Tag: New York City

Tony Awards Dress Rehearsal (2026)

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In 2022, I was lucky enough to attend the Tony Awards ceremony through a friend in the Broadway community, and I blogged about it the next year (here). This year I was able to attend the Tony Award dress rehearsal (through the same – very good! – friend) and thought I would compare the experiences.

First, a comparison of the tickets. When I attended the ceremony, my ticket specified “black tie only” while that is not a requirement for the dress rehearsal. The ticket for the ceremony was thick and more elaborate – embossed, not printed. And I was fortunate enough to be in the orchestra for the 75th Tony Awards, but no ticket holder sits in the orchestra for the dress rehearsal.

The dress rehearsal is held early on the same morning as the Tony Awards, which makes for a very long day for those also performing that day! As I was preparing to enter at 7:50, I saw the bus for The Lost Boys show up and the cast, already in full costume and makeup, enter Radio City (see below). They then performed at about 11:30 that morning in the dress rehearsal, had a 1PM matinee, and of course were back for the ceremony that evening. And then there are after-parties! Luckily there are generally no performances on Monday.

We were let in, under the usual tight security, at about 8am. There were concessions for sale, as well as merchandise. I was happy to see that, as I still enjoy the shirt and sweatpants I got at the 75th Tonys, and for this one I picked up a keychain and a magnet.

This dress rehearsal never has tickets for sale, they are freely distributed to the Broadway community and is an insider event. They have had tech rehearsals with no audience in the days leading up to Tony day, but this is a chance to do a run through in real time with an audience.

We were held in the lobby for longer than expected, and could faintly hear them rehearsing the opening number several times while waiting. We were finally let in a little after 9, with the dress rehearsal starting shortly after that. I had enough time to take a few pictures inside, of the set and of myself to compare with last time, before putting my phone away – no photos or videos allowed during the dress rehearsal.

One of the things you can see from looking behind me in the pictures from the dress rehearsal is how the orchestra is really a work zone. There were large signs on certain chairs where nominees or celebrities would be sitting, with a photo of them as well. For camera work during the dress rehearsal where they intend to show someone in the audience, you could see who they planned on showing because they would show the seat with the name and photo. During the Cats: The Jellicle Ball number I saw Rum Tum Tugger interacting with the chair for Paul Rudd, and in fact it did happen during the live show.

The show was a full run through of the main three hour ceremony aired on CBS that night. When there were commercial breaks, the time was used to set up for the next segment just as when you attend the award ceremony, and you hear the countdown in the same way (“back live in 15 seconds . . . . 10, 9, 8 . . .” etc). I don’t need to run through all the numbers since at this point anyone who cares has watched or could watch the awards show. But what was interesting was that they do go through giving out all the awards just as they would that evening. But each time the presenter would read out the “winner,” they would say, “And the Tony Award, for this rehearsal only, goes to . . .” and a seat filler would come up and accept the award. They really could say anything and had been encouraged to keep it brief. At least three of the “acceptances” contained some version of “Go Knicks!” as we are two wins away from the NBA Championship, which was kind of charming. I thought at first they were selecting the least likely to win in each category but realized toward the end, when the winner of Best Actor in A Musical was announced as Joshua Henry (one of the least surprising wins) that they were likely just trying to give the orchestra practice playing all of the snippets of music that would be played as a winner came up to accept an award. It also gave the announcer a chance to realize which names he needed to practice (as he mangled Lear DeBessonet’s name during the dress rehearsal).

Speaking of presenters, not all were at the dress rehearsal, so I was even more impressed with those who were: Sting, Annette Bening, Sarah Paulson, Patrick Wilson, Billy Crystal, Megan Thee Stallion, and even Bernadette Peters were there in person to run through their presentation. Even Stone, Parker, and Lopez were there to introduce the Book of Mormon 15th anniversary number. Others weren’t there for the rehearsal, like Paul Rudd and Nicole Scherzinger. Presenters just wore casual clothes as well, although Pink was in full attire including all her costume changes, and of course all the musical numbers had performers in full makeup and costume. But when Rachel Ziegler sang “What I did for Love,” or Neil Patrick Harris and Ariana DeBose showed up to give Pink tips on hosting, they were just in casual clothes.

