Do you walk around your neighborhood and find yourself nostalgic for that old favorite  bar, restaurant, coffee shop or  venue where you saw _______ band or ______ comedian for the first time. I do. Do you often wonder what your Grandpa or Grandma would say of that same neighborhood? I do.

Gallery Bar, another venue that doubles as an art gallery by day, lounge by night, unveils Sampling and Revisions: The L.E.S. deframed. This exhibit curated by Zoe Lukow opens tonight, March 3rd till March 24th and commemorates the neighborhood history through photographs of then and now.

Gallery Bar is located at 120 Orchard Street, north of Delancey.

So you are so over BAM’s Sounds Like Brooklyn festival, you’re in the mood for something more foreign, new or avant-garde, let me suggest the Unsound Festival that’s happening in venues throughout New York and Brooklyn starting tonight Feb 4th till 14th.

Opening night at Lincoln Center features Vladislav Delay, one of the most innovative musicians working in electronic music today, and Lillevan, the highly-regarded video artist who has worked with Fennesz and Morton Subotnik, continue an ongoing collaboration on a brand-new free-form audio and visual improvisation, creating their performance specifically for the David Rubenstein Atrium. There is also a special screening of Andy Warhol’s Kiss and Blow Job. You know if you want to star at one image on a screen for a very very long time. More information about Unsound Festival can be found at http://unsound.pl/en you can also find Unsound Festival 2010 lineup and music clips at though Last.fm page

Performa 09, the third edition of the internationally acclaimed biennial of new visual art performance presented by Performa, will be held in New York City from November 1–22, 2009. The three-week festival will showcase new work by more than 80 of the most exciting artists working today, in an innovative program breaking down the boundaries between visual art, music, dance, poetry, fashion, architecture, graphic design, and the culinary arts.

Light Industry will be host to “Untitled Performances” by Emma Hart and Benedict Drew in their first collaborative performance in New York. Juxtaposing and transforming the mechanics of 16mm film, video and sound,

Tuesday November 17th $7 at Light Industry 220 36th Street, 5th Floor - Brooklyn, New York.

For full schedule on Performa 09 and Light Industry click on their respective links

Need to make a note to self to get involved in the next one. Marking my calender now.

This is it! No, I’m not talking about the Michael Jackson documentary that is out in theaters this week, I’m talking about the annual Chocolate Show in NYC! My fondest memory of Florida as a child is not the beach and the sand and old people squeezing my checks but that one time my parents took us into the Fountain Blue and we saw some of the sculptures for the chocolate show. It was a very memorable site to see!

This year’s event promises 55,000 square ft of chocolate, do I need to say more?

So grab your chocolate loving friends and family members and head over there this weekend. It will surly be sweet treat!

for ticket information and directions click here

My favorite holiday is upon us, that’s right HALLOWEEN. I love seeing everyone from the littlest of people to the oldest of people dressed up in an assortment of costumes that range from cute to cleaver to skanky!

I noticed as early as this past weekend that the Halloween festivities have already begun. Although, I am a bit of a purist and that I like to celebrate holidays and birthdays on their actual dates.

So what is there to do this Halloween in New York City?

Here is a short list:

Flavorpill is having a party that is also a benefit for WATER.

There are Haunted Houses!

There is the infamous NYC Halloween parade!

There is an array of concerts: Junior Boys at The Bell House, Talib Kweli at Hiro Ballroom and the Zombie Prom at Crash Mansion

Celebrate Mexico Now a New York City wide festival of contemporary Mexican Art & Culture kicked off September 8th and goes till Sept 20th 2009.  The 12 day festival features Music, Art, Dance, Film and Cuisine!

Sweet Electra, a Brooklyn based band originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, and now based in Brooklyn is just one of the many musical acts participating in the festival. Their music fuses together some electronica and indie rock which I personally enjoy very much. They are playing tomorrow (9/13) at Joe’s Pub (this venue has a great chill vibe).

Other festival highlights: 

I LOVE NEW YORK. I say it to myself ever time I step outside my apartment, ride over a bridge or discover something about the history of New York that I never knew before. As the Summer comes to an end, I am only too happy to see it go. Too many dreary days, too many rained out events and TOO MANY GOOD PEOPLE OUT OF WORK. 

So here’s to the last week of  Summer 2009! Staring off with perfect weather and ended with an array of Things to do this Labor Day Weekend. Especially if you CAN”T AFFORD to go anywhere else. Below is a starter list*.

