There’s a singing chocolate ice cream cone. A chocolate covered strawberry ballerina. Cakey and the Fairy. Not to mention an Ice Palace with penguins, polar bears, seals. A Giant Christmas Tree and of course, Santa in a Sleigh – all created in lights. The holiday season has begun on Long Island with the opening of this year’s LuminoCity Holiday Lights Festival at Eisenhower Park, on view through January 5, 2025.
An annual holiday event since 2019, each year the theme changes. This year’s theme, “Sweet Dreams,” is featured in 50 attractions as you walk the winding paths through a truly enchanted forest.
You wander through different scenes and settings with different themes. What is so impressive is the creativity and the artistry, the delicate precision and the exquisite quality and scale. There are nearly life-size deer, giraffes, lambs, then in another scene, wooly mammoths, saber tooth tigers, reindeer, and in another, cartoonish fantastical, fanciful and whimsical creatures.
You walk through arches, portals, tunnels of light. You walk through the mouth of a giant hungry caterpillar whose eyelids open and close; another is a pergola of candy canes. You come upon a train going through a tunnel made of fairy lights (“It’s not about the destination. It’s about the journey,” a note reads.) It’s like finding yourself in a 3-D storybook.
And my favorite – which I purposely left for a dramatic climax to my walk (there are several ways to go) – an entire Ice Palace with penguins, polar bear, seals, and a moving winged horse (Pegasus) where I overhear a kid say, “Oh my god, this is the coolest thing in the world!”
It’s a non-ending smile, one delight after another.
And you can’t but be impressed by the incredibly beautiful artistry. It’s breathtaking.
A highlight are the lantern art characters and creatures created from winning drawings of children as young as 6 years old, in collaboration with the Long Island Children’s Museum, where you see their actual drawing and how it has been manifested in stunning life-size lantern art light sculpture.
It is truly marvelous to see how the children’s drawings, imagining a character from a “sweet dream” have been realized in these giant lanterns – a cup cake, candy bowl, ice cream man, “Reach for the Clouds”, an Easter Bunny Ice Cream.
This is the second year of the festival’s collaboration with the Long Island’s Children’s Museum – last year, the festival creator, Chen, also collaborated with the Long Island children’s Museum on themed drawings of Long island’s marine life that were brought to life in these lanterns (the museum will be opening a Long Island Marine Life exhibit in fall 2025).
Each year there are new lanterns and themes to entrance and delight.
“Sweet dreams theme is close to my heart,” LuminoCity Founder and Creator Xiaoyi Chen said at the ribbon-cutting. “I wanted to bring out the wonder we had as kids – the magic. Walking through, transports you back to the holidays with family. We aim to bring light and happiness to all who visit.” She added, “Long Island is our home, too.”
Deputy Director Chinese Consulate, NY, Lee, spoke of the festival as not just a celebration of lights, but of creativity, community spirit and Chinese cultural heritage and tradition. “It reminds us of the importance of honoring diverse traditions.”
Chen says that Chinese lantern art was an important part of the heritage and tradition in Zigong City where her family is from in China – “a small city in the southwest with a rich history and known as ‘Lantern City’” for its legendary fame in the art.
“When I was a kid, I enjoyed the art. The root of my creativity comes from there.” She was introduced to lantern art by her first drawing teacher. She has gone on to graduate Pratt Institute, in Visual Communication, and said that creating such big-scale art installations as she has done with LuminoCity “is the dream.”
The region Chen came from is also famous for its dinosaur fossils, including feathered dinosaurs. Indeed, Zigong Dinosaur Museum, the first museum based almost entirely on dinosaurs in Asia when it was opened in 1987. claims the largest collection of dinosaur fossils in the world, covering 25,000 sq. meters – and was the inspiration for LuminoCity’s Dino Safari.
Each year, she chooses a different theme for the LuminoCity Holiday Lights Festival. She chose this year’s theme, Sweet Dreams, “because when you celebrate with family, you always have sweets.” She wanted to trigger those sweet memories.
Chen tells me it takes two months to design the lanterns, which are made of fabric and painted, three months to produce, and one month to install at the park; she has a production team of 50.
There is a snack truck that offers all the fun snacks/indulgences you can think of hot dog ($5), hot chocolate, funnel cake, cotton candy, pretzel, popcorn, to match the dream of the festival.
The setting within Eisenhower Park is particularly special. You not only have the lights, the imagery, the colors and shape, the animation, the sound and musical effects, you have the smell of pine trees and walk through this truly magical forest.
LuminoCity, has a similar Holiday Lights Festival at Freehold Raceway Mall (3710 US-9, Freehold, NJ 07728, Nov. 15—Jan. 5), and also has Dino Safaris in Walt Whitman Mall, Huntington, as well as attractions in Orlando, Florida, and in Maryland and Georgia.
You can purchase tickets online, www.LuminoCityfestival.com (there may be discounts available), as well as at the entrance.
LuminoCity Holiday Lights Festival, Eisenhower Park,Parking Lot 4, 1899 Park Blvd, East Meadow, NY 11554, www.LuminoCityfestival.com.
by Geri Bain for Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
If you had asked me whether I knew about Boston’s role in the American Revolution before my recent exploration of the Freedom Trail, I would have unthinkingly said, “Of course.” Hasn’t every American heard the story of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride and the Boston Massacre in their history classes? Even people who don’t know who the current president is could probably tell you what happened at the Boston Tea Party. But just as visiting the Roman Forum expands your view of the ancient past, a thoughtful visit to Boston’s Freedom Trail will forever deepen and perhaps change your view of American history.
And it’s fun. You won’t need any maps or preparation. While most tourism routes use the term “trail” figuratively, Boston’s Freedom Trail is an actual 2.5 mile “trail” marked by a red brick line that you can follow to some of the most iconic sites in the birth of our country. Detailed historic markers all along the way make it easy to dip into the stories of our past on your own.
For those who prefer a more structured visit, there’s a wide array of guided tours that provide a more interactive approach. The Freedom Trail Foundation’s several daily 90-minute group tours are led by costumed guides (thefreedomtrail.org) and based on what I heard in passing over the course of my time in Boston, the tours are lively and informative. The Foundation also offers a free online brochure that can act as a self-guided tour. There are also free apps from the National Park Service (nps.gov/boston) with recorded commentary for major sites and apps focused on Black heritage and other themes.
DAY ONE: To get grounded, I chose a three-hour VIP Freedom Trail Tour by Walks (booked through City Experiences (www.cityexperiences.com/boston) which limits its group size to 15 people. The day I went, it was just me and a family of four. Our guide, Alexandra (Alex) Smith, was a theatre artist and history buff (who was currently directing “Revolution’s Edge,” a historical drama that was playing at the Old North Church). She used anecdotes and questions to capture our imaginations.
Standing in the Boston Common, she pointed out that the corner where the Park Street Church stands was dubbed Brimstone Corner both for the fiery sermons given at the church and because of the gunpowder stored there during the War of 1812.
When we got to a statue of Paul Revere, Alex asked the two school-aged kids in our group if they’d heard about Paul Revere racing to Concord and shouting the warning “The British are coming”? They nodded.
“Well that’s not true.” They looked puzzled. First, she explained, all Bostonians considered themselves British back then, so those wouldn’t have been the words he would use. And second, the mission was a stealth operation so he wouldn’t have ridden through the streets yelling. And most important, the King’s soldiers were on patrol that night and Paul Revere was stopped and held for questioning before he could deliver his message to Concord. Wisely, he was not the only messenger who rode out that night, so the message got through.
Most people think of Paul Revere solely as a silversmith, but his work as a printer and an artist was key to his role as a patriot seeking to break with Great Britain. His print of the Boston Massacre was significant to organize public opinion against the British. Paul Revere, The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated on King Street, Boston. (Hand colored engraving, 1770. American Antiquarian Society. Gift of Nathaniel Paine.)
“So why does Paul Revere get the credit?” Alex asked us. She paused, then explained, that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wanted to create a dramatic hero for America so he took artistic license in his poem The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. It makes for a relatable and patriotically-motivating story to have a single hero.
Another example of drama trumping truth took place at the Old State House. Pointing out the plaque that commemorates The Boston Massacre, Alex showed us a picture of British soldiers shooting into the crowd. That image, engraved by Paul Revere and sent to all the Colonial newspapers turned the “Boston Massacre” into a rallying cry against the British Crown. However, like Wadsworth’s poem, the engraving took poetic license.
Tensions had been building between Boston residents and the growing number of soldiers sent there to enforce new taxes but also taking jobs from local workers. One argument between a soldier and a colonist escalated, with soldiers and Bostonians gathering into a standoff. The soldiers, under attack by the crowd with snowballs, clubs, and other objects, were told to hold their fire, but one of them panicked and shot and then another joined in. Five people were killed.
Sam Adams arranged and funded a huge funeral parade for the five victims of the Boston Massacre and paid for the five victims to be buried in his plot in the Granary Burying Ground where he now lies as well. The parade made a big impression both on the British soldiers and on the residents of Boston, Alex said. “Great propaganda!”
That’s just one of many stories waiting to be told at the Granary Burying Ground. Once the very edge of 17th century Boston, this small patch of cemetery is now like a who’s who of the American Revolution. For example, across the grounds from Adams is the tombstone of James Otis, who coined the phrase “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” Otis was one of the great minds behind the Revolution but he suffered from periods of insanity which kept him out of the limelight.
The cemetery is also the final resting place of Paul Revere, John Hancock, the parents of Benjamin Franklin and an estimated 5,000+ other people. We asked Alex how so many people could fit in such a small space and learned that bodies were often buried one on top of the other.
The tour also included a visit to the Old North Church, and strolled through Little Italy, where Alex explained the difference between the two most popular cannoli spots. Along the way, Alex also shared tips on exploring the city, how to learn about free concerts and events at the Boston Common, and a list of her favorite eateries, making us feel a bit like insiders in the city.
DAY 2: My husband and I were joined by his cousins for a leisurely stroll along the Freedom Trail. We stopped to read the signs at spots that grabbed our attention and toured Paul Revere’s home, where we learned that the Wadsworth poem might have been quite different had his dad not anglicized his Huguenot name from Appolos Rivoire to Paul Revere. (Rivoire is a harder name than Revere to rhyme.)
We also spent some time in Faneuil Hall, which was built and gifted to the city of Boston in 1743 by philanthropist Peter Faneuil to serve as a meeting hall and a marketplace. It was where the “Sons of Liberty”— and activists ever since—gathered and gave speeches.
The hall now houses a moving exhibit called “Slavery in Boston” underscoring how much of Peter Faneuil’s and Boston’s wealth came from goods produced by enslaved labor and slave trafficking. The exhibit also looks at the lives of individual enslaved Africans. One of the most touching was the story of Caesar, an enslaved Black boy, “owned” by one of Boston’s richest families, serving them and children including a son who was his age.
Not far from Faneuil Hall is another stirring site, the New England Holocaust Memorial, (www.nehm.org), an outdoor space that takes you by surprise if you’re not expecting it. As we were walking through Carmen Park, I noticed steam rising from between towering plates of glass that line a black granite path. Walking towards it, I began reading quotes from Holocaust survivors etched into the glass and realized that the steam is a reminder of the smokestacks of the crematoriums at the Holocaust death camps. Looking down through the metal grates, I saw small lights that represent the charred embers of those murdered in the gas chambers. Signs told me that the glass towers represent the smokestacks and the Menorah-like lights atop them are symbols of strength and endurance. It was an impressive experience.
On a lighter note, a great spot for recreation or simply a relaxing sit-down is the Rose Kennedy Greenway, (www.rosekennedygreenway.org/). It was built as an over-the-highway park linking the waterfront to the city. It was a great spot to sit and socialize and our visit was enriched by reading the self-guided tour (available on the website), which provided fun information. For example, the dirt removed to make the Greenway possible could fill a stadium to its rim 16 times, and the concrete used to create it is equivalent to laying a sidewalk three feet wide and four feet thick roundtrip from Boston to San Francisco three times It’s amazing to think about that when you’re strolling through the lovely gardens. We also enjoyed the free (ever-changing) contemporary art installations and exhibitions and food trucks.
For lunch, we chose the Union Oyster House, an attraction in its own right. It’s the city’s oldest restaurant and a National Historic Landmark. The brick line of the Freedom Trail passes right in front of it. More importantly, it serves some of the best seafood in the city in a genuine historic and unpretentious setting. In fact, in 2023, the restaurant earned a spot among the Taste Atlas Top 50 Most Legendary Restaurants in the World.
Our six-person hardwood booth was across from one with a plaque memorializing the one reserved for John F. Kennedy and family when they dined there. We took quite some time to look around after we ate; the restaurant is filled with fascinating memorabilia and its walls are covered with paintings, photos and newspaper clippings about the famous people—from Daniel Webster to Meryl Streep—who have been patrons here over the centuries. My husband and I liked the restaurant so much that we dined there again the next day.
Day 3: Before leaving Boston, we went for one last stroll through the Rose Kennedy Greenway. We stopped to observe a tai chi group and to watch children scrambling to get on their favorite hand-carved animals which included a peregrine falcon, a green sea turtle and imaginary creatures that were chosen from a fun project drawing on the imaginations of local children.
A harbor cruise offers a lovely perspective on the city.
We then took an enchanting one-hour narrated Historic Boston Harbor Cruise, where our guide pointed out how much land was created by landfill, including Back Bay, the Seaport and parts of downtown and Logan Airport. In fact, one-sixth of the city is landfill—a process that began in the 1700s. (The cruise and a hop-on/hop-off bus pass we used, were part of an all-inclusive GoCity.com/boston pass that included entry into more than 45 attractions.
