2/13/10–2/21/10 Free Admission this Week: The New-York Historical Society

Saturday, February 13 through Sunday, February 21, 2010

The New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West between 76th & 77th Street
New York City

(212) 873-3400
Subway: B or C to 81st Street
Bus: M10 to 77th Street; M79 to 81st Street and Central Park West

Hours:

Tuesday–Thursday: 10:00am–6:00pm
Friday: 10:00am–8:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am–6:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am–5:45pm
Monday: CLOSED (usually closed, but it will be open on 2/15/10!)

Cost: Free

For all ages

The Society’s museum galleries will be open from 10am-6pm on Monday, February 15. From Saturday, February 13 through Sunday, February 21 admission is free for all visitors. Free admission is made possible by a generous grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

Current Exhibits

* Lincoln and New York (until 3/25/10)
* John Brown: The Abolitionist and his Legacy (until 3/25/10)
* Nature and the American Vision: The Hudson River School at the New-York Historical Society (2009) (until 3/25/10)
* New York Painting Begins: Eighteenth-Century Portraits (until 3/25/10)

Free Daily Docent Tours
Tuesday-Friday
1:00pm: Lincoln and New York

2:00pm: Highlights from the Permanent Collection
3:00pm: Lincoln and New York

Saturday & Sunday
12:00pm: Lincoln and New York
2:00pm: Highlights from the Permanent Collection
1:00–3:00pm: Docent explainers are available inside the Lincoln exhibition to answer your questions

****************
If you are unable to visit the museum, check out NYHS’s extensive online museum catalog, featuring images and information about their collection of more than 60,000 artifacts and works of art (printed collections, graphic collections, manuscript collections).
http://emuseum.nyhistory.org/code/emuseum.asp 

Their digital collections are also interesting.

https://www.nyhistory.org/web/default.php?section=library&page=digital_collections 

Just a sample of some collections available for viewing:

http://emuseum.nyhistory.org/code/emuseum.asp?style=Browse&currentrecord=1&newvalues=1&newpage=collections 

		Audubon’s Watercolors for The Birds of America In 1863 Lucy Bakewell Audubon, the widow of John James Audubon, sold to The New-York Historical Society her husband’s preparatory watercolors for his seminal work The Birds of America (published serially in London between 1827 and 1838). The Society owns all 435 known preparatory watercolors for its 435 plates. In addition, the N-YHS holds a rare, double-elephant edition of The Birds of America, as well as the octavo edition and Audubon's Ornithological Biography, letters, ephemera, etc. In aggregate, these collections in the museum and library form the largest single repository of Auduboniana in the world.
		Bella C. Landauer Collection of Business and Advertsing Ephemera Bella C. Landauer (1874-1960) was an insatiable collector of objects made for business and advertising purposes. In 1926, she gave a large portion of her collection to the New-York Historical Society. These collections - more than 375,000 pieces of ephemera and 4,500 three-dimensional objects - are an essential resource for scholars of American history.
		Collection Highlights Highlights from the New-York Historical Society Museum
		Dutch New York
		Hudson River School The N-YHS holds one of the oldest and most comprehensive collections of landscape painting by artists of the Hudson River School, the first school of truly American art to garner worldwide recognition and fame. Artists, poets and writers forged the first self-consciously “American” landscape vision and literary voice, grounded in the exploration of the natural world as a source of spiritual renewal and as an expression of national identity, first expressed through the scenery of the Hudson River Valley.
		The Dr. Egon Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass The New-York Historical Society's entire collection of 132 Tiffany lamps and three windows came as the gift of a single collector, Dr. Egon Neustadt, in 1984. Dr. Neustadt, an Austrian immigrant, New York City orthodontist, and successful real estate developer, began collecting Tiffany lamps in 1935, when he and his wife Hildegard purchased their first lamp in a Greenwich Village antique shop. Over the course of five decades, Dr. Neustadt amassed one of the most important and most comprehensive Tiffany collections in the world.
		The Folk Art Collection of Elie Nadelman The avant-garde sculptor Elie Nadelman (1882-1946) is widely recognized for his elegant and spare modernist sculpture. Less well-known is Nadelman's role as a pioneer in collecting folk art in this country and his impressive material legacy acquired by the Historical Society in 1937. Nadelman's acquisitions spanned a variety of media, including furniture, sculpture, paintings, ceramics, glass, iron, pewter, drawings and watercolors, and household tools. The N-YHS holds more than 1,600 objects collected by Nadelman, more than any other single repository.
		Underground Railroad Please also see the Underground Railroad Research Guide available in the Library section of the N-YHS website: https://www.nyhistory.org/web/default.php?section=library&page=research_guides

2/14/10 Happy Valentine’s Day from nycfamilyfun!