Before two of the musical numbers, during the commercial breaks, the show’s choreographer came out to give us tips on how to participate. So on the award show, if you thought the audience magically knew how to clack their fans for Jellicle Ball or do the Time Warp during the Rocky Horror number, you can now realize they had been coached!

Occasionally, a cue was called out, and there was a small technical issue at the beginning of The Lost Boys number, but overall things went very smoothly. Pink fumbled lines once and said “I promise I will learn to speak by tonight!” And when she was trying to get out of her flying apparatus at the very beginning, Neil Patrick Harris had to help her – they handled it so well I thought it might have been scripted, but didn’t happen at the televised ceremony. We didn’t get a program, which is also what I have experienced when attending an invited dress rehearsal the night before a first preview of a new show on Broadway. Like those invited dress rehearsals, the one for the Tony Awards allowed the show to do a complete run through with an audience, and also serves as a way to thank all of the people in the Broadway community who are a part of each show’s success but are not routinely given tickets to the award ceremony.

We got out about 12:15, and they were still setting up for the ceremony as we left, installing a huge Tony Award in front of Radio City and getting the red carpet ready. I really enjoyed experiencing the dress rehearsal, and of course hearing the musical numbers live is always a different experience that when hearing music broadcast. Leslie Odom Jr.’s “Without You” during In Memoriam, and Rachel Ziegler’s “What I did for love” were far more powerful in person than when I heard them on the live broadcast at night. I hope this wasn’t my last time to attend the Tony Awards dress – and if I am lucky perhaps attending both the dress and the ceremony in one day could be in the future as well!

The Shakespeare Garden in Central Park

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I have written many times about Central Park (Central Park in Spring, Central Park in Autumn, Central Park in winter (with photos), and Strawberry Fields in Central Park just to name a few!), and it is possible to constantly explore Central Park and keep finding new things to appreciate. Recently I found myself peacefully wandering the Shakespeare Garden and taking photos of this very special and beautiful place.

The Shakespeare Garden is located mid-park, closer to the west side, and closest to the 81st Street entrance. It is just behind the Swedish Marionette Theater, and to the side of the Delacorte Theater, home to free Shakespeare in the Park every summer. The park was once called “Garden of the Heart” and was designed to evoke an English cottage garden. It was renamed after Shakespeare in 1916 during the commemoration of the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

The garden is four acres in size, and beautiful all throughout the year – but perhaps most gorgeous in spring, when I took these photos. In the spring, I found daffodils, anemones, and many tulips, in addition to the other plants there throughout the year including lilies, roses, crocuses, and black-eyed Susans.

For me, the most unique experience in the Shakespeare Garden is looking for the quotes on bronze plaques, referencing trees, shrubs, flowers, and herbs mentioned in William Shakespeare’s plays and poems – plants that change according to the season. You might find rosemary and pansies – alluded to by Ophelia in Hamlet;  or thistle – mentioned in the play Much Ado About Nothing. There is even a white mulberry tree that is said to have grown from a graft of a tree planted by Shakespeare himself in 1602!

There is a working sundial – it is accurate, but remember that it is set up for standard time so appears to be an hour off when we are on Daylight Savings Time. Nearby is a bench dedicated to the actor Richard Burton, famous for his skill in performing in Shakespeare plays.

The large curving bench at the highest point in the Garden is called the “whisper bench.” I didn’t get a photo when I was there because people were sitting there, but because of its curvature, you can whisper something at one corner and it will only be heard by a person listening at the other corner. The garden also provides a home for many pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Looking at the Delacorte, I realized I have not written about Shakespeare in the Park, so expect a post about that this summer. There are so many special places in Central Park, but the Shakespeare Garden and the iconic spots nearby (including not just the Delacorte but Belvedere Castle, Turtle Pond, and the Great Lawn) is a section I find myself drawn to regularly. And a stroll through the Shakespeare Garden, meditating on the literary richness of the legacy of these plays as well as the incredible beauty of the natural world, is good for body and mind.

Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue

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Irving Berlin famously wrote about it in 1933, Judy Garland sang about it in a movie in 1948, and most people have heard of it – New York City’s Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue. But many likely think of this parade in the way that a July 4th event or Macy’s on Thanksgiving deliver it. It is in reality more like a procession, quite unstructured, and anyone can show up in costume or with their cameras to experience this very unique event every Easter Sunday. Originating from the process of dressing up for Easter and promenading from one church to another to see the decorations during the 1800s, it became a formal event in 1890. Today, Fifth Avenue is closed to car traffic on Easter Sunday from 10am to 4pm, and I highly recommend wandering these blocks – whether in your elaborate bonnet or as an admirer of such – if you are able.