The Langham, Boston combines elegant architecture with modern art and an inviting pool.
As you might expect, historic hotels abound in Boston. The Omni Parker House is where Longfellow drafted his poem about Paul Revere. The former Boston Police Department headquarters is now the AKA Back Bay Hotel, and a former jail has embraced its past as the Liberty Hotel.
We stayed at The Langham, Boston, a five-star hotel that is just a short walk from the Freedom Trail and the waterfront and is itself a National Historic Monument. Built in 1922, it was home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston until 1977. Its banking past lives on in details like the green bank-style lamps, the tweed furnishings, and the lock box-style drawers behind the concierge desk.
It’s also a great choice for art lovers. Two N.C. Wyeth murals commissioned by the bank are still in their original spots and The Grana restaurant, which occupies the former grand hall, still has the Federal Reserve Bank emblem at its center, and portraits of eight Fed presidents grace its walls. The hotel also has an extensive collection of modern art, with a series of videos, cued by QR codes, of the artists explaining their works.
One of the best things about staying at The Langham (LanghamHotels.com/Boston was unwinding in the pool, hot tub and sauna after a day of delightful surprises on the Freedom Trail.
Useful Links:
theFreedomTrail.org; provides great info plus special interest and Freedom Trail tours, apps, and more
By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
New York is one of the premier cultural capitals of the world and fall is when the culture calendar gets into gear. But here’s a heads-up: the blockbuster exhibit of the year – the opportunity to tour a full-scale re-creation of Anne Frank’s Annex as it stands in Amsterdam – opens January 27, 2025, and tickets are on sale now. Here are highlights of what’s ahead on the culture calendar:
Groundbreaking Full-Scale Re-Creation of Anne Frank’s Annex
Amsterdam and New York – The Anne Frank House, one of the most visited historical sites in Europe, is presenting a pioneering experience: the opportunity to walk through an exact replica of Anne Frank’s hiding place where she wrote her famous diary. Anne Frank The Exhibition opens in New York City on January 27, 2025. Considering that tickets to visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam book up three months in advance, tickets for this exhibit are now available at AnneFrankExhibit.org.
This is the first time the Anne Frank House will present this opportunity for visitors outside of Amsterdam to be immersed in a full-scale recreation of the rooms where Anne Frank, her parents and sister, and four other Jews spent two years hiding to evade Nazi capture.
As a nonprofit organization helping to shape global understanding of the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance, including lessons on modern day antisemitism, racism, and discrimination, the Anne Frank House is entrusted with the preservation of the Annex where Anne Frank and her family hid during World War II. This exhibition, presented in New York City in partnership with the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan, opens on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2025, to mark the 80th commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Anne Frank The Exhibition is a first-of-its-kind, full-scale recreation of the complete Annex, furnished as it would have been when Anne and her family were forced into hiding. Moving through the exhibition, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the context that shaped Anne’s life—from her early years in Frankfurt, Germany through the rise of the Nazi regime and the family’s 1934 move to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where Anne lived for ten years until her 1944 arrest and deportation to Westerbork, a large transit camp in the Netherlands, then to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a concentration camp and killing center in Nazi-occupied Poland, and eventually to her death at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany when she was 15 years old.
Designed for audiences who may not have the opportunity to visit the Netherlands, the new exhibition in New York City is anticipated to draw massive attendance for what will be among the most important presentations of Jewish historical content on view in the United States. Through the recreated Annex; exhibition galleries immersing visitors in place and history through video, sound, photography, and animation; and more than 100 original collection items from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Anne Frank The Exhibition will provide an opportunity to learn about Anne Frank not as a victim but through the multifaceted lens of her life—as a girl, a writer, and a symbol of resilience and strength. This is a story inspired by one of the most translated books in the world.
The New York City exhibition will occupy over 7,500 square feet of gallery space in the heart of Union Square. This marks the first time dozens of artifacts will be seen in the United States—many have never been seen in public.
Artifacts in the exhibition include:
Anne Frank’s first photo album (1929-1942);
Anne Frank’s typed and handwritten invitation to her friend for a film screening in her home (by 1942, anti-Jewish measures prohibited Jews from attending the cinema); and
Handwritten verses by Anne Frank in her friends’ poetry albums.
“Anne Frank’s words resonate and inspire today, a voice we carry to all corners of the world, nearly eight decades later,” Ronald Leopold, Executive Director of the Anne Frank House, said. “As a custodian of Anne’s legacy, we have an obligation to help world audiences understand the historical roots and evolution of antisemitism, including how it fueled Nazi ideology that led to the Holocaust. Anne’s legacy is remarkable, as represented in the diary she left us, and as one of the 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered at the hands of Nazi officials and their collaborators. Through this exhibition, the Anne Frank House offers insights into how this could have happened and what it means for us today.
“The exhibition provides perspectives, geared toward younger generations, that are certain to deepen our collective understanding of Anne Frank and hopefully provide a better understanding of ourselves. By bringing this exhibition to New York—a place with many ties to Anne’s story— the Anne Frank House is expanding the reach of our work to encourage more people to remember Anne Frank, reflect on her life story, and respond by standing against antisemitism and hatred in their own communities.”
Anne Frank The Exhibition is a limited engagement, scheduled to close on April 30, 2025. Public programming and educational initiatives tied to the exhibition will be announced when the exhibition opens to the public.
Timed entry individual and family tickets are available at AnneFrankExhibit.org. The exhibition is designed for children (ages 10 and older) and adults. All general admission tickets include the exhibition audio guide. Visitors should plan to spend approximately one hour at the exhibition. Last entry is one hour before closing.
Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, N.Y. between 5th and 6th Avenues
Edges of Ailey (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 25, 2024-February 9, 2025). Courtesy of Whitney Museum of American Art; Photo by Natasha Moustache.
Edges of Ailey at the Whitney Museum of American Art through February 9, 2025, is the first large-scale museum exhibition to celebrate the life, dances, influences, and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey. This dynamic showcase brings together visual art, live performance, music, a range of archival materials, and a multi-screen video installation drawn from recordings of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) repertory to explore the full range of Ailey’s personal and creative life. Described as an “extravganza” by curator Adrienne Edwards, Edges of Ailey is the must-see event of the NYC fall/winter season. The landmark exhibition is on view only in NYC.
Presented at the Museum in multiple parts, Edges of Ailey consists of an immersive exhibition in the Museum’s 18,000 square-foot fifth-floor galleries that includes artworks by over 80 artists and never-before-seen archival materials. Artists featured in the exhibition include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Faith Ringgold, Alma Thomas, Jacob Lawrence, Kara Walker, and many others. A recent acquisition of Eldren Bailey and new works by Karon Davis, Jennifer Packer, Mickalene Thomas, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye will be presented for the first time in honor of this landmark exhibition.
Edges of Ailey is part of a ‘Season of Ailey’ in New York City, which includes the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company’s annual engagement at New York City Center, December 4-January 5.
Also at the Whitney:
Opening November 1, Shifting Landscapes explores how evolving political, ecological, and social issues motivate artists’ representations of the world around them. The 120 works by more than 80 artists—including Firelei Báez, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jane Dickson, Gordon Matta-Clark, Amalia Mesa-Bains, andPurvis Young—depict the effects of industrialization on the environment, grapple with the impact of geopolitical borders, and give shape to imagined spaces as a way of destabilizing the concept of a “natural” world.
On view through January 5, 2025, Survival Piece #5: Portable Orchard marks the first standalone museum presentation of the fully realized indoor citrus grove conceived and designed in 1972 by artists Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison. Stretching across the Museum’s eighth-floor gallery, this installation of 18 live citrus trees explores the need for a productive and sustainable food system in an imagined future where natural farming practices are obsolete and cannot be taken for granted.
This fall, the Perelman Performing Arts Center [PAC NYC] is staging its inaugural PAC NYC ICONS OF CULTURE FESTIVAL presented by BNY from Tuesday, October 29 – Saturday, November 2, 2024.
PAC NYC ICONS OF CULTURE FESTIVAL will bring audiences into the room with trailblazers in art, music, comedy, film, sports, and more to talk about pushing boundaries, making a mark, and elevating the everyday to the iconic.
Icons to appear in conversation at the festival include Misty Copeland, The Dogist, Alex Edelman, Renée Fleming, Michael Imperioli, Baaba Maal, Philippe Petit, Questlove, Marcus Samuelsson, Kathleen Turner, Serena Williams, andVanity Fair’s Little Gold Men Live!
Art Deco City: New York Postcards from the Leonard A. Lauder Collectionat Museum of the City of New York, East Harlem, through February 17, 2025: Featuring over 250 postcards alongside decorative arts, fashion, and architectural models, the exhibition highlights the role postcards played in popularizing Art Deco landmarks like the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Center.
Make Way for Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-Garde at Grey Art Museum, Noho, Manhattan, through March 1, 2025: Berthe Weill, the first woman modern art dealer, championed artists like Picasso, Matisse and Modigliani. This survey features around 110 works shown at her gallery in the early 20th century and highlights her work as a gallerist and advocate.
Pets and the City at The New-York Historical Society, Upper West Side, Manhattan, October 25, 2024—April 20, 2025: Featuring a diverse range of art, objects, memorabilia and media clips, this exhibition highlights pets’ lives in NYC, from early Indigenous cultures to today’s pampered companions. It also examines the growing pet population and addresses topics such as pet adoption and the importance of service animals. Also:
Most people think of Paul Revere solely as a silversmith, but his work as a printer and an artist was key to his role as a patriot seeking to break with Great Britain. His print of the Boston Massacre was significant to organize public opinion against the British. Paul Revere, The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated on King Street, Boston. Hand colored engraving, 1770. American Antiquarian Society. Gift of Nathaniel Paine.
From Paul Revere to Edward Hopper: Treasures from the Leonard L. Milberg Collection of American Prints, Drawings, and Watercolors, through October 27, 2024, showcases more than 140 prints, drawings, and watercolors from one of the most admired collections of historical American works on paper
Scenes of New York City: Selections from the Elie and Sarah Hirschfeld Collection, through October 27, 2024: The inaugural display in the new Hirschfeld Gallery and Hall presents a selection of artworks from an extraordinary promised gift to New-York Historical by prominent philanthropists and art collectors Elie and Sarah Hirschfeld, who have amassed a stunning collection honoring their hometown. The collection features renowned artists—both national and international—and presents vivid snapshots of Gotham and its streetscapes.
Enchanting Imagination: The Objets d’Art of André Chervin and Carvin French Jewelers, through January 5, 2025: This dazzling exhibition of meticulously created objets d’art is on view to the public for the very first time. André Chervin (born 1927 in Paris), with his New York atelier, Carvin French, is one of the most acclaimed makers of handcrafted fine jewelry in the world.
A Billion Dollar Dream: The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair on its 60th Anniversaryat Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, November 3, 2024—March 9, 2025: A Billion Dollar Dream celebrates the 60th anniversary of the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair by examining its legacy through social, political and environmental lenses. Featuring materials from the Queens Museum’s collection, the exhibition highlights the Fair’s promotion of progress and nationhood while reflecting contemporary issues, including civil rights and the women’s liberation movement.
Solid Gold at The Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, November 16, 2024—July 6, 2025: Solid Gold celebrates the allure of gold, presenting over 500 works that explore the color and material’s significance in art, fashion, film and design throughout history. Opening for the Brooklyn Museum’s 200th anniversary, the exhibition features stunning pieces from renowned designers like Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, alongside gold-ground paintings, sculptures and jewelry by notable artists such as Alexander Calder and Bulgari.
Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Nowat The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Upper East Side, Manhattan, November 17, 2024—February 17, 2025: Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now examines how Black artists and cultural figures have engaged with ancient Egypt through art, literature and performance over nearly 150 years. Featuring 200 works, the exhibition explores themes like the creation of a unifying identity and the contributions of Black scholars. It also includes a dedicated gallery for performance art, featuring live performances on select days.
Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern at The Museum of Modern Art, Midtown Manhattan, November 17, 2024—March 29, 2025: The Museum of Modern Art will host this exhibition in celebration of one of its founders and her crucial role in promoting modern art in the US. The exhibit marks 90 years since Bliss’s contributions to MoMA and will feature about 40 works. The exhibition will also display archival materials, highlighting her lasting impact on the museum and the acceptance of modern art in America.
Ceremonies Out of the Air: Ralph Lemonat MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Queens, November 14, 2024—March 25, 2025: Showcasing over 60 works by Ralph Lemon, this exhibition presents dance, sculpture, video and more. Ceremonies Out of the Air will highlight his storytelling through movement and features the central installation Rant redux (2020–24). It will also include a series of live performances that enhance the immersive experience.
Magazine Fever: Gen X Asian American Periodicals at The Museum of Chinese in America, Nolita, Manhattan, through March 30, 2025: Magazine Fever: Gen X Asian American Periodicals examines the impact of Asian American magazines in shaping identity during the 1980s and ’90s. Featuring over 80 rare issues from notable publications like A. Magazine and Hyphen, the exhibition showcases how these magazines provided a platform for Asian Americans to assert their narratives and portray their identities.
FUTURA 2000: BREAKING OUT at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, South Bronx, Through March 30, 2025: FUTURA 2000: BREAKING OUT is a retrospective of the legendary NYC artist’s career. Running through winter 2025, it showcases five decades of his work, including sculptures, drawings, prints and new installations. The exhibition highlights his signature techniques, science-fiction motifs and the iconic 1980 graffiti piece, Break, which cemented his influence in the art world.