Happy Valentines Day to you and your special little Valentines!


You can download these fun valentines cards. And there is a black and white version available for coloring. Thanks to: http://secret-agent-josephine.com/blog/2009/02/06/free-valentines-for-you/

2/16/10 Free Instructional Swim Class @ 14th Street Y

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 from 4:30pm–5:30pm

The 14th Street Y

344 E 14th St at First Ave

New York City

(646) 395-4315

Subway: N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, 6 to Union Sq.

Cost: Free

For ages 5 and up

Kids can splash around in the Y's indoor pool, regardless of the weather.

14StreetY.org 

2/14/10 Meet the Newest Uglydoll @ FAO Schwarz

Sunday, February 14th from noon to 1:30pm

FAO Schwarz

767 Fifth Avenue at 58th Street

New York City

(212) 644-9400

Subway: N, R, W to Fifth Ave; E, V to 53rd St–Fifth Ave; 4, 5, 6 to 59th St–Lexington Ave.
Cost: Free admission to store; Uglydolls available for purchase.

For all ages

Uglydoll creator David Horvath hangs out with pint-size fans and signs his newest doll, Mynus.

About Mynus

Everybody thinks Mynus is quiet and shy, but to her they all make way too much noise. While Mynus may seem silent and introverted at first, she is actually in deep thought most of the time. What about? No clue! She’s quiet, remember? When you’re in trouble Mynus is the one to turn to. She’s got some brilliant ideas, and seems to have everything figured out way ahead of time. It’s almost like she’s psychic! Can’t find anything to write with? Mynus will be standing there with a pen. Can’t find your keys? Mynus drove off with your car.

fao.com 

2/14/10 Poems on Fruits & Odes to Veggies Bookreading @ Barnes & Noble

Sunday, February 14th from noon to 1pm

Barnes & Noble

1972 Broadway at 66th St

New York City

(212) 595-6859

Subway: 1 to 66th St–Lincoln Ctr.
Cost: Free

For ages 3 to 10

Author-illustrator Judith Natelli McLaughlin brings her tome Poems on Fruits & Odes to Veggies: Where Healthy Eating Starts with a Poem to life with an interactive reading that gets kids pumped about good eating.
bn.com 

2/14/10 + 2/21/10: New Year’s Day Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival (2/14) + The 11th Lunar New Year Parade & Festival 2010 (2/21)

New Year’s Day Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival
Sunday, February 14th, 2010 from 11am to 3pm

Sara Roosevelt Park

Grand and Chrystie Sts.

New York City

Cost: Free

For all ages

February 14th marks the first day of the 2010 Lunar New Year, which will be kicked off with 600,000 rounds of colorful firecrackers, prepared by highly trained detonation specialists, a traditional Lunar New Year practice believed to scare away evil spirits. Expected attendees include local politicians, community leaders and dignitaries. After opening ceremonies, a dozen Lion, Dragon and Unicorn dance troupes will march down the main streets of Chinatown (Mott, Bowery, East Broadway, Bayard, Elizabeth, and Pell) to help ring in the New Year. A massive festival will be in the heart of Chinatown that will feature all-day cultural performances by traditional and contemporary Asian and Asian-American signers and dancers, along with promotional booths.

Last year close to 500,000 people attended the Firecracker Celebration and Parade celebrating the Lunar New Year,” said Steven Tin. “The crowds have grown in size each of the past eight years, and this year, with good weather, we believe the crowds might exceed 550,000. We will have the biggest parade ever and the firecracker celebration will be the most impressive in recent years.