The above photos are from Easter 2026. I couldn’t get to the parade early enough to beat the rain, and wondered if anyone would be there. But there were more than I had anticipated, even if the crowds were not what I have experienced in other years. I had realized this spring that I never blogged about this very special event in New York City, and was disappointed when Easter looked to be rainy – but still found it very enjoyable. So if you are ever thinking of attending and it shows rain, don’t be put off! My personal favorite was the dress made from Metrocards (which were retired at the beginning of 2026).

On sunny Easters (I took the photos above on Easter 2025) it can be quite crowded, especially in the blocks immediately around St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It is believed that in the height of the parade’s popularity in the mid-20th century that a million people attended at some point during the six hours Fifth Avenue was pedestrian-only. But more recently estimates are closer to 30,000 – 50,000. If you go to take photos, know that the people in costume want their photo taken; they are there to be seen and appreciated!

I took the photos above on Easter of 2024, another sunny Sunday.

The photos above are from 2023.

The photos above are from 2022. I could keep going back for more memories, as I have seen the Easter parade numerous times and always try to make it to Fifth Avenue to view. If you arrive very early, close to 10AM, or later, 3PM or after, the crowds will be lighter but there may be fewer bonnets and costumes to view as well. But why not get a bonnet and costume and show up if you are able? I think I will one day! Who knows, I might even find myself in the “rotogravure” (basically, in a photo in the Sunday magazine – although these days it would be more likely to be in a photo feature in the New York Times online).

In your Easter bonnet
With all the frills upon it
You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade
I’ll be all in clover
And when they look you over
I’ll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade

On the avenue
Fifth avenue
The photographers will snap us
And you’ll find that you’re in the rotogravure
Oh, I could write a sonnet
About your Easter bonnet
And of the girl I’m taking to the Easter parade

The Met Cloisters

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One of the wonderful things about traveling in Europe is the ability to explore ancient cathedrals and monasteries, experiencing extraordinary art and architecture from long ago. New York City is fortunate in that we can have that experience just a short subway ride, or express bus, away. The Cloisters is a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and provides immersion into the art, architecture, and gardens of medieval Europe.

The Cloisters is in upper Manhattan, between Washington Heights and Inwood. If you have a car, you can drive there, and there is parking available. However, you can also get there via subway on the A train -getting off at Dyckman – on on the express bus BxM1 – getting off at Dyckman and Sherman – or by taking the regular M4 bus to the last stop. For all of these options except the M4 bus, you will face a ten minute hike up a winding path to get to the museum, which sits on the top of quite a steep hill. The M4 bus lets you off at the top of the hill, and the Met does have a shuttle bus to get people up the hill who can’t handle the hike; you just might need to wait a bit. The walk, if you are able, is pleasant and provides some lovely views of the Hudson river.

If you have already visited the main Met location that day, you can use the same ticket to visit the Cloisters at no extra cost. If you are only planning to visit the Cloisters, ticket prices can be found here, and note that New York State residents with valid ID can pay what you wish. The idea that “time in this place does not obey an order’ is immediately apparent – as soon as you enter the building, you are immersed in the past. The museum specializes in European medieval art and architecture, with a focus on the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Its large collection of medieval artworks are displayed within the architectural settings of French monasteries and abbeys. The building is centered around four medieval cloisters—the Cuxa, Saint-Guilhem, Bonnefont, and Trie-sur-Baïse—that were acquired by American sculptor and art dealer George Grey Barnard in France before 1913 and moved to New York. Barnard’s collection was bought for the museum by John D. Rockefeller Jr., while additional major sources of objects came from the collections of J. P. Morgan and Joseph Brummer.

The museum’s building was designed by the architect Charles Collens, and has upper and lower levels. It contains medieval gardens at the center, and a series of chapels and themed galleries, including the Romanesque, Fuentidueña, Unicorn, Spanish, and Gothic rooms. The design, layout, and ambiance of the building are intended to evoke a sense of medieval European monastic life.