New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players Celebrates 50th Anniversary Season: New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP), America’s preeminent professional Gilbert & Sullivan repertory company, announces a Golden Jubilee, celebrating its 50th anniversary season and honoring 150 years of the wit and wonder of Gilbert & Sullivan. The celebrated full company and orchestra will perform “Ruddigore” on Nov. 23– 24, 2024; “The Pirates of Penzance” on Jan. 4– 12, 2025; and “Iolanthe” on April 5–6, 2025 at the Gerald Lynch Theatre at John Jay College. Info and tickets at www.nygasp.org.
‘Billy Joel – My Life, A Piano Man’s Journey’ Exhibit at LIMEHOF Extended: The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) has is extending the run of the first ever exhibit dedicated exclusively to LIMEHOF Inductee and Legendary Long Island Musician Billy Joel through spring 2025. Billy Joel- My Life, A Piano Man’s Journey spans Joel’s life and career from growing up in Hicksville to his legendary run at Madison Square Garden. It includes over 50 years of Billy Joel’s most cherished items including rare memorabilia, behind-the-scenes video, dozens of awards, rare audio and video recordings, vintage instruments and historic photos, many donated by Billy Joel himself. Timed entry and VIP tickets and special holiday packages and gift cards are available at www.TheBillyExhibit.com(LIMEHOF, 97 Main Street, Stony Brook, Long Island, www.limusichalloffame.org).
By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
Historic Hudson Valley has brought its enormously popular “The Great Jack o’ Lantern Pumpkin Blaze” extravaganza to Long Islandto our most fabulous living history destination, Old Bethpage Restoration Village, for the fifth year. They have brought the extraordinary artistry, charm and delight, and kept Sleepy Hollow’s Headless Horseman, but have tailored the displays and story around Long Island’s history, heritage and culture.
On view on select nights through November 3, this is a must-see attraction/experience that delights all ages, with more humor than horror.
Old Bethpage Village Restoration, a 209-acre living history museum with homes and buildings that date back to the 19th century, is the perfect setting – the stories marvelously weave a context of reality to the fantasy, which makes them even more spooky.
Hewlett House is a stand-in for the Amityville Horror, with similar architecture, but has its own spectral story. The pumpkin cemetery is peopled by the Hewlett family, a prominent farming family who remained loyal to the Crown during the American Revolution whose farm was built in 1794, near Pequot Lane in Woodbury (the house was moved to a hilltop at Old Bethpage in the 1970s). Their actual house is one of several historic houses in Old Bethpage said to be haunted.
The Doomsday Clock outside the house, is an enormous pendulum clock made of pumpkins such as would have been popular in the 19th century and wealthy Long Island families like the Hewletts and Laytons might well have had one. But this one, standing 12 feet tall, features a single hand, ominously counting back the hour.
And in 1658, some 35 years before the Salem witch trials, 16-year old Elizabeth Gardiner Howell of East Hampton was accused of witchcraft – but she was acquitted in her trial.
And the Blaze Long Island Hall of Fame inside the Visitors Center, before you start your walk on the trail, features intricate pumpkin sculptures of famous Long Islanders (Natalie Portman and Jerry Seinfeld are the newest, joining Billy Joel, Joan Jett, Sue Bird, and Dr. J).
You walk the pumpkin trail through this 19th century village and see more than 7,000 hand-carved jack o’lanterns, all carved by its team of artisans, each one unique.
The structures – all built with carved and lighted pumpkins – are absolutely incredible: a display featuring a police car, ambulance, firetruck, firefighter spraying a hose and a firefighter climbing a ladder; a windmill; a Statue of Liberty as tall as a tree, a lighthouse with a working light (Montauk is Long Island’s most famous but this pays tribute to the lighthouse commissioned by President George Washington himself), an 80-foot long circus train with animal skeletons as passengers (a nod to Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey bringing its circus train to Long Island in 1972 to the newly opened Nassau Coliseum), a working carousel with horse skeletons.
The displays pay homage to Long Island’s farming heritage, its maritime heritage (a whaling center!), and its cultural contributions, from the inventor of one of the first computer games, to the factoid that “Jaws” was inspired by the capture of a 4500 lb white shark off Long Island.
There are also a series of displays that trace Long Island’s history, from the Native American tribes who first inhabited, to Long Island’s role in aviation history (Lindbergh took off on his historic flight in his Spirit of St. Louis to Paris in 1927 from Roosevelt Field, and nuclear physicist William Higinbotham’s of the Brookhaven National lab who in 1958 arguably developed the first video game, Tennis for Two, a primitive version of Pong and precursor to Pac-Man and Mario Bros.
Among the new displays this year is a stunning tribute to the Day of the Dead and a moving ferris wheel.
The sound effects, original musical soundtrack, lights, colors, motion of some of the larger exhibits, even smoke effects and bubbles, are pure delight. The ambiance in such a historic, rural setting is just phenomenal.
You also get to see actual pumpkin carving and get to talk with the carvers and see the 100+-pound carved winners, a marvelous Blaze Boo-tique featuring seasonal gifts and merchandise, while Café Blaze, features fall treats like cider donuts and pumpkin beer.
Advance online purchase of timed tickets is required; no tickets are sold at the venue; capacity is limited and prices increase if you purchase on the same day.There are also FLEX tickets that allow you to visit at any time, even when it is sold out. (For a small fee, you can exchange a ticket up to 24 hours in advance.) New this year is a $10 flat rate children’s tickets (ages 3-17), valid for every date and every time slot.
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze is open select evenings Oct. 4-Nov. 3 including Halloween.
It’s a pleasant walk along a dirt trail (about half the size of the Village), suitable for strollers – allocate 45-90 minutes to enjoy. (I suggest families try to come as early as possible so the kids aren’t too tired; others come later when it may be less busy, like 8:30 pm – last entry at 9 pm.
Proceeds support the education and preservation efforts of Old Bethpage Village Restoration and Historic Hudson Valley.
The original Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, celebrating 20 “gourd-eous years” this year, is already underway at Historic Hudson Valley’s Van Cortlandt Manor, Croton-on-Hudson through Nov. 17 (advance purchase tickets necessary, https://pumpkinblaze.org/blaze-hudson-valley.html). And other special Halloween events are underway at Philipsburg Manor and Sunnywide (historichudsonvalley.org)
Sponsored by Catholic Health, the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze is presented through a partnership of Historic Hudson Valley, Old Bethpage Village Restoration and Nassau County which owns and operates OBVR, with support of the NYS Council of the Arts, NYS Economic Development, and I Love NY.
By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
Halloween has become a national festival of fantasy and imagination. Here are some of our favorites, from Salem, Massachusetts, to Sleepy Hollow, Historic Hudson Valley, to Old Bethpage,Long Island to New York City’s Village Halloween Parade.
Salem Haunted Happenings
Salem arguably is the birthplace of Halloween festivities, and while the spirits of the season occupy the village year round, they get into a frenzied gear during Salem Haunted Happenings. Because of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, Salem has the added authenticity and depth to understand how women, in particular, were persecuted as witches (the patriarchy would particularly go after midwives and healers), so Salem understandably later became a haven and a hub for modern-day witchcraft (paganism), which has its roots in women being healers and midwives. You can experience most of this (the whimsy and fantasy but also the sober tragedy) year-round, but it all takes on special resonance – and yes, festiveness – at Halloween.
There are haunted houses, ghost tours, museums and attractions (the famous House of Seven Gables was the centerpiece of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel. Hawthorne’s great-grandfather, Colonel John Hathorne, was the judge that found over a 100 women guilty of witchcraft and oversaw at least 20 hangings), psychics, fairs, séances, trolley and walking tours, recreations of the famous trial.
Salem is one of my favorite destinations. Year round happenings can be found at Destination Salem, https://www.salem.org/.
Historic Hudson Valley’s Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
The original Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, celebrating 20 “gourd-eous years” this year, is already underway at Historic Hudson Valley’s Van Cortlandt Manor, Croton-on-Hudson – a testament to the popularity of the event which continues through Nov. 17 (advance purchase tickets necessary).
Located on the grounds of an 18th-century estate on the banks of the Croton River in Westchester, Van Cortlandt Manor is the picturesque setting for this awe-inspiring fall event. Visitors meander through the heritage gardens filled with hand-carved jack o’lanterns, past the brick ferry house, where they well might get a glimpse of the Headless Horseman, and see the light show at the manor house.
This year, celebrate the festival’s 20th year with a giant birthday cake and Celebration Arch; step into the Gourd & Goblet Tavern, a new VIP experience on the pumpkin trail; spot the giant Kraken rising from the Croton River; meet life-sized dinosaurs; try not to get stuck in the 24-foot spider web, gaze at the stars in the Pumpkin Planetarium, and see a working carousel; get fall-themed sweets and snacks at Café Blaze; and browse the Blaze Boo-tique to find exclusive souvenirs and local finds.
Since 2005, more than 2 million visitors have delighted in this walk-through experience, where thousands of hand-carved pumpkins in elaborate displays light up the night. Now in two New York locations, in Westchester at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson and in Nassau County at Old Bethpage Village Restoration in Old Bethpage, this fun fall festival features larger-than-life installations, along with synchronized lighting, and an all-original soundtrack.
Proceeds support the education and preservation efforts of Historic Hudson Valley.
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” as you’ve never heard it before:Irving’s ‘Legend’ returns reimagined this fall. Performed outdoors under the stars at Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, master storyteller Jonathan Kruk casts a spell with his dramatic performances of the classic tale. Live music and sound effects by Jim Keyes and an appearance from the Headless Horseman himself make this a spooky spectacular experience for all ages. This experience takes place outdoors in the evening and is seated, but also requires some walking. Tickets $35/adult, $34/seniors, YA, $30/child. Advance purchase tickets required; no tickets sold on site. Select dates from Sept. 27-Nov. 3 (Sunnyside, 3 W Sunnyside Lane, Irvington, NY 10533, https://hudsonvalley.org/events/irvings-legend/)
A Night of Folklore, Fortune, and Festivities: Discover delightful and mysterious creatures who croon creepy tunes, tell your fortune and tall-ish tales of legends and lore, and come face-to-face with the Headless Horseman. Shop for Sleepy Hollow swag at the Halloween night market and enjoy cocktails, mocktails and snacks. Select dates Sept. 27 – Nov. 3 ($30/adults, $29/seniors, young adults, $25/child).(Philipsburg Manor: 381 N Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY, https://hudsonvalley.org/events/twilight-village-at-sleepy-hollow/)
Night of Legendary Magic Featuring Mark Clearview & Nick Wallace:Journey with master illusionists into the realm of the unknown at this spooky supernatural spectacle as they communicate with the spirits of Sleepy Hollow Country like Hulda, Major Andre, and the Headless Horseman himself. New Spirits of Sleepy Hollow Premium option: cabaret style seating with at-seat drink service in the first two rows of the theater. Strongly recommended for ages 10+ only; limited seating. Select dates, Sept. 27-Nov. 3, tickets starting at $60.(Philipsburg Manor: 381 N Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY, https://hudsonvalley.org/events/the-spirits-of-sleepy-hollow-country/)
Walk In the Footsteps of Ichabod Crane! Fun and friendly tour guides take you on a colorful, photo op filled, immersive romp through historic Philipsburg Manor at the historic heart of Sleepy Hollow, where you will see key landmarks of this special place made famous by Washington Irving in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This one-hour tour takes you through the hidden corners in the landscape at Philipsburg Manor that inspired settings in Irving’s amazing tale. You’ll encounter a variety of immersive scenes. This illuminating daytime experience is the easiest and most fun way to get deep inside the true Legend! Discovery Walk ticket also includes admission to a Philipsburg Manor tour, before or after your Discovery Walk, subject to availability. (Recommended for ages 10+ and requires negotiating steep, mixed terrain, not suitable for strollers or wheelchairs.).Select dates Sept. 27-Nov. 3 (adults $40, seniors/young adults $39, children $35). Philipsburg Manor: 381 N Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY, https://hudsonvalley.org/events/legend-of-sleepy-hollow-discovery-walk/
Historic Hudson Valley has brought The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze to Long Island’s Old Bethpage Village Restoration, the 209-acre living museum village for its 5th year, presented by Catholic Health. Old Bethpage is the ideal setting for Nassau County’s largest fall festival event, The spectacular walk-through Halloween experience features thousands of hand-carved pumpkins in elaborate displays that pay homage to Long Island culture, heritage, history and landmarks, as well as the Halloween season, complete with motion, lighting, and original soundtrack. Stroll the pumpkin trail past 19th century buildings, through historic barns. Enjoy pumpkin carving and see the 100+-pound carved winners, the Blaze Boo-tique featuring seasonal gifts and merchandise, and Café Blaze, an on-site café featuring fall treats like cider donuts and pumpkin beer.
$10 flat rate children’s tickets (ages 3-17), valid for every date and every time slot.
New displays designed to wow (not scare) the whole family, including a moving Ferris wheel with pumpkins and Day of the Dead tribute.
Intricate pumpkin sculptures of Natalie Portman and Jerry Seinfeld join other Long Island icons, such as Billy Joel, Joan Jett, Sue Bird, and Dr. J in Blaze’s Long Island Hall of Fame.
A new Celebration Arch which serves as a tribute to Blaze: Long Island’s anniversary, ideal for photo ops.
Find your favorite classic Hollywood monster in the Pumpkin Planterium
Advance online purchase of timed tickets or FLEX anytime tickets is required; no tickets are sold at the venue. Select evenings Oct. 4-Nov. 3 including Halloween. Proceeds support the education and preservation efforts of Old Bethpage Village Restoration and Historic Hudson Valley.
