Good afternoon, this is W42ST Lifestyle Editor Sarah Beling with “Make Way For The Weekend” — your curated guide to the best of New York events in one convenient newsletter!
I recently went through several boxes of old letters and cards — birthday cards, graduation cards, opening night cards and letters sent to me at various ballet and theater camps (“How are your toes?” — direct quote). What struck me the most — in addition to the $40 I took out of a few forgotten graduation cards from 2006 (score!!) — were the pre-smartphone-era letters. Anecdotes upon anecdotes from family and friends about the latest TV episodes, what they ate for breakfast that morning, the daily matchups at Wimbledon (thanks, Dad!! ), what they saw on a trip to the local amusement park — all things that would now firmly be relegated to an Instagram story or group text.
And while I’m not necessarily advocating for us all to share minute-by-minute play-by-plays with each other now that we live in a state of constant connectivity, reading these blasts from the past gave me an intense sense of nostalgia for the simple joy of noticing the little moments. The free pastry the nice barista gives you before the coffee shop closes for the day. Kids chasing the psychotic Riverside Park squirrels (I wouldn’t challenge them, honestly). A particularly great street musician. Watching a bachelorette party melt down in real-time at the local pub. The little things!
Look out for a letter from me ABOUT EVERYTHING I SEE ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK! And maybe I’ll send you $40*!
*this is a hypothetical and not a promise of any monetary prize — but check your graduation cards!!
💐 in bloom
Take a Claritin and make your way to the 48th annual Macy’s Flower Show, on display now through April 10. Stop by the free exhibition to enjoy thousands of beautiful buds (many sourced from around the state!) that are arranged fashionably by Fashion Institute of Technology students and collaborative partner DIOR. TBH this is more my scene than the sometimes aggro vibes of Santaland!!!
🌳 green team
Meet your neighbors and join in on a little outdoor spring cleaning by taking part in the Hudson River Park Green Team April 8. HRPK leaders will lead volunteers through a variety of landscape gardening activities to keep the West Side park looking fresh!
🥚 the incredible edible(?) egg
My favorite Easter memory is of our yearly family brunches where my very cool grandma used to put cash inside a few of the Easter Eggs hidden around the yard — thank you Mimi, this budget-averse eight-year old took that money directly to Claire’s! I don’t know what will be inside the eggs at this Saturday’s Hell’s Kitchen W45/46th Street Block Association and Hell’s Kitchen Families’ Easter Egg Hunt at Mathews-Palmer Playground but it sounds fun!!!
🎭 speaking of easter
Following a successful 2014 run at La MaMa, George Drance performs the entire Gospel of Mark with the help of compositions by the late Elizabeth Swados in the acclaimed one man show *mark playing Theatre 315 Friday April 6 through 8!
🎞️ the turning pointe
A documentary seven years in the making, witness the story of the Joffrey Ballet ballet schism and the creation of the HARKNESS ballet company at An American Ballet Story: Screening and Conversation at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Thursday April 20.
🎭 the lusty month of…april?
Camelot is one of those shows that almost no one ever does anymore. Is it the notoriously challenging book? Is it the large cast size? Is it the fear of disappointing Dame Julie Andrews? Well, Aaron Sorkin (who has revamped the original script), Bartlett Sher (director) and an exceptionally stacked cast are going for it at the latest revival of Camelot now playing Lincoln Center. I’m going to trot over and find out!!
🎶 reba!
I’ve heard for YEARS that Reba McEntire was the best Annie Oakley ever to grace the Main Stem. So you know she can put on a show!! Check her out at Madison Square Garden Saturday April 15.
🎤 a pre-haggadah chuckle
If the thought of giving up leavened bread for a week does not make you laugh, soothe your soul, hear some jokes and eat some carbs at a Pre-Passover 20s and 30s Comedy Show March 30 at the Jam Nest, where the event invite promises sets from comedians Zach Schiffman, Sabrina Piper, Willie Zabar, Rachel Lander, Daniel Storrow, Danielle Brody and declares “let my people laugh!”
🎨 mold your vision
Always wanted to sculpt but don’t know where to start? Our friends at Mud Matters are hosting an Intro to Hand Building Workshop April 22 where you can build your own creation that will be glazed and fired by the Mud Matters team!
🥪 let’s eat!!
There’s something so special about the beginning of Outdoor Food Season. Kick it off at the first round of food festival Smorgasburg, setting up shop this weekend in Williamsburg, the Oculus and in Prospect Park!
🎤 alison leiby’s show is not sold out (yet!)
I had the pleasure of seeing Alison Leiby in her critically-acclaimed one-woman play, Oh God, A Show About Abortion this summer, and can attest that she did pull off the nearly impossible feat of making a show about a life-altering subject both moving and hilarious. Head to Union Hall Sunday April 2 to catch Alison Leiby and Friends in an evening-long comedy showcase!
🍷 cocktails and culture and poetry
Stop by the Museum of the City of New York for this month’s Cocktails and Culture: Poetry Night with Shanelle Gabriel Thursday April 13. Poetry, cocktails, food and good conversation that comes with the price of museum admission??? That’s a happy hour!!
📚 pre-heat this discussion
Attention, foodies and personal essay fanatics!! Head to Books Are Magic in Brooklyn for a panel discussion of Recipe for Disaster — a collection of recipes and stories “about finding comfort in food, surviving the unthinkable, and living to tell about both” on Monday April 3!
🎥 “versayce”
Run don’t walk to the last weekend of Trashterpieces of the 90s where the IFC Center “fondly revisits the some of the high-water marks from a bygone era of trashy, tawdry theatrical releases with this six-film, late-night series of 90s eye-openers” now through April 1!
📚 passion for fashion
Book your seat for an engaging discussion from fashion journalist Marylou Luther, artist Ruben Toledo and moderator Fern Mallis on seven decades of designers and their unique stories at the 92nd Street Y’s Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis: Marylou Luther and Ruben Toledo Monday April 10.
🍷 more pre-passover parties
Looking to warm up your singing and wine-drinking? Head to City Winery’s Downtown Seder Sunday April 2 for a celebrity-packed pre-Passover dinner party that includes “four glasses of wine, vegetarian meal, 15 musicians, comedians, political thinkers” and guests like Dr Ruth!
👯 myths and legends
Choreographer, dancer and founder of the J CHEN Project, Jessica Chen presents AAPI Heroes: Myths and Legends Friday March 30 and Saturday March 31 at the Museum of Chinese in America, where Chen and company will present two groundbreaking works paying tribute to the careers and contributions of martial artist Bruce Lee and movie star Anna May Wong.
🔥 Hot tip
Need to mix up your usual brunch routine? Want to mix it up for out-of-town guests? I tried out the Classic Harbor Line Cruise and had a great time on their breezy brunch voyage, where you can enjoy a chef-cooked multi-course meal, a full circle-view of Manhattan and Brooklyn’s skyline and the sounds of smooth jazz. It sure beats waiting in line at Sadelle’s lolol.
⚠️ Omg I forgot to tell you
There’s a public observation session at The Actors Studio Friday March 31 and Saturday April 1
There’s an April Fools Comedy Jam at Barclays on April 1
There’s Pickleball at Wollman Rink in Central Park starting April 7
There’s a fancy Lunya pajama sample sale that begins April 5
That’s it for now! Call me beep me if you want to reach me! (sarah@w42st.com)
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