The best known works include the Early Netherlandish Mérode Altarpiece from about 1422 AD and the Flemish The Unicorn Tapestries (c. 1495–1505).

The museum’s collection of illuminated books is small but of exceptional quality. J.P. Morgan, a major early donor whose taste leaned heavily towards rare printed and illuminated books, donated most of his collection to the Morgan Library in midtown. However, there are some remarkable illuminated manuscripts at the Cloisters.

The Cloisters often has special exhibitions, and when I visited they had a very thought-provoking one called Spectrum of Desire, about love, sex, and gender in the Middle Ages. However, it’s about to close as I publish this post at the end of March of 2026.

Upon its opening on May 10, 1938, the Cloisters was described as a collection “shown informally in a picturesque setting, which stimulates imagination and creates a receptive mood for enjoyment.” Almost a century later, I would say that this description remains true. I highly recommend a trip to the Cloisters as a way to escape the noise and overstimulation that NYC can often provide, with the unique environment enabling moments of quiet reflection.

The Blizzard of 2026 in NYC

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In January of 2026, New York City experienced a significant snowfall followed by weeks of temperatures much below average. You can see a few videos I made on Instagram from this snowstorm of the morning of the snow, snow removal in Central Park, a dog being carried down snow steps at the Bethesda Fountain, and of sledders in Central Park the day after the storm. Because of the frigid temps, the mountains of snow that formed where plows had pushed the snow off the roads hardened into ice. Citibikes were basically unusable for weeks, cemented into huge drifts of snow. Things had just begun to improve (although there was still snow around) in mid-February when there began to be murmurings of a possible big storm ahead. By February 20, they were predicting a blizzard (the definition of a blizzard has to do with low visibility due to high winds) with significant snowfall. The Blizzard of 2026 began on Sunday, February 22, and ended late afternoon on the 23rd, and this is what it was like in New York City – at least it’s my experience.

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It started snowing lightly Sunday morning, but was really barely sticking until late afternoon. By 7PM, however, the snow was coming down and the wind was blowing. The photos above were taken on the Upper East Side in the evening. Around 8PM the emergency alert (photo above but thankfully I am not including the siren!) for NYC went off, startling everyone. There was a travel ban starting in the city at 9PM, lasting through noon on Monday. The snow and the wind increased overnight. I tried to take photos out my windows on Monday morning, but just captured whiteness.

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Needless to say, my annual Citibike membership has been challenging to use this winter! I can always bundle up enough to ride even in the cold in the winter, but there is nothing that can be done when the bikes themselves are snowed in.

I went out Monday morning when it was still snowing – I think at this point we had 15 inches or so, and we ended up with just under 20. There were plenty of people out, and honestly, it was gorgeous (see my Instagram reel from that morning).

It was still lightly snowing when I went back mid-afternoon, but much of the accumulated snowfall had already occurred.

The Dakota looked stately as always, frosted with snow. And someone always keeps the Imagine mosaic honoring John Lennon in Strawberry Fields uncovered. The most entertaining and surprising thing I came across that Monday afternoon was winter sports at the Bethesda Fountain! Brave souls were skiing or skateboarding down the snow covered steps leading down to the fountain (see the video here).

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In the end, we barely squeaked into the top ten snowstorms (I am amazed that I have personally experienced all but two of the top ten – I was not alive for the 1947 or the 1888 ones!). The major impact of this storm was the blizzard conditions, and travel was certainly unsafe for a few days. In general, though, I found that snow removal was better than last time. With temperatures less arctic, it made snow removal easier than the storm with less accumulation the previous month. The packed down snow in Central Park that had turned to ice overnight was treacherous for walking, but great for sledding.

Three days after the snowstorm, there were still townhouses that had not cleared out their snow, and large drifts of snow remained.

Polar Bear Fest is an event that takes place on the Great Lawn in Central Park after every significant snow fall. Subtitled, “Don’t let the earth melt,” this is a creative demonstration, meant to remind us of the dangers of greenhouse gases and climate change. Just noticing that eight of the top ten snowfall amounts in New York City have occurred since 1996, in just the past 30 years, is alarming. In the midst of all the beauty that New York City has to offer when covered in white, the polar bears on the Great Lawn remind us of the fragility of our environment, hopefully rekindling our desire to help make meaningful change for the benefit of our beloved Mother Earth.