Old Bethpage Village Restoration, 1303 Round Swamp Rd, Old Bethpage, NY 11804,https://pumpkinblaze.org/blaze-long-island.html.
Boo at the Zoo Returns to the Bronx Zoo
Bronx Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo takes place weekends through October 27 and Columbus Day, October 14 (photo: WCS)
The Bronx Zoo’s favorite fall tradition, Boo at the Zoo, takes place Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 28 to Oct. 27 (and Monday, October 14th), when zoo guests can get into the spooky spirit as new and returning Halloween festivities come to life throughout the park.
Fall is one of the best times to spend the day at the Bronx Zoo as stunning autumn colors come to life across its 265-acre hard wood forest and guests enjoy the beauty of nature and wildlife here in New York City. Set in peak leaf peeping season, Boo at the Zoo is the daytime fall event which has enchanted guests for years and is back with entertainment and activities that are perfect for all ages, which is addition to the Zoo’s nighttime event, Pumpkin Nights.
Boo at the Zoo’s new thrills include:
Trick or Truth Maze: Explore a maze and complete a scavenger hunt to learn about so-called “spooky” animals and bust some creepy myths. (Astor Court from 11am-4pm)
Face Painting: Transform into a spooky or sweet creature at the Butterfly Patio Pad with free face-painting for children ages 3+, 11am – 4pm.
Creepy Crawly Mystery Wall: Touch and feel mysterious textures and materials to learn about animals and other creatures.
Halloween Mash Up: Visitors of all ages can dance, sing, and play with the zoo’s fan favorite emcee at Astor Court, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30
Boo at the Zoo Mural: Draw a favorite animal or spooky creature at the Boo at the Zoo mural at Astor Court from 11am – 4pm.
Other Boo at the Zoo activities taking over the park include:
Costume Parade: Costumed entertainment by animal-themed stilt walkers and Halloween puppets. Guests in Halloween costume join the parade (Astor Court at 12, 1, 2pm)
Halloween Crafts: A fan-favorite activity of decorating spooky creature puppets at Giraffe Patio from 11am-4pm, along with the Costume Parade.
Magic & Mind Reading: The popular magician is back with an animal-inspired magic and mind reading. (Grizzly Corner at 11am, 12, 2, 3, 4pm)
Pumpkin Carving Demos: Expert artists create giant animals and intricate scenes out of pumpkins at Dancing Crane Pavilion from 11am-4pm (speed carving also taking place at 11:30am and 2:30pm!).
Wildlife Theater: ‘The Wildlife Witch’s Super Scary Halloween Show,’ a funny short musical featuring a witch and all her creepy crawly friends, takes place at Giraffe Corner at 10:45am, 11:30am, 12:30, 2:30, 3:15 & 4pm.
Spooky Stories to Tickle Your Spine: Animal-themed folklore and storytelling at Grizzly Corner; 11:30am, 12:30, 2:30, 3:30pm.
Boo Playground: Halloween-themed lawn games at Astor Court from 11am-4pm.
Extinct Animal Graveyard: The eerie graveyard of animal species that have gone extinct with education about how to prevent it from happening in the future (Mouse House Lawn, 10am – 5pm)
Pumpkin Trail: Hundreds of expertly carved pumpkins (Rhino Trail from 10am – 5pm)
In addition to Boo at the Zoo, Pumpkin Nights, back for its second year, lights up the zoo after dark with 5,000 animal-themed jack o’lanterns. (Thursdays – Sundays, Sept. 26-Oct. 13, 7-10pm, and Oct. 17-27 6:30-10pm. )
RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns,featuring what it claims is the world’s longest Jack O’Lantern Trail, returns for its 11th season with 10,000 illuminated objects including 7,000 hand-carved jack o’lanterns, 3,000 specialty lanterns, and hundreds of family-friendly Halloween-themed visual displays. This year RISE will be open only 18 select nights between Oct. 4-28.
Discount tickets available by obtaining a promocode at site.
Advanced purchase tickets are required. Tickets are not sold at the door. All tickets are sold here (https://www.jackolanterns.com/cart?promo=GC2024) (High-demand early timeslots sell out each year, most several weeks in advance, so we recommend purchasing your tickets as early as possible so you can get the date and time of your choice.
RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns at Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts, 185 Colonial Springs Road, Wheatley Heights, NY 11798
New York City’s celebration of fantasy, the Village Halloween Parade, is celebrating its 51st anniversary this year with the theme, “Meow.”
“Hallow’s Eve belongs to us, as it always has – to the witch and the Black Cat, to the solitary wise-woman on the outskirts of town (or the upstairs apartment or that white house) and her shape-shifting familiar, to all of us who walk alone and dance together in velvet furs and sharpened claws,” writes Jeanne Fleming, Artistic and Producing Director, announcing this year’s theme. “New York’s Halloween Parade calls on Cat Ladies of every purr-suasion to don your finest tails and whiskers and join the Ball. Led by the puppet creations of Official Parade Puppeteers Processional Arts, whose luminous sweepers return to conjure a quadrille of giant cats, let us take a playful swipe at those who would cross our path – and revel in all that makes us uniquely, inscrutably, un-Cat-egorizably fabulous…. each in our own way, reflecting the tumult of the last few years, and inviting self-reflection.”
“Turns out NYC is the epicenter for Cat Ladies!” So, the Parade invites Cat Ladies and Cat Lovers of all stripes and patterns to the Parade. There will be a special section of the Parade for CAT LADIES (must be in costume). This special section comes with after party tickets, Choreography, chants, a TV appearance, a prime place in the Parade line up and a contest to win a spot on a Parade Float.
For those eager to take part or watch in person, this iconic New York City event kicks off at 7 pm ET on Thursday, October 31, 2024, starting from Spring St. and traveling north on Sixth Avenue from Canal Street to 18th Street. The parade is FREE for all to view or join IN COSTUME! (Tickets for special experiences are available.).
Started by a Greenwich Village mask maker and puppeteer Ralph Lee in 1973, the Parade began as a walk from house to house in his neighborhood for his children and their friends. After the second year of this local promenade, Theater for the New City stepped in and produced the event on a larger scale as part of their City in the Streets program. Today the Parade is the largest celebration of its kind in the world and has been picked by Festivals International as “The Best Event in the World” for October 31.
Now, 51 years later, the Parade draws more than 70,000 costumed participants and some 2 million spectators, including television-viewing audience, live on NY1 beginning at 8 pm.
In 1994, the Mayor of the City of New York issued a Proclamation honoring the Village Halloween Parade for 20 years of bringing everyone in the City together in a joyful and creative way and being a boon to the economic life of the City. “New York is the world’s capital of creativity and entertainment. The Village Halloween Parade presents the single greatest opportunity for all New Yorkers to exhibit their creativity in an event that is one-of-a-kind, unique and memorable every year. New Yorkers of all ages love Halloween, and this delightful event enables them to enjoy it every year and join in with their own special contributions. The Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village is a true cultural treasure.”
Join hundreds of puppets, 50 bands representing music from around the world, dancers, artists, and thousands of other New Yorkers in costumes of their own creation in the nation’s most wildly creative public participatory event in the greatest city in the world!
By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
More and more people are finding comfort and wisdom in ancient ways and showing new respect and appreciation for indigenous culture and heritage, especially what they can teach us today about living sustainably and in harmony with nature and each other.
“The interest in Indigenous culture and history has been on the rise for a number of years,” states Elena Junes, Director of Program Operations for Road Scholar, and a member of the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. “It is consistent with the rise in eco/sustainable and cultural tourism. Worldwide, although Indigenous peoples make up less than 5% of the total human population, traditional indigenous territories encompass between 22-25% of the world’s land surface, and they coincide with areas that hold 80-90% of the planet’s biodiversity. As travelers seek out new places to visit that are in line with sustainable/experiential tourism, they will find that they are often traveling to traditional indigenous areas. As Road Scholar visits these places, we will always do our best to provide responsible, beneficial experiences with the local communities.
And there are more and more opportunities to embark on this journey of discovery as (colonial) governments are showing new sense of responsibility in making restitution, providing the resources for economic development – infrastructure development and marketing – to enable tribal communities preserve what is left of the heritage and culture.
Canada, which has made the most ambitious “Truth and Reconciliation” campaign with its indigenous communities, has excellent programs to link travelers to experiences. The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is a national non-profit Indigenous tourism industry organization established in 2015, tasked with growing and promoting the Indigenous tourism industry across the country. Inspired by a vision for a thriving Indigenous tourism economy sharing authentic, memorable and enriching experiences, ITAC develops relationships with groups and regions with similar mandates to enable collective support, product development, promotion and marketing of authentic Indigenous tourism businesses in a respectful protocol. (For information, visit www.destinationindigenous.ca)
“Sharing our stories and our history on cultural homeland is an integral part of the experience,” said Clyde Mansell, Tasmanian palawa Aboriginal Elder and founder of wukalina Walk, which is part of Discover Aboriginal Experiences Australia. “It also allows us to increase employment, involve our young people and contribute to our self-determination, by creating more opportunities for the palawa community.
“We’ve had comments over the years where guests have said it’s changed their lives and their whole thinking about how they should relate to Aboriginal people,” Mansell added.
Indeed, the indigenous tourism movement is part of the Sustainable/Responsible Tourism movement. It also dovetails with rising interest in Wellness Travel.
Indigenous healing offerings have gained prominence as part of the broader trend towards holistic wellness and the search for authentic, transformative experiences. These experiences draw on the wisdom and practices of indigenous cultures around the world, offering healing techniques that have been developed and passed down through generations. The interest in and drive behind these retreats are linked to an acknowledgement of indigenous healing practices, the holistic approach, and reconnection with the land, is a significant wellness travel trend, a study by Global Wellness Institute found.
For example, at Wai Ariki Hot Springs, in Rotorua New Zealand you can discover the ancient healing methods of these indigenous cultures, from the deeply cultural touch of mirri mirri or romi romi massage to the revitalizing power of blessed stones and herbal remedies. Each experience is thoughtfully crafted incorporates local healers and wellness practitioners, herbal medicine practice and ceremonies that honor the community and the land. Asian traditional therapies and medicine are growing in popularity for the wellness traveler across the globe. Traditional Thai, Chinese & Ayurvedic Medicinal offerings encompass rich diagnostic protocols, herbal formulas, and treatment techniques as part of the guest experience.
Here are just a sampling of the plethora of indigenous experiences available to travelers around the world:
Road Scholar Integrates Immersive Indigenous Experiences into Cultural Programs
Road Scholar, which provides immersive, educational travel programs for seniors, has incorporated immersive indigenous cultural experiences in many of its programs.
“As an educational organization, Road Scholar strives to provide impactful experiences. We recognize that changing narratives will always inform our choice of experience. We choose to visit Indigenous communities and hear about their history and culture from the people who have the lived experience. Whenever possible, we include meals and activities with local community members as a way to encourage dialogue and enhance cultural discourse. When we visit archaeological sites, we include the voices of descendant communities as part of the educational content we provide. We recognize these sites not as “ruins” but as deeply personal and sacred spaces to the people whose ancestors resided there.”
Here is a collection of programs with Native American themes, but this is just a sampling. There are many other Road Scholar programs across the country and around that world that incorporate Indigenous culture and history, even when it’s not explicitly outlined in the itinerary:
In Oklahoma, Road Scholars visit Tahlequah, the capitol of the Cherokee Nation, for a presentation by a Cherokee artist, Traci Rabbit.
In New Mexico, Road Scholars visit the campus of the Institute of American Indian Arts, a congressionally chartered college for Native students, where a student shows them around campus. They also take in a presentation by Louie Hena, from Tesuque Pueblo, and a traditional meal with his family.
In Wisconsin, Road Scholars visit Wisconsin Point Indian Burial Ground with a local tribal historian and environmental scientists who gives a presentation on the history and culture of the area.
In Louisiana, participants visit the Chitimacha Museum to learn about the first inhabitants of the region through the study of artifacts and find out about the efforts to preserve their tribal language.
In British Columbia, participants visit the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler to learn from an Indigenous educator about First Nations history, customs, and traditions through dance, storytelling and material artifacts.
In Mexico, Road Scholars stop in a traditional village to get to know the traditions and lifestyle of the Mazahua indigenous people and learn how the women’s clothing helps them maintain their identity.
In Guatemala, participants ferry to Santiago La Laguna village to delve into the way of life of the indigenous community on the shores of Lake Atitlan.
In New Zealand, participants visit Te Puia, the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, to learn how young Maori train in the traditional Maori arts and crafts. Later they experience a hangi, the traditional Maori method of cooking food in the ground, accompanied by a Maori cultural performance that includes the “Haka” war dance.
Road Scholar is a university of the world inspiring adults to learn, discover and travel, www.roadscholar.org
Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day Where It was First Named a State Holiday: South Dakota
With Indigenous People’s Day fast approaching on Monday, October 14, there’s no better destination to honor and celebrate the holiday than in South Dakota, home to the third-largest Native American population in the US across nine Tribal Nations and the first state to officially replace Columbus Day with Native Americans’ Day as a state holiday in 1990.
One of the most profound monuments in South Dakota is Crazy Horse Memorial which, it is amazing to learn, is still being carved by the third generation of its original sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, and will soon be the largest mountain sculpture in the world (30x larger than neighboring Mount Rushmore). It was here that the first Native Americans’ Day celebration was held nearly 35 years ago. An incredible attraction and education center year-round, each Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration brings tradition, immersive performances, artist displays, storytelling, hands-on activities for children, and the naming the Crazy Horse Memorial Educator of the Year honored for significant contributions to Native American education.