*I may add more towards the end of the week. 

BKLYN YARD: This is the last weekend for this year’s Brooklyn Yard (BKLYN YARD). I’ve been meaning to check this out all summer as I have only heard good things. This Saturday September 5th is the BROOKLYN COUNTY FAIR HOOTNANY! A day of live music, DJs, Etsy craft vendors, locally baked treats and farm fresh food. All for the price of FREE. From noon - 7pm

Speaking of DJ’s Septmeber 5th and 6th is NEW YORK’S ELECTRONIC ZOO FESTIVAL on RANDALLS ISLAND. Although I categorize this event as out of my price range ($70s for a single day pass!) There are sure to be AFTER parties at local bars where some of the same DJs will be… You can listen to some of the tracks from the lineup at LastFM

NY400Week: Rent a Dutch bike for FREE and sample delicacies in New Amsterdam Village and experience a unique theater festival, a DJ Dance Event and cutting-edge Dutch design on Governors Island.  September 8 till September 13.

Of course, I always recommend one of my favorite things to do. Sit in a park and read the paper. BBQ with friends.

Today, for the first time since I’ve been working in DUMBO, I took advantage of my lunch hour to really explore. Normally I gravitate to the park and let my mind wonder while admiring the view of Manhattan.  So this post is dedicated to my favorite places (so far) in my temporary work neighborhood. 

If you only have a lunch hour to spare or if you are an out-of-towner, here is my quick hour tour of a few of my favorite places in DUMBO. 

If you’re a music lover check out  Halcyon, I loved loved loved the design of the space and enjoyed the sounds being spun while I perused the diverse collection of vinyl.  On the surface Halcyon appears to be your typical DJ-centric record store but if you dig deeper you will find it’s actually a “multifaceted entity, engaging along the way in an array of artistic projects, organic collaborations and business initiatives that have touched upon the fields of hospitality/nightlife, retail, event production, promotion, interior design, music & arts programming, digital publishing & media sales, product development, e-commerce, community building, charitable fund raising, and more.”  How else can a record store survive these days? Props to Halcyon!

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you  mixed together a clothing boutique, a furniture  store and Mediterranean cuisine? I would recommend you checking out Baco Living.  Now please note, that I did NOT eat here, I merely walked in and fell in love with it’s decor. This place is exactly how I would design my apartment, you know if I had money. Please note that the Yelp  reviews were mixed ranging from “snotty owners” to “over-priced” to “my favorite place in town”.  

So you’ve spent 10 minutes in a record store, 20 minutes sampling a platter of Grape Leaves and you’re pockets are now almost empty. What are you going to do with the rest of your time? Of course you can pop into all the wonderful galleries in DUMBO, but if this is your lunch hour, I would suggest you save that for for First Thursdays, when the galleries are open late (and you can sip on free wine). So where was I? Oh yes, 20 minutes to spare.

It’s time for dessert!

Take a walk to either Jacques Torres Chocolate or Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (both located on Water St) and sample one of their fine ice cream flavors. Then you can contribute to the debate as which place has the superior ice cream. My favorite is the Chocolate Chocolate Chip from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.  If you actually have the $3.50 in your pocket have a scoop, your tummy with thank you and you will be helping to support the local economy. 

Oh look at the time, it’s time to get back to work or catch that Water Taxi back to Manhattan. Hope you enjoyed my super-mini lunch time/tourist friendly tour of DUMBO. If you come back be sure to hit up some of the local restaurants, my only suggestion is SUPERFINE but that’s cause it’s the only place I tried for dinner. It was simply Superfine. 

And of course my opinion is the only one that counts on here (haha).

*If you are an out-of-towner, make sure you follow your tour book down to the waterfront. You’ll take a million pictures and probably end up in the background of at least one wedding photo. 

Last night was the first night of a 4 part film series that I curated for Oval Film Center (located in Stuyvesant Town, NYC). Here is some more information about the event. If you are interested in attending and are not a resident of Stuyvesant Town let me know, I can add you to my guest list. 

In staying with the theme of my Green Series, I’ll be sure to include “Green” events and links on my  blog for the length of the film series. 

Oval Film - Green Film Festival: Environmentally Conscious Films 

Starts August 10, 2009 7:30pm - 10pm

Oval Film brings members a series of engaging and award-winning films from independent filmmakers focused on the worldwide push to “go green.” Presented as both fiction and non-fiction, comedic and serious, learn about the issues on everyones lips, from local concerns to the global issues that threaten the future of our planet.