Strawberry Fields in Central Park

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When John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved from Greenwich Village to the Dakota apartment building on West 72nd Street and Central Park South in 1973, the area of Central Park directly across from their apartment because a beloved “front yard.” New Yorkers were charmed to find them strolling through the park regularly. On the night of December 8, 1980, when Lennon was shot to death when coming home to the Dakota, grief-stricken fans gathered just inside the park at West 72nd Street, singing, holding candles, and leaving flowers.

Plans for a memorial to John Lennon in Central Park began shortly after his death, and his widow worked with the city to create what she hoped would be an international garden of peace. First New York City resolved to rename this area of the park Strawberry Fields, after Lennon’s 1967 song with The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The design of the area served as a redevelopment of what had become a run-down part of the park, and includes several meadows and a winding path that leads through a wooded area. Countries all over the world contributed to the development of Strawberry Fields, and a plaque on a large rock just off the path shows gratitude for those donations. A central mosaic with the simple word “Imagine” – a tribute to Lennon’s beloved solo recording – was created in and donated by the city of Naples, Italy. This iconic mosaic is surrounded by benches and soon began to regularly attract groups of people to sing Lennon’s music and play guitars.

Strawberry Fields was officially dedicated on what would have been John Lennon’s 45th birthday – October 9, 1985. Since then, on anniversaries of his birth, and perhaps particularly on each anniversary of his death, large crowds gather to sing and show their love and respect.

On December 8, 2025, I went by in the afternoon and found a large crowd gathered. There were more instrumentalists than the typical single acoustic guitar, and included amps, a keyboard, and drums. As I walked over, everyone was singing “If I Fell” (you can see a video of what it was like to walk up to the crowd HERE). It was a very cold day, but I stayed for many, many songs and regretted leaving when I had to. Perhaps a highlight was “We can work it out” (see a video I took of the song HERE). This song is one of the great examples of a true Lennon-McCartney collaboration, with the result being something much more than the sum of the two parts. Lennon’s weariness with the world’s constant struggles (“Life is very short/And there’s no time for fussing and fighting, my friend”) is a foil for McCartney’s sunnier optimism, constantly returning to the refrain “We can work it out.” In these troubled times, being in a group of strangers singing both to acknowledge the pain, and attempt to find hope, was a true balm to my soul.

I was back later, and generally show up on the evening of December 8th to be a part of the crowd. The singing continued well into the night, with candles added to the tributes on the Imagine mosaic, and people waving their phone flashlights in time to the beat, today’s version of holding up a lighter.

When it snows in Central Park, I am always impressed with how passersby keep the mosaic cleared and visible. Before too long, someone generally comes back to sing (see a recent video of someone singing “Girl” after a snowfall HERE). Quite often on any particular day, people will leave flowers, notes, or photographs at the memorial. I consider myself fortunate to live fairly nearby, and to walk through the park often. If I am able, I generally do try to walk through Strawberry Fields and feel my spirit lift just a bit. When people come to visit me, we often head to Strawberry Fields as part of a walk around my favorite spots in Central Park. There’s no denying the tragedy that occurred on December 8, 1980 – for his family and friends primarily, but also for the world. We will never know what he might have accomplished had he been given more time. But John Lennon’s spirit and desire to foster peace lives on through Strawberry Fields, a very special place for us to gather and remember – “You might say I’m a dreamer/But I’m not the only one.”

Holiday Nostalgia Trains

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In December, there are so many wonderful things to do in New York City that it’s impossible to work them all in every year. But a special December event that can be enjoyed while you get to another of the festive displays or activities in the city, is the running of the holiday nostalgia trains by the MTA. The New York Transit Museum in collaboration with the MTA, runs Art Deco 1930’s subway trains on Sundays in December, and this is definitely the most delightful way to travel around the city! Eight subway cars from the 1930’s are brought back into service on a limited basis, and were considered state-of-the-art in their day.

Immaculately preserved by the Transit Museum, these R1/9s reflect the Depression-era Art Deco aesthetic, complete with rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, and original period advertisements. You can see a video of the train arriving and leaving, and some of the interior details here.

These are the very trains said to have inspired Billy Strayhorn’s classic “Take the A Train.”

One of the fun aspects of this is that some people actually dress in period clothing to ride the trains!

The vintage signs are fun to see as well – and apparently subway crime has existed for quite a long time!