When completed, the Crazy Horse Mountain carving will be the world’s largest sculpture, measuring 563 feet high by 641 feet long, carved in the round. The nine-story high face of Crazy Horse was completed on June 3, 1998; work began on the 22-story high horse’s head soon after.
There is also a superb Museum of Native Americans of North America (it rivals the Smithsonian’s Museum in Washington DC) where you watch a terrific video that tells the story of the America’s indigenous people, and can visit the studio/home of the sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski.
Powwows: While Powwows are available to find and attend throughout the state throughout the year, Rapid City is home to one of North America’s largest and premier Native American events, the Black Hills Powwow every October is where thousands of spectators engage with artisans, artists, championship singers and dancers, the He Sapa Win pageant and more.
Tour Companies:
Tatanka Rez Tours, based on the Pine Ridge Reservation, is the only Native American-owned tour company in South Dakota. Various tour packages give in-depth background on the Ogala Lakota Oyate tribe and provides an experience on the reservation that only those who live there can offer.
Black Hills Adventure tours teamed up with Tatanka Rez Tours to provide this nine-hour interactive cultural experience, where you listen to traditional stories and songs performed by Tatanka Rez Tours owners Guss, and Tianna and visit the Cultural Art Space, the Pine Ridge Chamber of Commerce, Thunder Valley, Pine Ridge, and the Red Cloud Indian School. Also, a Black Hills Monument Package departs Rapid City at 8:30am, travels to Mount Rushmore where guests can hike around the monument then to Crazy Horse Memorial, finishing with exploring Custer State Park to see wildlife close up.
Tours are available year-round.
Arts & Culture:
One of the most incredible ways to experience Native American Culture is through the The Lakota Music Project, the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra’s flagship Bridging Cultures Program. Created between 2005-2008, the Lakota Music Project (LMP) addresses a history of racial tension, builds bridges between Native and non-Native Americans, and creates an environment of openness through sharing music. Essentially, it is a practical demonstration between white and American Indian musicians to advance cultural understanding. The LMP concert program features combinations of South Dakota Symphony musicians, the Creekside Singers, a Lakota drumming group, and Dakota cedar flutist Bryan Akipa, each performing music of their heritages as well as unique repertoire commissioned for the musicians to play together.
Visit Native American businesses such as Rapid City’s Prairie Edge & Sioux Trading Post and Dakota Drum Company, both of which feature the works of generational Native artists and artisans from buffalo hide canvas paintings to star quilts, bead work. Both are really more like galleries and are marvelous to visit.
For Native American flavors, try food-truck-turned-restaurant Watecha Bowl, known for Indian tacos, and Crow Peak Brewing both in Sioux Falls. Laughing Water Restaurant in Custer, on the site of Crazy Horse Memorial, is also known for its Custer Tatanka Stew made with prime cuts of tender Black Hills buffalo.
South Dakota’s Guide to Tribal Nations: Oceti Sakowin Homelands, a joint effort between the South Dakota Department of Tourism and South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance, is a great resource year-round featuring a map of tribal lands, brief history of each tribe, visitor etiquette suggestions, and educational opportunities.
TIME Names wukalina Walk in Tasmania, Australia to 2024 World’s Greatest Places List
wukalina Walk, a member of Discover Aboriginal Experiences, has been named one of TIME‘s 2024 World’s Greatest Places, an exclusive list of 100 extraordinary destinations to explore, stayand visit produced by its editors and correspondents around the world.
wukalina Walk is a multi-award winning Indigenous/palawa-owned tourism experience. Led by Aboriginal guides, the walk offers a rare window into Tasmania/lutruwita’s Aboriginal culture. A member of Discover Aboriginal Experiences, wukalina Walk, has been named one of TIME’s 2024 World’s Greatest Places (photo: Jillian Mundy)
wukalina Walk is a multi-award winning Indigenous/palawa-owned tourism experience. Led by Aboriginal guides, the walk offers a rare window into Tasmania/lutruwita’s Aboriginal culture. For the first two nights, hikers sleep at the architecturally designed standing camp, krakani lumi (resting place), in domed-ceiling huts designed to reflect the shape of the palawa shelters that once lined the east coast of Tasmania/lutruwita. The third night is spent in a beautifully repurposed and restored lightkeeper’s cottage at the most northern end of larapuna (Bay of Fires).
A group of up to 10 people are led on foot by Aboriginal guides to learn about land and sea Country. wukalina guides have lived experience and thousands of generations of Ancestral connections to the knowledge they share. They share their knowledge and perspectives as they lead travelers through bushland and along the coastline of wukalina (Mt William National Park) and larapuna (Bay of Fires). Hikers learn about the colonial history of Tasmania/lutruwita, and the brutal treatment of the palawa people. But the tour highlights their resilience, strength of culture, language and the ongoing connection that the palawa community has to Country.
wukalina Walk is a proudly Blak-owned business and different to anything else offered in Tasmania, and anywhere in the world. wukalina Walk was winner of the 2023 Australian National Tourism Awards for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Tourism Experience.
More Discover Aboriginal Experiences:
Discover Aboriginal Experiences is a flagship suite of some 200 Australian Aboriginal-guided experiences from 48 businesses around Australia. Travelers learn about and connect with the diverse histories, cultures and languages of Aboriginal peoples, which date back more than 65,000 years. Here is a sampling:
Jarramali Rock Art Tours explores a 20,000-year-old outback museum of rock art. The ‘Magnificent Gallery,’ in Quinkan Country near Laura, Far North Queensland, has been recognized by UNESCO as one of the 10 most significant rock-art sites in the world. Jarramali Rock Art Tours showcases the Quinkan rock art within the so-called ‘Magnificent Gallery’.
Kakadu National Park, in Kakadu, Northern Territory, is a World heritage-listedhome to Aboriginal peoples for more than 65,000 years. It is about half the size of Switzerland and a habitat for approximately a third of all bird species in Australia. Travelers can experience the park and its flora and fauna at night with an indigenous guide on a new Stargazing Boat tour, which intertwines the ancient wisdom of Bininj knowledge with classical constellations. Discover the night life and nocturnal sounds of the billabong while learning the history of the world as told in Dreaming stories and illustrated in the stars. Alternatively, spend time with the local Indigenous community on the new Kakadu Billabong Safari Camp tour.
Wula Gura Nyinda’s3 day World Heritage Walking Tour at Shark Bay, Western Australia, is a new walking tour of two national parks located in the Shark Bay World Heritage area – Francois Peron National Park and Dirk Hartog Island. Learn about local Aboriginal culture and history, spot wildlife, explore spectacular natural landscapes and sit under the stars listening to the ancient sounds of the digeridoo. This is a rare opportunity to spend time on Country with an Indigenous guide and to really ‘feel Country’.
Wintjiri Wiru, a spectacular light show involving 1,000 drones and Anangu culture, at Uluru, Northern Territory, brings to life a chapter of the Mala ancestral story and was developed in close consultation with Anangu custodians. The show was designed and produced by world-renowned media architecture studio RAMUS, with the goal of illuminating the Central Desert with a spectacle of lights, projections and lasers shining on the spinifex and mulga. This is the first time this kind of technology has been used to share Anangu culture and is a new experience for Uluru.
Tali Wiru is fine dining under the Southern Desert sky, with Uluru as a backdrop. Each dish in a four-course meal showcases native produce in an innovative way, using Indigenous herbs and spices. A local Aboriginal storyteller shares insights about Anangu culture and history. Dinner might be pressed wallaby with fermented quandong, or roasted toothfish nestling beside coastal greens, desert oak and fermented muntries.
The Elephant Seal Rookery at Piedras Blancas, the Piedras Blancas Light Station, Old San Simeon Village, Moonstone Beach and Ragged Point are among the attractions and experiences from Cambria, on famously scenic (and fragile) California’s Pacific Highway 1.
From the opulent Hearst Castle, we drive back down the hill, to the coastal Old San Simeon Village. A whaling village in the 1800s, William Randolph Hearst turned it into a village for his workers who, over the 28 years, constructed his “Enchanted Hill.”
Sebastian’s General Store on San Simeon Bay really encapsulates the history and heritage of the village. Built in 1852 at the peak of the whaling industry, the Sebastian Brothers supplied whalers, fishermen, miners, and neighboring ranches. Sebastian Brothers General Merchandise was the significant shipping point for whale oil, cheese, butter and other commodities on the Central Coast. Old San Simeon Village boomed with two hotels (the first-class Bay View Hotel built in 1878 had among its famous guests Thomas A. Edison, Winston Churchill and Calvin Coolidge), saloons, a blacksmith, a livery stable, a butcher, schools, a depot for a stage travel to Cambria and a telegraph line to San Luis Obispo.
The town flourished until 1910 and then declined (Hearst began building his castle in 1919), but Sebastian’s General Store has survived – there are even remnants of its post office. The Sebastian family bought the building in 1914 and operated the store for almost 100 years. Today, Sebastian’s offers an absolutely marvelous café (fabulous sandwiches and shop, and is a wine-tasting venue; the Hearst Winery is just across the street). (https://highway1roadtrip.com/things-to-do/sebastian-s-general-store-old-san-simeon-village/)
The setting is adjacent to a gorgeous field filled with wildflowers, surrounding the historic school house, even more picturesque as horses wander through the field, with the Hearst Castle on hilltop in background completing the scene, as we enjoy our picnic lunch.
We wander across the road and find Hearst Beach where we happen upon a couple of dejected young male elephant seals. Guides are here to keep people an appropriate distance away from them. The guide explains they are young males which were pretty much beaten up by the older more aggressive males, and came here to “sulk” and recuperate. He tells us that almost 25,000 elephant seals are mating, birthing and nursing here along this 8 mile coastal rookery.
From here, we drive five miles further north on Pacific Highway 1 to the Elephant Seal viewing area at Piedras Blancas (“White Rocks”), a narrow strip of rocky beach where thousands of elephant seals—the West Coast’s largest pinnipeds—are massed. It is widely considered one of the best wildlife experiences in California (and free!), and happens adjacent to the Pacific Highway. President Barack Obama made this site part of the California Coastal National Monument in 2017.
We walk along a boardwalk for amazing views of the scene, where helpful docents from Friends of the Elephant Seal answer our endless stream of questions.
It is fascinating to watch the huge marine mammals unabashedly breed, birth, molt, nurse and rest. Giant bulls, some as big as 16 feet long and weighing 4,000 pounds, inflate their trunk-like snouts to create a roaring bellow. The smaller females lie about as their pups nurse or just hang out.
It is astonishing to learn from the guide that the elephant seals don’t eat at all for the weeks they are here – losing as much as 2000 pounds of their weight. Twice a year, the males swim to Alaska, Aleutian Islands, stay in the ocean where they eat, while the females, interestingly, swim to Hawaii, diving 3000 ft. deep to eat. They only come to the Piedras Blancas rookery to mate, give birth and nurse their pup before the process starts all over again.
We watch males fending off each other; even mating behavior (not at all romantic); and mothers nursing. We see what looks like family groups, but the guide says that while the mother knows her pup (and may nurse a second pup), the male has no relationship at all with a mate or a family. That gets me thinking why the young males who got beaten up would bother to risk getting beaten up again, why don’t they just hang out on their own? He tells me the urge to propagate is too strong.
What we see here is all the more remarkable because elephant seals, I learn, were thought to be on the verge of extinction, but have made a dramatic recovery over the last century, bounding back from fewer than 100 to an estimated 210,000-239,000 animals. The rookery of elephant seals at Piedras Blancas has become one of the largest on the west coast with a population estimated at 23,320.
Peak season is December through May though smaller numbers of seals may be seen during other months (https://elephantseal.org/).
Off in the distance you can see the 70-foot tall Piedras Blancas Light Station. Built in 1875 and still in operation today, you can take a 2-hour tour of the interior and grounds, year-round. (Access to the light station grounds is by guided tour only.)
We return to Moonstone Beach, which we explored a bit in the morning, to more fully enjoy this enchanting place. Named for the smooth stones with intricate patterns polished by the tides, Moonstone Beach is considered one of the Central Coast’s best beaches. You feel so completely at peace here. The Moonstone Beach Boardwalk, extending some 1 ½ miles, affords visitors stunning views of the beach from bluffs and is itself artfully constructed to provide gorgeous scenes as you walk. In the north section, you can take paths down to the rocky seashore and tidepools (considered some of the best tidepools on the Central Coast), where you can look for crabs, sea anemones, urchin, sea slugs, and see seals resting on the rocks, especially from the Seal View Beach Deck.
At Shamel Park, on the eastern edge of Moonstone Beach, an interpretive sign from the Whale Trail national organization identifies the lookout from Moonstone Beach as one of the best viewing spots for gray whales, white-sided dolphins, elephant seals, seabirds and sea otters. There are also sections of the beach popular for surfing, which also provides for entertaining viewing.
After spending more time on Moonstone Beach in Cambria, we head out for our next experience – at Ragged Point which we try to time for the late afternoon light – passing the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse which is gated off – but a short distance beyond, we find a pull-in that gives a view of the lighthouse, as well as many more of the elephant seals on this stretch of beach.
Ragged Point is 11 miles further north along Pacific Highway 1, which actually is at the southern tip of Big Sur (Gorda, about 20 more miles further, was as far north as you could go on Pacific Highway 1 from this direction, before the highway was closed). Here, we are back in the land of high, steep cliffs that make for such dramatic vistas. It is late afternoon, and we find a stunning turn off to take in the view.
At Ragged Point Resort, where we will be having dinner, there is a trail that goes down to the beach to a high waterfall. Eric goes down (it is fairly steep, muddy and close to sunset and I don’t want to hold him back), but I walk along the edge of the resort where there is a partial view of the waterfall, and a great view of the open ocean and sunset.
