be outdone, the 118th Street Block Association presents Shopping at Foxwood, Sept. 10. It promises to be a fun day with shopping, entertainment, a little casino action and more. Buses leave from 118th Street and Eighth Avenue at 7:30 a.m. For tickets contact, Cleve at 917-543-5930.
Until next week … kisses.