The traditional Firecracker Celebration—so important to Asian cultures all over the world—had been cancelled during the Giuliani administration because of safety precautions. However, in the aftermath of 9/11, Mayor Giuliani rescinded the ban and the Firecracker Celebration once again became an integral part of the Lunar New Year Celebration in New York City starting with the Year of the Horse in 2002.

This year, for the Sixth successive year, the Better Chinatown Society has engaged the world renowned Fireworks by Grucci organization to design and execute the traditional Firecracker Ceremony where 500,000 one-inch firecrackers will be detonated during a noisy five-minute display of rapid explosions creating a wall of smoke and fire aimed at chasing off evil spirits of the past year.

Prior to the firecracker detonations, many city, state and community leaders will welcome the Lunar New Year at a ceremony that will be held on a stage to be erected on Columbus Park. The ceremony will also feature performances by traditional Chinese Opera singers and the participation of at least a dozen colorful Lion Dance groups from all over the metropolitan area who will perform in front of the stage as part of the traditional ceremony. The Lion Dancers will later wind their way through the streets of Chinatown stopping at local businesses and restaurants where they will receive traditional holiday red envelopes containing good luck Lunar New Year money. At the conclusion of the Firecracker ceremony, a number of traditional Asian musical groups and contemporary pop groups will perform on stage until 2:30 PM.

http://www.betterchinatown.com/firecracker.html 

***************************************

The 11th Lunar New Year Parade & Festival 2010

Sunday, February 21, 2010 from 11:30am to 4pm

Location: Starts at Little Italy and goes through the main streets of Lower Manhattan/Chinatown

Cultural Festival & Booth: Sara Roosevelt Park (Canal & Forsyth St) 
One block from major subway system, next to Manhattan Bridge, nearby all out of town buses, and surrounded by major market place.

Cost: Free

For all ages

A colorful spectacle featuring floats, marching bands, lion and dragon dancers, antique cars, beauty queens, Asian & Hispanic musical performers, magicians and acrobats, and local organizations. The floats will feature various cultural performances and special guests. Over 3,000 individuals will march in the Parade, which will span every major street in Chinatown. This is the biggest winter parade in the East Coast and a national and international tourist attraction. Elected officials, celebrities and community leaders are scheduled to take part in the Parade, which will be covered by local, national and international media. An outdoor cultural festival will take place at the Sara Roosevelt Park by Canal St & Forsyth St that will feature booths and performances by musicians, dancers, and martial artists.
To celebrate our 11th year- we have plans for more exciting cultural and artistic entertainment.

Estimated Attendance: 400,000

On Sunday, February 21th, the 11th Annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade will step off at 11:30am from the corner of Mott and Hester Streets and wind its way through the major streets of Chinatown, including Mott Street, East Broadway, Forsyth or Allen Streets and Grand Street. One of the most popular events of the year in New York City, this colorful parade with many colorful floats, marching bands and Lion and Dragon Dancers, form what Time Out Magazine recently called “New York City’s Most Underrated Parade.” The recommended viewing location for the Parade is on Allen Street between Canal and Grand Streets.

http://www.betterchinatown.com/newyearparade.html 

***************************************

For a great map of Chinatown, go to:

http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/explorechinatownmap.pdf

For a Chinatown/Soho/Lower East Side subway map, go to:

http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/chinatown_subway.pdf

2/12/10 + 2/13/10 2010 Lunar New Year Flower Festival @ Sara D. Roosevelt Park (Chinatown)

Friday, February 12, 2010 from 10am to 10pm
Saturday, February 13, 2010 from 10am to 7pm

Sara D. Roosevelt Park
Canal and Chrystie Streets

New York City

Subway: B, D, F, Q, N, W, R, J, M, Z, 6

Bus: M9, M15, M22, 101, 103

Cost: Free

For all ages

Each Lunar New Year food and decoration has its own meaning. The word for tangerine orange, for example, sounds similar to the word "fortune" in Chinese and signifies good luck. Fish on the dinner table is another good luck symbol-"fish" in Chinese is a homonym with "plentiful." Want your children to grow strong and tall? Feed them rice cakes, which is yet another sound-alike for "annual growth." Want to meet that special someone in the upcoming year? Buy yourself some peach blossoms, a bringer of romances in Chinese floriography.