We enjoy our dinner at the restaurant – the mushroom bisque is delicious, the rib eye served with bourbon and almond demi-glaze is done perfectly, with wonderful flavor. The chef seems to enjoy interesting flavor combinations. (Ragged Point Inn & Resort, 19019 CA-1, Ragged Point, CA, 888-584-6374, www.raggedpointinn.com).
Driving back to Cambria from Ragged Point, we stop for stargazing just around Hearst Ranch and hear the cacophony, the roar, of the elephant seals. There are breaks in the cloud cover, just clear enough to see constellations.
There is more to see around Cambria, that unfortunately, we did not have time for since we were continuing on our way down the Pacific Highway:
Fiscalini Ranch Preserve is home to a number of endangered species and species of special concern. The Ranch is bordered by a riparian habitat that encompasses tidal effect zones, seasonal freshwater marshes, and wetlands filled with birds. A dramatic ocean bluff that runs more than a mile along the shoreline of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary where you can view migrating whales, elephant seals, and other ocean mammals. The Ranch features eight trails that meander through 437 acres of protected forest, riparian habitat, and grasslands. The benches located along the trails are each unique pieces of art that offer stunning ocean views. (604 Main Street Trail access at 2799, Bluff Trail, Cambria, CA 93428, 805-927-2856, https://www.fiscaliniranchpreserve.org/)
Covell’s California Clydesdales: 100 Clydesdale horses roam 2000 acres of pristine Monterey Pine forest and rolling pastures with an exquisite view of the ocean. Much of the forest of Cambria Pines by the Sea Ranch is protected in a nature conservation easement (Cambria Pines by the Sea, Cambria, CA 93428, 805-975-7332, https://www.covellsclydesdaleranch.com/)
Linn’s (for ollaliberry pie!). Since 1989, this little red brick restaurant in Cambria’s historic East Village. has been serving hearty breakfasts, lunches and dinners, but is famous for its ollaliberry pie and treats. (https://highway1roadtrip.com/where-to-eat/linn-s-restaurant/)
Stepladder Creamery was founded in 1871 and has been family-owned and operated for three generations. As a farmstead creamery, they raise goats on the farm and make cheese from their milk, allowing them to manage every aspect of the cheese production. Their delicious, mild and creamy fresh Chèvre is the ultimate representation of spring cheesemaking. Group creamery tours are available. (4450 San Simeon-onterey Creek Road, Cambria, CA 93428, https://www.stepladdercreamery.com/)
Back at the Castle Inn we enjoy the heated pool and hot tub. The motel is perfect for our stay in Cambria, with a refrigerator, free wifi, continental breakfast, across street from Moonstone Beach boardwalk, 10 minutes drive to Hearst Castle, 15 minutes to Elephant Seal Vista Point. (6620 Moonstone Beach Dr, Cambria, CA, 93428, 805-927-8605, castle-inn-cambria.hotelsone.com)
We set out again on the Pacific Highway 1, bound for Redondo Beach.
It’s a dark night when we pull into our hotel in Cambria, on California’s famous (and fragile) Pacific Highway 1, so it isn’t until I awake in the morning to a moist mist rising after a rain, that I realize what is just across the road from the picturesque Moonstone Beach and a magnificent boardwalk that extends 1 ½ miles over the fragile seagrass, the ocean crashing against the rocky shore just beyond, where a few seals are resting, the sun making a gorgeous sparkling light,
We’ve driven down from the north, starting at San Francisco, to Monterey (made famous by John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row” and now with a world renowned Aquarium); following the Pacific Highway 1 as much as possible as it hugs the cliffs to Big Sur. We pull over frequently to take in those breathtaking views that look like the edge of the Continent just fell into the ocean. We spend a couple of days hiking and exploring, overnighting at the utterly enchanting and historic Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn (www.deejens.org, 831-667-2377), then have to backtrack to Monterey, driving inland three hours on Highway 101 to come into Cambria.
Cambria is an outstanding base to experience not only its own charms, but to explore Hearst Castle, San Simeon, the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, and even driving north on the Pacific Highway, to Ragged Point, just at the southern end of Big Sur where you can get those dramatic sheer-cliff/crashing waves against the rocky shore views.
Castle Inn, which I found on hotels.com, is a delightful motel that is absolutely perfect for our purpose – the room is spacious and has a beachy (ocean) feel; the motel serves coffee, scones, apples, muffins, oatmeal for breakfast. Later, we will take advantage of its pool and hot tub under the stars, and is so close by to all the things we want to explore – especially having the Moonstone Beach and boardwalk just across the road. (6620 Moonstone Beach Dr, Cambria, CA 93428, 805-927-8605, castle-inn-cambria.hotelsone.com)
We grab coffee and muffins and immediately head out to Hearst Castle just eight minutes up the coastal road from Cambria in San Simeon.
We have to be at the Hearst Castle’s visitor center by 8:40 am for our pre-booked 9 am Grand Rooms tour – the most popular of a selection of tours you can take and the best if you have never visited before (others include “Hearst and Hollywood” “Designing the Dream” “Art of San Simeon,” “Julia Morgan”, “Cottages & Kitchen tour” “Upstairs Suites Tour”, also accessible tours and private tours.)
We get our wristbands and go to “gate” for the bus that takes guests up to the mansion along the long winding road – just as William Randolph Hearst intended his visitors to experience his “Enchanted Hill.”
The tour starts immediately on the bus, with an excellent narration giving the background – history, architecture, biography – and pointing out the sights along the way, accompanied by music of the 1930s and 1940s.
Hearst Castle is so much more than a magnificent mansion home (one of the most spectacular in the world), even more than an architectural jewel and a breathtaking art collection. It is the story of a fascinating man (love him or hate him or something in between, you still have to give the man credit for what he accomplished) who you come to know because everything about Hearst Castle is so personal to him. It is the story of an age – the coming of age of America, the coming of age of Hollywood and ascendancy of American culture. Everything you see is mind-blowing and breath-taking. And this mansion (he called it his country home), which has come to be known as Hearst Castle, is his personal artistic creation – the architecture and the art collection.
The tour is extremely well organized – it manages to be efficient and yet personal (I’m betting the earlier you can visit the better) – you feel as so many of Hearst’s guests must have felt the first time they were invited.
You realize that even if you think you know who Hearst was (and so many imagine Hearst to be the character of “Citizen Kane” but he is only a piece of that fictional character, and Marion Davies, his companion, was a smart, savvy and accomplished woman and quite a fine actress, not at all like the character of Kane’s), you come away with newfound respect and interest – in fact, as compelling a real-life story as the fictional Citizen Kane. (“Citizen Kane” screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz was one of Hearst’s guests here.)
You also come to learn – and admire – Hearst’s architect for his castle: Julia Morgan was one of the first female engineering majors at the University of California, Berkeley, the first woman to pass the entrance exam in architecture and graduate the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris – the preeminent architectural school of the time – and was the first licensed woman architect in California. (In 2014, Morgan was posthumously awarded the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal in recognition of her pioneering career and dynamic buildings, the first woman to be awarded the medal in its 107-year history, https://pioneeringwomen.bwaf.org/julia-morgan/)
Hearst was inspired to build his castle and collect art when he took the grand tour of Europe when 10 with his mother. And his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. a philanthropist and advocate for women, introduced him to Julia Morgan. Phoebe began a lifelong interest in Morgan’s career when the two women’s paths crossed in Paris. The films and photos you get to see of Morgan, presiding over the dynamiting to level the summit and build the road, reviewing plans with Hearst, are fascinating.
Even though you are walking through the mansion with a tour group, you actually feel like you were one of Hearst’s guests arriving for the weekend – the home is set out as it would have been – most remarkably, in the grand dining room (it may well have inspired Harry Potter’s Hogwarts dining room, and interestingly, the banners on display refer to an Italian horserace), there are bottles of ketchup and mustard because Hearst himself, for all the spectacular grandeur of the art and architecture, wanted a homey feel to his country home.
The art is breathtaking – Hearst collected the pieces himself, and drawing from his European travels with his mother when he was 10 years old, are predominantly Gothic and medieval – a lot of religious art which Hearst appreciated for the art and the period, not the religious significance, the guide tells me.
At the entrance to the Casa Grande – the 68,300 sq ft grand house – we stop in front of the oldest work of art here, an Egyptian statue, 3200-3600 years old of Sekmet, daughter of Ra –with a hieroglyph that translates “Good God, Lord of Two Lands.” The entrance to Casa Grande – has real gold gilding on the door, 1500-year old mosaic tiles, a 600 year old statue.
We are ushered into the grand Assembly Room – 15th century church pews, tapestries, line the wall, and the Venus Italica, one of Hearst Castle’s greatest masterpieces, created by Antonio Canova (1757-1822).
In 1935 his collections were valued at more than $20 million (in the height of the Great Depression!), but then he fell into near bankruptcy, and at the age of 75, and had to sell off two-thirds of his collection, estimated at $15 million, at “fire sale” prices. (Marion Davies, by then extremely wealthy in her own right with movies and real estate investments in places like Palm Springs, lent him $1 million so he could keep Hearst Castle; when she died, her estate was worth $8 million; when he died, she gave the Hearst Company shares he left her back to his family and they promptly kicked her out and refused to let her come to his funeral.)
You can easily picture who Hearst, Davies and Morgan were, and the glorious celebrity life they lived because there are home movies, photos!. It is thrilling to sit in Hearst’s own theater and watch Charlie Chaplin mug for the camera. (Definitely take advantage of the outstanding 40-minute documentary about Hearst’s life in the five-story theater before or after the tour.)
In many ways, William followed in his father’s footsteps.
George was a self-made millionaire, starting as a prospector – he owned interest in three of the largest mines in the U.S., including the Comstock Lode in Nevada, the Homestake gold mine in South Dakota and the Anaconda copper mine in Montana, plus the Ontario silver mine in Utah, then acquired large portions of land throughout the United States, especially in California and the West. One acquisition was 48,000 acre Piedra Blanca Rancho at San Simeon in 1865, when William was two-years old. He later purchased the adjoining Santa Rosa and San Simeon Ranchos – amassing 250,000 acres. This place became a retreat for lavish family camping trips.
Late in his life George Hearst served as United States Senator from California from 1887 until his death in 1891. It was during this time that he acquired the small San Francisco Examiner as a repayment for a gambling debt. Although he had little interest in the publishing business and wanted his only son, William, to take over the family’s mining and ranching holdings, William wanted to run the newspaper.
The newspaper business was William’s passion, and he ultimately amassed a huge publishing empire, and even when he was living at this remote castle in San Simeon, he would get the pages each night by teletype by 1 am, and make editorial changes by phone, well into the night.
William Hearst is probably best known for “yellow journalism” which pressured President McKinley into the Spanish-American War (that also made Theodore Roosevelt’s reputation with his Rough Riders.
And following in his father’s footsteps, he was elected to Congress but unsuccessfully ran for Governor and for President.
In 1919 when he inherited the estate, William Hearst, then 56 years old, hired architect Julia Morgan telling her, ““Miss Morgan, we are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something.”
For the next 28 years, the project that we know as Hearst Castle became his life’s work, his creation and hers and unbelievably, was never actually finished, even though the mansion and villas now comprise 165 rooms atop the 1600 ft. high summit of a hill. Hearst, they say, was never as happy as when he was on his “Enchanted Hill.”
From the bus, we look out over the vast lands where Hearst had assembled exotic animals from around the world, ultimately creating the largest private zoo in America – you would have seen African and Asian antelope, zebras, giraffes, camels, sambar deer from India, red deer from Europe, axis deer from Asia, llamas, kangaroos, ostriches, emus, Barbary sheep, Alaskan big horned sheep, musk oxen and yaks. Though most of the animals were removed by 1937 (when Hearst was near bankrupt during the Great Depression), some that remain are descendents of the original herds, like the Oudads, and get still have 200 head of cattle on the ranch.
We drive the winding road that Julia Morgan designed so that the castle appears, disappears and reappears as you drive around the bends, climbing higher and higher to the hilltop.
Hearst’s guests would have come by private train, but some of Hearst’s guests – like the Vanderbilts, who flew in on a private plane in 1935 to an airstrip below, then would have been driven up these roads.
Hearst created a mile-long pergola of fruit trees, and would ride on horseback through the canopy, “the longest pergola in captivity” Morgan would joke. The fruit trees including oranges and pomegranates, yield 2000 lbs of citrus that are donated to local food bank.
All the food the castle used was produced on site; water was piped in, so the castle was completely self-sufficient.
As we get off the bus, our guide, Gregory Anderson, encourages us to take photos as we see them, because the tour goes in one direction But to a really excellent degree, what we see is what it would have been like to visit in Hearst’s time.
We stop in front of the first villa, Casa del Sol, “medium sized” at 3600 sq ft., built for a sunset view, Bob and Delores Hope honeymooned here; Edward Hubble, who originated the Big Bang Theory, stayed here; Actor Cary Grant requested a different room every time stayed (came 40 times)
We come to the 2500 sq. ft Casa del Mar cottage, where David Niven (“The Pink Panther) and Winston Churchill stayed (in 1929). Up until 1976, this was the villa that Hearst family members would stay. (William had five sons between 1904-1918, and there are some 70 descendents today and the family – the 20th wealthiest in the US – now when they come, they stay at the Senator’s House which the Hearst Corporation still owns).
King Vidor, Howard Hughes, Charlie Chaplin, buster Keaton, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, Harpo Marx, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo were among the celebrities who came.
Hearst loved to take his guests on grueling horseback rides – delighted in seeing how silver screen cowboys would handle real horse.
Our guide tells us that Hearst Castle was Morgan’s 503rd of 700 projects and was one of the few architects who knew how to work with steel reinforced concrete (important for earthquakes).
Notably, she designed a new Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, still an architectural jewel, which opened within a year after the 1906 earthquake, and propelled her career and her own practice.
Morgan had already designed the block-long Spanish Mission Revival Hearst Examiner Building (1913–15) in Los Angeles. In 1919, following his mother’s death, Hearst inherited the full Hearst estate and decided to build a “modest bungalow” on the hilltop of the ranch at San Simeon – which evolved into the castle.
I find it interesting that Morgan negotiated her commission from 6 percent for architectural services to 8.5 percent to cover the costs of “running the job.” She was providing what today would be called “design-build” services and was responsible for managing workmen, artisans, material suppliers, and warehouses of artifacts – it is fascinating to see the “home videos” of her directing the workers.
The most spellbinding features of the estate are the two pools – the Neptune Pool which has Grecian feel, is actually the third incarnation: 104 feet long, 58 feet wide and 95 feet wide at the alcove. It is 3.5 feet deep at the west end, 10 feet at the drains, and holds 345,000 gallons of water. Other notable aspects of the Neptune Pool include the oil-burning heating system, the Vermont marble that lines the basin, gutters, and alcove, and four Italian relief sculptures on the sides of the colonnades.
The indoor Roman Pool tiled indoor pool decorated with eight statues of Roman gods, goddesses and heroes. The pool appears to be styled after an ancient Roman bath such as the Baths of Caracalla in Rome c. 211-17 CE.
Be sure to make time to see the “Building the Dream” biopic in the 5 story theater (plays every 45 minutes) about William Randolph Hearst’s childhood, his travels to Europe, construction of the castle estate, and his architectural collaboration with Morgan. “They built castle but also created legacy.”
Hearst Castle, which first opened for tours in 1958 and gets 600,000-700,000 tourists/year (in the 1980s, its heyday, a million tourists would come each year), is now a California state park.
Every year from the end of November through the end of December, Hearst Castle offers a “Holiday Twilight Tour” to experience the estate as Hearst’s guests enjoyed it during the 1920s and 1930s during the Christmas season.
Hearst Castle, 750 Hearst Castle Road, San Simeon, CA 93452-9741, 800-444-4445 (8 am-6 pm PT), hearstcastle.org.
New York City’s summer cultural season kicks off with the 46th Annual Museum Mile Festival – the Big Apple’s “biggest block party” –on Tuesday, June 18, from 6 to 9 pm, rain or shine. Walk the mile on Fifth Avenue between 82nd Street and 104th Street while visiting eight of New York City’s finest cultural institutions, open free during these extended hours: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Neue Galerie New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; The Jewish Museum; Museum of the City of New York; El Museo del Barrio; and The Africa Center. Several neighborhood partners, including the New York Academy of Medicine, the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Asia Society, and AKC Museum of the Dog will also join in this celebration.
It’s an electric, eclectic festive atmosphere, with live music and street performers all along the avenue, plus special exhibitions, works from permanent collections and special family-oriented activities inside.
Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island (June 8-9 and August 10-11, 2024, 11 am-5 pm), starts with a magical ferry ride from Battery Park or the Brooklyn Navy Yard. People come dressed to the 9s in 1920s/Gatsby-style outfits, bringing picnics and take part in the music and zeitgeist of the 1920s. With music and dancing led by festival founder and host Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra, the merriment continues with a score of other entertainers: the bedazzling Dreamland Follies, a 10-lady Art Deco dance spectacle evoking the Great Ziegfeld, the fantastic Queen Esther paying tribute to jazz royalty of yore, Peter Mintun tickling the ivories with his incredible piano skills and the Gelber & Manning band. Enjoy the renowned and fun-loving dance troupe, Roddy Caravella and The Canarsie Wobblers with their scandalous Charleston numbers and rebellious and exuberant spirit of the Roaring ‘20s. Entertainments are interspersed with fun events like dance lessons and a period bathing suit contest. This isn’t free – it’s a ticketed event. Tickets and info at www.jazzagelawnparty.com. (Reserve a ferry ride to access the location.)
The New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, have become an iconic New York summer experience since they began in 1965, transforming parks throughout the city into a patchwork of picnickers enjoying friends, family, and priceless music under the stars, for free! This summer, Thomas Wilkins conducts the Orchestra in a program that ranges from classics by Beethoven, Elgar, and Rimsky-Korsakov to Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, with Randall Goosby as soloist, to new music by Carlos Simon and NY Phil Very Young Composers. All outdoor performances begin at 8 PM and conclude with fireworks! (The Free Indoor Concert in Staten Island begins at 4 PM.): June 11 Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx; June 12 Concerts in the Parks: Central Park, Manhattan; June 13, Concerts in the Parks: Cunningham Park, Queens; June 14, Concerts in the Parks: Prospect Park, Brooklyn; June 16 Free Indoor Concert: St. George Theatre, Staten Island.
The cherished Shakespeare in the Park, traditionally held at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, this year is a traveling show while the Delacorte is undergoing its most significant revitalization of its 62-year history. Instead, this year the Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) is offering a “GO PUBLIC!” festival of of free summer programming taking place across all five boroughs. Its Mobile Unit is presenting a joyful, bilingual (English/Spanish) musical adaptation of “The Comedy of Errors,” May 28-June 2 – The New York Public Library and Bryant Park on the Fifth Avenue Terrace (Manhattan) June 6-9, June 13-14, June 20-21 – Hudson Yards (Manhattan). Also: A.R.R.O.W. Field House (Queens) J. Hood Wright Park (Manhattan) Maria Hernandez Park (Brooklyn) Roy Wilkins Park (Queens) St. John the Divine (Manhattan) St. Mary’s Park (Bronx) Sunset Park (Brooklyn) Wolfe’s Pond Park (Staten Island).
Next up is Movie in the Parks (July 11–September 6), bringing free screenings of Shakespeare in the Park’s version of Much Ado About Nothing to parks throughout the City. (Can’t make it to any of them? This recording and other Shakespeare favorites are available to stream for free.) Visit the website for specific dates and locations (https://publictheater.org/programs/shakespeare-in-the-park/summer-24/go-public/).
Bryant Park is also hosting picnic performances of New York City Opera’s full production of the perennial favorite, Puccini’s Tosca on May 31, June 1, August 23 and 24, at 7 pm. (New York City Opera: Puccini Celebration) as part of a summer-long arts and culture festival, sponsored by Bank of America, from June 6 to September 13, featuring an amazing series of dance, music, theater, movies, plus eateries, shops and a carousel. (https://bryantpark.org/activities/picnic-performancesfor schedule).
The Hudson River Greenway is a whole destination in itself, with every imaginable sport (tennis, pickleball, basketball, kayaking), fabulous eateries, even a sand beach, plus along the way, historic and cultural places like the monument to the Irish famine, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Whitney Museum, Battery Park and ferry access to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, plus concerts such at two venues within the enchanting “Little Island.”
From June through September, Little Island presents a series of all new work across dance, music, theater and opera in the Amph ($25, tickets and schedule, https://www.littleislandtickets.com/). In addition, there are free concerts Wednesday-Sunday in the Glade.
The newest experience on the Hudson River Greenway is Gansevoort Peninsula. Located in Hudson River Park between Gansevoort Street and Little West 12th Street, and opposite the Whitney Museum of American Art, which affords an actual sand beach (1200 tons of sand, beach umbrellas, Adirondack-style chairs, even misting stations, and boardwalk) for lounging. Also look for “Day’s End”, a public art installation by artist David Hammons, donated to Hudson River Park by the Whitney Museum of American Art. See the full events calendar, https://hudsonriverpark.org/, https://hudsonriverpark.org/the-park/piers-and-places/
New York City has been named the most cultural city in the USA. Here’s what’s of note happening this summer, compiled by the New York City Tourism + Conventions, the official destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau:
Through July 28, The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism, an exhibition exploring how Black artists portrayed everyday modern life during the 1920s–40s in Harlem and across the United States amid the Great Migration. Featuring 160 works including painting, sculpture, photography, film and ephemera, it’s the first art museum survey of its kind in New York City since 1987.
The Whitney Museum of American Art has unveiled the roster for Whitney Biennial 2024: Even Better Than the Real Thing, featuring 69 artists and two collectives. This edition marks the 81st installment of the museum’s esteemed exhibition series, the longest-running survey of American art. The program is now open and runs through August 11. Beginning September 25, The Whitney will unveil Edges of Ailey, a comprehensive exhibition celebrating the life and impact of American dancer Alvin Ailey, featuring daily performances, workshops and a diverse range of artworks and archival materials.
Experience a surreal journey inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at the Bronx’s New York Botanical Garden, with Wonderland: Curious Nature, from May 18–October 27. Follow iconic characters through whimsical scenes in the garden and explore imaginative horticultural displays inside the Haupt Conservatory, featuring installations from renowned artists including Yoko Ono, Alyson Shotz and Abelardo Morell.
A tribute to Ming Dynasty architecture, the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden in Staten Island—one of just two authentic classical outdoor Chinese gardens in the US—is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Crafted in Suzhou, China, its elements include roof tiles, pavilions and bridges. Inspired by ancient poetry and paintings, the garden features magnificent rock formations resembling mountains. Visitors can explore pavilions, a bamboo forest path, waterfalls and a koi-filled pond.
The Morgan Library & Museum, which is marking 100 years since its establishment as a public institution by Jack Morgan as a repository of fabulous documents, is exhibiting Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature and Walton Ford: Birds and Beasts of the Studio. The next exhibition in the campaign will be Liberty to the Imagination: Drawings from the Eveillard Gift, on view beginning June 7.
Since its inception in 1824, the Brooklyn Museum has become a global cultural center, driven by the innovative spirit of its borough. As it celebrates two centuries of groundbreaking initiatives, the museum invites audiences to explore special exhibitions and events showcasing its vibrant artistic community. Highlights include the launch of immersive exhibitions like Solid Gold and Brooklyn Made. Notably, the museum boasts an in-residence composer, Niles Luther, who scores music for various exhibitions and artwork on-site, making it the only museum in the United States to offer such an immersive experience. Visitors can expect a year of discovery and celebration in honor of its bicentennial—kicking off with a 200th Birthday Bash on October 5.
New performing arts offerings are revitalizing New York City’s cultural landscape with the expansion of iconic venues and the emergence of new stages. The historic Apollo Theater recently debuted the Victoria Theater, its first expansion in 90 years, which introduced two new stages and created an arts campus in Harlem. The inaugural season promises a diverse lineup including Alex Harsley, Stefon Harris and David Hammons. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, the newly restored Brooklyn Paramount, now a concert hall, hosts various shows featuring acclaimed acts like Sting, Liam Gallagher, St. Vincent, Orville Peck and many more in its 2024 lineup. Across the East River, the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC) stands as a beacon of artistic expression in Lower Manhattan, welcoming emerging and established artists across various disciplines since its launch in September 2023. The PAC’s inaugural 2023–24 season continues this summer with the opening of An American Soldier, The Survival, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”.
The Jackie Robinson Museum commemorates the groundbreaking contributions of Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play Major League Baseball and one of the most celebrated baseball players of all time. Robinson’s legacy extends far beyond the baseball diamond, as he also made significant strides in civil rights, economic empowerment and social justice. From now through December 31, the museum is offering a free self-guided walking tour, Jackie Robinson’s Harlem, for visitors looking to dive deeper into Robinson’s connection to the neighborhood.
New York City is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ movement. The Stonewall Inn, site of the historic 1969 riots, stands as a symbol of resilience and is soon to be complemented by a dedicated visitor center opening in June. Other cultural sites include theLeslie-Lohman Museum of Art, which celebrates LGBTQ+ identity through exhibitions and programs that showcase the ever-evolving queer experience, as well as the Alice Austen House Museum, which features the pioneering photographer’s work and has been a National Site of LGBTQ+ History since 2017. On the Upper West Side, the forthcoming American LGBTQ+ Museum at the New-York Historical Society, set to open its doors in 2026, will be the nation’s first museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ history.
If Summer in the City starts with the Museum Mile Festival, for me, the end of New York’s summer comes with the US Open Tennis Championships, the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament dates back to 1881, and since 1978, the tournament has found its home at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a magnet for the best tennis talent worldwide such as reigning champions Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic, Diede de Groot and Alfie Hewett. The tournament takes place August 26–September 8, 2024. Insiders tip: the week before, it is free to watch the thrilling play of the qualifiers’ tournament, and see the tennis stars practice.
New York City Borough Pass, Citywide: a new sightseeing pass designed to showcase the beauty of the neighborhoods and cultures across all five boroughs. The pass features a diverse roster of popular attractions, museums, performing arts venues, including the Alice Austen House Museum, MoMA PS1, New York Botanical Garden, Van Cortlandt House Museum, Staten Island Children’s Museum. (888-921-5333, https://www.nycboroughpass.com/)
The Go City Pass for New York City offers 100 different options in all five boroughs. For example, the two-day all inclusive pass, giving access to as much as you want/can do from among 105 attractions is $134 – regardless of how much the actual attractions charge (GoCity.com, 800 887 9103).
For all there is to do and see in New York City, visit nyctourism.com.
One of the best airshows in the world happens right in our own backyard each Memorial Day weekend: the Bethpage Jones Beach Air Show, celebrating its 20th anniversary, cannot be beat for spectacular aeronautical feats amidst the ambiance of Jones Beach, where you see the action right in front of you, just above the ocean and stretching to the horizon. The intense action is so close, you often can see the pilots in the cockpits, and so fast and daring, it takes your breath away. The event takes place from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26 (insiders tip: there is a rehearsal/practice run on Friday).