The Lunar New Year is also an occasion to celebrate and share laughter with loved ones. A few days before the new year, families would go out together to visit the flower festival, a traditional outdoor market that offers a wide variety of Lunar New Year-related goods and myriad festive celebrations. No one leaves the festival empty-handed: fathers will have good-luck plants in tow, mothers with new clothes, and children with candy. All leave with smiles.

This year, Asian Americans for Equality and United East Athletics Association are bringing the flower festival into New York City's Chinatown. Held at the Sara D. Roosevelt Park on February 12 and 13, the New York Lunar New Year Flower Festival will rival the largest and most bustling flower festivals held in Asia's biggest cities and expects to draw crowds of over 150,000. The event will center on the five main themes of the Lunar New Year: Peace, Prosperity, Good Luck, Beauty, and Longevity. Over 50 booths will feature merchandise for the New Year. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on the first day of the festival will inaugurate the largest Lunar New Year celebration in all of New York City.

The focal point of the event will be its festive cultural celebrations. Inside the 10,000 square feet tent will be a special room decorated like a traditional Asian household on New Year's Day. Visitors will get to learn the meaning behind each piece of decoration and will get to take home with them a piece of the festivity in the form of a souvenir photo. There will also be cultural performances throughout the two days of the event: Come see dances by students from a local school. Witness first-hand the stunning talents of Chinese opera's Face Changers. Sample Lunar New Year merchandise and snacks that Asians throughout the world partake in common celebration.

The New York Lunar New Year Flower Festival promises to be an unforgettable event to usher in the Year of the Tiger. Come for the flowers, the cultural performances, the merchandises-and stay for the fun!
http://www.ueaa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=134&Itemid=2

***************************************

For a great map of Chinatown, go to:

http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/explorechinatownmap.pdf

For a Chinatown/Soho/Lower East Side subway map, go to:

http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/chinatown_subway.pdf

2/13/10 Floating Valentines: The Red Balloon @ Poets House

Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 11:00am

Poets House
10 River Terrace (at Murphy St.)
New York, NY
(212) 431-7920
Subway: A, C, 1, 2, 3 to Chambers St; E to World Trade Center
Cost: Free

For all ages

Just 34 minutes long, “The Red Balloon”, a classic French film from 1956 charts the adventures of a young boy and a red balloon as the two wander the streets of Paris. After the screening, children will make their own poetic (“Roses are red…”) floating valentines.

http://www.poetshouse.org 

Search “Poets House” for a review of this wonderful place dedicated to poetry plus some worthwhile things to see and do in the Battery Park/Downtown area.

What Will Barbie Be? Vote for Barbie’s Next Career!

Barbie has had over 120 careers! What do you think her next job should be?

Vote for your favorite, then check back to find out what Barbie will be next!

1. Environmentalist: An environmentalist works to protect the planet, conserve energy, help animals and more!

2. Surgeon: A surgeon is a kind of doctor who operates on people to help them stay healthy and feel better.

3. Architect: An architect designs buildings and makes sure they're safe, sturdy, and cool-looking!

4. News Anchor: A news anchor is a journalist who interviews people, writes stories about current events, and presents them on TV.

5. Computer Engineer: Computer engineers have lots of different specialties. They can do anything from building computers to making video games!

Enter your vote at:
http://www.barbie.com/vote/ 

2/13/10 + 2/14/10 25th Annual Half Moon New York Sword Ale: Traditional Sword Dancing

Saturday and Sunday February 13th and 14th, at various times and locations

(212) 779-3051

Cost: Free

For all ages

This year’s festival features a wealth of sword dancing—along with Morris dancing, Molly dancing and English folk traditions—and begins at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

Half Moon Sword is an all women’s sword team who have been dancing together since 1981. Their skillful dance displays have gained them a reputation here and in England for precision and fresh interpretations of traditional dances. Doctors, lawyers, educators, writers and mothers by day, the women of Half Moon Sword share a love of this dance form with all its ritual and mystery. The festival is their opportunity to share the excitement of sword dancing with other dancers and the public. The team has 12 dancers plus 2 musicians. You can see a clip of their dancing at the website.