The show this year is headlined and climaxed by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels – a team of six performing their heart-stopping maneuvers in their F/A-18 Super Hornets. They are famous for the Diamond formation, when they fly as close as 18 inches apart, but what most excites me is when the two solos fly extraordinary maneuvers, including coming at each other at 300 mph. Don’t blink or breathe or you will miss it!
The airshow traditionally opens with the United States Army Golden Knights Parachute Team, who launch out of a plane some 25,000 feet high, stream down at 200 mph, and float down into the crowd on the beach carrying the American and POW flags. The Golden Knights portray the image of being the most formidable parachuting competitors and demonstrators in the world today
American Airpower Museum Warbirds, flying vintage WWII fighters and patrol planes, pay homage to Long Island’s historic role as the nation’s arsenal of democracy. Republic Aviation, the complex in Farmingdale where the AAM stands now, produced over 9,000 P-47 Thunderbolts, and today the museum’s collection preserves the heritage and history. The Warbird performance will conclude with a precision aerobatic demonstration of one of the museum’s legendary WWII Fighters.
The American Airpower Museum has events scheduled from Friday through Sunday, and is where you can even see participants in the air show take off and land, and even take flights in vintage aircraft. (More details below, www.americanairpowermuseum.org, 631-293-6398.)
U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II Demonstration Team and Legacy Flight shows off the capabilities of this 5th Generation fighter. The F-35C is the world’s most advanced multi-role fighter. With a top speed of 1,200 mph, the F-35C is even capable of setting off sonic booms. The F-35C has the most powerful and comprehensive integrated sensor package of any fighter aircraft in history, giving pilots 360-degree access to “real-time” battlefield information. The demo will feature a Legacy Flight formation, providing a unique comparison between the past and present.
U.S. Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II Demonstration Team and Heritage Flight showcases the combat capabilities of the A-10 “Warthog” by performing precision aerial maneuvers. Additionally, the team brings attention to the Air Force’s history by flying formations with historical aircraft in the Air Force Heritage Flight.
Long Island’s own David Windmiller, who began flying when he was just 14 years old, soloing for the first time on his 16th birthday, performs aerobatics in his Zivko Edge 540, thrilling spectators with seemingly impossible feats. Equipped with a custom built project engine of Teledyne, thrust to weight ratio over 1:1, Windmiller’s plane has a climb rate of 3,700 feet per minute, and a rote rate of 420 degrees per minute, making his plane the ideal aircraft for aerobatic flight.
Mike Goulian earned the distinction of becoming one of the youngest pilots to ever win the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Champion at the age of 27. His signature air show performance combines the heart-stopping gyroscopic tumbling of modern display flying with the crisp, aggressive, demands of precision competition aerobatics.
Warbird Thunder features the North American SNJ Texan, an aircraft used to train “The Greatest Generation” for WWII and Korean Conflict. The performance features two SNJs, performing formation aerobatics offering a great spectator experience due to the aircraft’s large physical size, beautiful radial engine sound, and fantastic smoke presentation. The SNJ was nicknamed “Ol Growler” because of its distinct deep and throaty roar. Warbird Thunder’s formation aerobatic routine is fast paced and entertaining. The two aircraft perform formation loops, aileron rolls, barrel rolls, and Cuban Eights and thrilling opposing aerobatics.
The Skytypers – my personal favorite – is a flight squadron of vintage WWII era U.S. Navy SNJ-2 trainers that perform low-altitude precision-formation maneuver mimicking the tactics and maneuvers utilized during WWII air battles. The Skytypers may be most famous for their skytyped messages in the sky which can be seen for nearly 400 square miles.
Farmingdale State College Aviation Center students demonstrate the prowess learned at the largest collegiate flight school in the Northeast region, and the only SUNY School to offer a 4 Year Degree Program in Aeronautical Science, the Aviation Center averages 5,800 Flight Hours a Year in Solo and Dual Flight Instruction.
106th Rescue Wing, NY Air National Guard HC – 130 / HH 60 Formation provides a demonstration of how it provides combat search and rescue coverage for U.S. and allied forces worldwide. In December 1994, the 106th established the record for the longest over water helicopter rescue mission when it saved a Ukrainian sailor in the icy waters off the North Atlantic. The 106th may be best known for a mission during a 1991 storm made famous by the movie “The Perfect Storm”. The HH-60 is tasked to perform day and night personnel recovery operations in hostile environments to recover isolated personnel during war, civil search and rescue, medical evacuation, disaster response, humanitarian assistance, security cooperation/aviation advisory, NASA space flight support, and rescue command and control.
Take advantage of the Bethpage Air Show Mobile App. Text ‘Airshow’ to 516-842-4400 to download the app for performer and sponsor information, a site map, helpful FAQs. (Available from the App Store and Google Play.)
The event has drawn as many as 444,000, and last year attendance totaled 351,000, so arrive early (parking fee is $10).
Alternate the experience with a visit to the American Airpower Museum, right across from Republic Airport, where many of the air show participants fly from to the show, where you can see the vintage aircraft in the Heritage Flight and where all weekend long there are special events, including an opportunity to meet members of the USAF A-10 Demo Team from.
American Airpower Museum Offers Close-Up Views, Activities During Memorial Day Weekend Jones Beach Air Show
Farmingdale, NY– Memorial Day Weekend kicks off American Airpower Museum’s summer with its “Legends of Airpower WWII Warbirds” performing in the Bethpage Jones Beach Air Show, on Long Island, with activities that begin on May 24 (practice day) and continue through the festival weekend May 25-26.
AAM’s legendary warbirds including the WWII B-25 Mitchell bomber, North American P-51D Mustang, Grumman TBM-3E Avenger Torpedo Bomber, and Curtiss P-40M Warhawk “Flying Tiger,” will take to the skies over Republic Airport on Friday, May 24th, (practice day) plus Saturday to Sunday, May 25th/26th, for the Jones Beach Air Show. Additional aircraft will be in the air including AAM’s WWII North American AT-6 Trainers, Vietnam era AT-28D Nomad and our Cold War era L-39 Jet Fighter/Trainers.
Military aviation enthusiasts can share AAM’s WWII C-47 80th Anniversary D-Day Living History Experience, when WWII Airborne reenactors interact with visitors on Saturday, May 25th.
Flight experiences are also available each day on one of AAM’s AT-6 Texans, plus its red WACO Biplane.
Watch AAM’s awe-inspiring aircraft take off to perform practice flybys over Republic all day Friday, May 24th. Get up close and personal with these historic bombers and fighters of yesteryear. Then come to AAM to catch more aerial action Saturday and Sunday, as AAM’s warbirds lift off to perform in the air show.
Throughout the weekend, visitors will be enthralled as US Navy Blue Angels, USAF A-10 “Warthog” and the ever-popular Skytypers, take off and return at Republic Airport. Blue Angels practice on May 24th. You can witness the museum’s Warbirds and US military aircraft take off and land from its flight line on Saturday and Sunday for the Jones Beach Airshow.
Visitors to AAM will also have opportunities to meet members of the USAF A-10 Demo Team. The team is appearing at the Jones Beach Air Show for the last time this year before being disbanded, as A-10s are retired from the USAF inventory. The USAF A-10 Demo Team will operate out of their home base on the American Airpower Museum’s Ramp off New Highway, in Farmingdale, taking off and landing on May 24 (practice day) plus May 25 and 26 for their Jones Beach Airshow performances.
Of historical significance is that these Warthogs will be operating from the very grounds they were developed and built on – and with this final performance, they honor the legacy of all those from Long Island who worked at Fairchild Republic.
AAM President Jeff Clyman says the goal for this three-day extravaganza is two-fold. “To honor the men and women of the ‘Greatest Generation’ who built, maintained and piloted the iconic warbirds of yesteryear, in a bold defense of freedom during WWII, as well as active-duty military, reservists and the national guard, who continue this mission today.” Clyman said that public support strengthens AAM’s mission to educate the next generation about American military aviation history, and will also help maintain the Museum’s iconic aircraft. “Help keep ‘em flying,” he added.
As a special promotion, every paying Museum guest (18 and over) Friday through Monday, is entered to win a Cockpit USA “made in the USA” leather flight jacket. Cockpit USA, sponsor of the American Airpower Museum, is official supplier to the United States Air Force of A-2 leather flight jackets. Various genuine leather flight jackets and other militaria specially priced and on sale all weekend, can be purchased at AAM’s gift shop.
Park for FREE in AAM’s lot or along New Highway. Food and Ice Cream trucks are available onsite. AAM is also open Monday, Memorial Day, closing at 4:00 p.m.
Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday 4 p.m.). Tickets and preregistration not required. Regular admission is $15 for Adults, $12 for Seniors and Veterans and $10 for children ages 3 to 12.
American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport, Hangar 3, 1230 New Highway, Farmingdale, NY 11735, (631) 293-6398, www.americanairpowermuseum.org.
The American Airpower Museum, Long Island’s only flying military aviation museum (“Where history flies”) is located on the landmarked former site of Republic Aviationat Republic Airport, Farmingdale, NY. The Museum maintains a collection of aviation artifacts and an array of operational aircraft spanning the many years of the aircraft factory’s history. The Museum is a 501 (c) (3) Nonprofit Educational Foundation Chartered by the New York State Board of Regents.
The Jones Beach Airshow is Long Island’s kick-off to summer.
Jones Beach State Park is a world-class beach destination, with 6.5 miles of white-sand beach, oceanfront, miles-long boardwalk for biking and walking, 2,400 acres of maritime environment. Eat at the Boardwalk Café and at the Gatsby on the Ocean Restaurant and ice cream shop; swim in the pool, enjoy the new WildPlay Adventure Park with zip lines (https://wildplay.com/jones-beach/, 800-668-7771); play miniature golf, shuffleboard, basketball, corn hole, paddle tennis, table tennis, pickleball, playgrounds, splashpad and concerts on the boardwalk and the Northwell Theater; learn about the marine environment at the Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center.
Jones Beach is also at the middle of Bike Long Island’s premier bike path, from Cedar Creek Park in Seaford, 5.4 mile ride to Jones Beach’s East Bathhouse on the Boardwalk, then 9.4 miles along Ocean parkway to Captree State Park. (You can also connect with the Bethpage State Park bike path.)
Other stellar Long Island attractions and events this summer:
Cradle of Aviation Museum was established to commemorate Long Island’s part in the history of aviation and offers 75 air and space craft and galleries chronicling 100 years of aviation on Long Island. a digital planetarium and theater (films “Superhuman Body” and “Cities of the Future”). Charles Lindbergh Blvd, Garden City, NY 11530, 516-572-4111, www.cradleofaviation.org.
Long Island Children’s Museum offers 14 interactive exhibits plus live theater, art spaces and daily activities to provide hours of exploration, engagement, and enchantment for children. At LICM, a 40,000 sq. foot facility, children discover their passions and their relationship to the world we share through creative educational programs and cultural experiences that accommodate all backgrounds and abilities. Also enjoy the historic Nunley’s Carousel, one of three intact Stein & Goldstein carousels still in existence. (Long Island Children’s Museum, 11 Davis Ave., Garden City, NY 11530, 516-224-5800,www.licm.org)
Old Bethpage Village Restoration, one of my favorite places in the world, is a living history museum, where costumed interpreters and artisans and every home and structure tell a story. Upcoming events include Decoration Day (May 25-26); Revolutionary War encampment Weekend (june 1-2), Marching through History (June 15-16); Cowboy Mounted Shooting Show (June 29, 10 am-2:30 pm); 1864 Independence Day Celebration (July 6-7); Grand Army of the Republic Encampment (July 20; raindate July 21); Olde Time Baseball Tournament (Aug. 3-4); Olde Time Music Weekend (Aug 17-18); Long Island Fair (Sept. 13, 15); 1880s Haunted Halloween (Oct. 26-27). For information and tickets, https://www.oldbethpagevillagerestoration.org/events. (Old Bethpage Village Restoration, 1303 Round Swamp Road, Old Bethpage, 11804, 516-572-8409, Email: [email protected]).
Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is where you can see and appreciate the artistic accomplishments and heritage that have come from Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Brooklyn, through permanent collection and special exhibits at its first permanent location in Stony Brook.To date, LIMEHOF has inducted more than 120 musicians and music industry executives, and offers education programs, scholarships, and awards to Long Island students and educators. (97 Main St., Stony Brook, NY 11790, [email protected], 631-689-5888, www.LIMEHOF.org)
Adventureland, Long Island’s destination amusement park since 1962, offers 30 adult and kiddie rides, including FireBall, North America’s first and only rollerball coaster, and Turbulence, Long Island’s only spinning roller coaster, and water rides and kiddie rides. Two new rides were unveiled this 2024 season: Moon Chaser and the Jr. Pirate Ship. (2245 Broad Hollow Road (RT. 110), Farmingdale, NY 11735, 631-694-6868, Email: [email protected], https://adventureland.us/).
Splish Splash, with 96 acres of slides and attractions, is the largest waterpark in the tri-state area, offering 20 water slides including high-speed slides like Bombs Away, Riptide Racer, and Bootlegger’s Run, the first water coaster in New York with breathtaking drops), two wave pools, a large Kiddie Area, lazy river (Located just off the Long Island Expressway, Exit 72 West, Calverton, www.splishsplash.com).
For more summer adventure: Long Island’s Wine Country with more than 75 wine producers along the North Fork, South Fork, and western Suffolk County; Montauk Point, the Hamptons, Fire Island, plus Long Island’s historic lighthouses and mansions.