Saturday, February 13th, 2010 — (mostly) Manhattan
9:30 All Teams - Staten Island Ferry Terminal, Whitehall Terminal at 1 Whitehall Street at South St.
1:00 Jefferson Market Public Library, 425 6th Avenue @ 10th St
1:00 South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton Street (between Front & South Streets)
1:30 Dana Discovery Center, 110th St (5th Ave/Lenox Ave) in Central Park
1:30 George Bruce Branch Library, 518 W. 125th St. St. at Amsterdam Avenue
1:30 Museum of the City of New York, 1220 5th Avenue @ 103rd St
3:00 Brooklyn Heights Library, 280 Cadman Plaza West at Tillary St., Brooklyn
3:00 Dana Discovery Center, 110th St (5th Ave/Lenox Ave) in Central Park
3:00 Dwyer Cultural Center, 258 St. Nicholas Avenue (near 123rd St.)
3:00 Museum of the City of New York, 1220 5th Avenue @ 103rd St
3:00 South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton Street (between Front & South Streets)

Sunday, February 14th, 2010 — Brooklyn
12:30 Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew, 520 Clinton Avenue, between Fulton St. and Atlantic Avenue
12:30 First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn, Pierrepont & Monroe Streets, Brooklyn
12:30 Old First Reformed Church, 126 7th Avenue, between Carroll and President Streets, Brooklyn
1:00 St. John’s Episcopal Church, 139 St. Johns Place, between 6th and 7th Avenues, Brooklyn
2:30 All Teams - Brooklyn Museum (auditorium), 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn

http://www.halfmoonsword.org/ 

2/13/10 Symphony 101: Woodwind Instrument Performance/Workshop @ Flushing Library

Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 11am

Flushing Library
41-17 Main Street
Flushing, NY 11355
(718) 661-1200
Cost: Free

For all ages

Symphony 101: Strings Attached—A Performance/Workshop for the Entire Family
Queens Symphony Orchestra and their music director Constantine Kitsopoulos teach children and adults about the different families in the traditional symphonic orchestra through musical demonstrations and dialogue. Today's performance covers the instruments in the woodwind family (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon). Be sure to attend the next program in this session that covers instruments in the brass family on March 6th and the percussion family on April 3rd.

http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_id=44&section_id=12&branch_id=F 

2/13/10 Swingin' Side of the Blues: Blues/Jazz with Eddie Lee Isaacs @ Forest Hills Library

Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 2:30pm

Forest Hills Library

108-19 71st Avenue
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 268-7934 Subway: E, F, G, R, V to 71st/Continental Ave. Bus: Q23, Q60, Q64
Cost: Free
For all ages

Veteran blues singer/guitarist Eddie Lee Isaacs mixes jazz with the blues in this performance of music made great by such artists as Duke Ellington, Count Basie and more.

Saturday hours for this library are 10am to 5:30pm.

http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_id=44&section_id=12&branch_id=Fh

2/12/10–2/21/10 Free Family Admission Offer @ Metropolitan Museum of Art + The Cloisters

Friday, February 12, through Sunday, February 21, 2010

Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, NYC
(Please note that you may enter the Museum at Fifth Avenue and 81st street or at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street.)
(212) 535-7710
Cost: museum admission is pay-what-you-wish
For all ages

We’re inviting families to enjoy a complimentary visit to the Met. Go to link below to print out the pass (PDF) to receive one-time free admission for up to five people (the group must include at least one child age 17 or under) to the Museum’s Main Building and The Cloisters. Please note that The Cloisters will not be open on Monday, February 15.

http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/pdf/family_pass.pdf 

2/15/10 Met Holiday Monday Metropolitan Museum of Art Open on Presidents’ Day!

Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, NYC
(Please note that you may enter the Museum at Fifth Avenue and 81st street or at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street.)
(212) 535-7710
Cost: museum admission is pay-what-you-wish
For all ages

Select galleries and shops in the Main Building of the Metropolitan Museum will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, February 15, 2010 in honor of Presidents’ Day. Public restaurants will close at 4:30 p.m. See the online calendar to plan your visit.
Please note that The Cloisters Museum and Gardens, the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, is not open on Met Holiday Mondays.

metmuseum.org