Here are the details for this year (2025). For future years, check the New York Transit Museum’s website.

  • The rides run every Sunday in December from 10am to 5pm,
  • The train depart from 2 Av–Houston St on the uptown F line and 96 St–2 Av on the Q line.
  • The rides can be accessed via a standard Subway fare using either OMNY or Metrocard
  • For stops between 2 Av–Houston St and Lexington Av–63 St, board on the F line platform.
  • For stops between Lexington Av–63 St and 96 St–2 Av, board on the Q line platform.
  • Accessible stations along the route include: Broadway–Lafayette St (D, 6), West 4 St–Washington Sq (A/C/E, D/F), 34 St–Herald Sq (D/F, N/Q/R) , 47–50 St–Rockefeller Center (D/F), Lexington Av–63 St (F, Q), 72 St–2 Av (Q), 86 St–2 Av (Q) and 96 St–2 Av (Q).

Here’s the schedule:

  • The train departs from 2 Av–Houston St on the uptown F line in lower Manhattan at 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm.
  • The train departs from 96 St– 2 Av on the Q line at 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm.

Other times of the year there may be other ticketed special events using nostalgia trains (for instance, trips to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn in October), but I highly recommend trying to experience the holiday trains in December for just the cost of a subway fare. This is the best time of the year in New York City, in my opinion, and if you plan it correctly even a subway ride can enhance the joy of the season.

Arte Museum in New York City

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I recently wrote a blog post about immersive art exhibitions in New York City. In it, I mentioned that I was looking forward to an upcoming digital/experiential exhibit at Chelsea Piers, Arte Museum. It turns out that I enjoyed this one so much I think it deserves its own post! Needless to say, it exceeded expectations. Here’s what I experienced . . .

Arte Museum is easy to locate within Chelsea Piers, and well signed. I went first thing in the morning and recommend doing this if you possibly can. I had no wait to get in and I could be alone in most of the galleries. Arte Museum is an immersive digital art exhibition by d’strict, with installations around the world including Juju Island (Korea), Las Vegas, and Dubai. The scope of this installation, as well as the coordinated sounds and scents, really made this experience stand out compared to other experiential/immersive art installations I have visited.

The first area, Waterfall Infinite, had its own scent (“Waterfall” – available for purchase at the gift shop at the end along with other scents!) that was fresh, woodsy, and aquatic. The reflecting surfaces made the waterfall seem to go on forever, and reminded me a bit of a similar room in SUMMIT One Vanderbilt.

The next area, “Flower,” was scented (unsurprisingly) with a garden scent that was aquatic, green, and floral. Digital flower petals on the floor scattered as you walked through them.

The next room, “Wave,” is the one I have seen used in ads for Arte Museum, and being in the room I can see why. Enormous waves appear to crash just on the other side of a tall glass wall. It’s an illusion of course, as this is a digital installation, but a powerful one. It was very relaxing just to be in that room and I could almost feel negative ions being released into the air even though it was not possible!

It’s hard to pick a favorite room, but if I had to the “Beach” might be the one. The scent here was very beachy – fresh, green, watery, and aromatic. Bioluminescent algae lit up and scattered as you walked along the “sand,” and whales and other marine life swam around you.

In the next area, the “Forest,” the accompanying scent was bamboo-like, green, aquatic and woody. Forest creatures stalked and crept around you.

The next area, “Star,” reminded me a bit of Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirrored rooms

This room, “Tornado,” was just as it sounds, a swirling tornado of haze that you could circle and experience (safely!).

Live Sketchbook was a fun interactive way to influence what you saw, just across from the “Forest.” You could pick up a sheet with the outline of an animal, draw designs on it, scan the page, and it would appear moving across a large display. Following this was a huge room with a series of different installations – one about New York City, another beach-related, and a third of Paintings of Joseon.

After all the installations, you can visit the gift shop (of course) or go to the Arte Cafe, with some interactive elements (you can choose a fun image and it will move to stay on top of your beverage as you move it around the table).

You can get an idea of how it feels to walk through this immersive space from my Instagram reel about Arte Museum. And although many discount these experiential art exhibitions, much is adjacent to (perhaps even borrowed from!) serious contemporary artists. For instance, the “Stars” room here bears a resemblance not only to Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room (see the first photo below for when I was in one at David Zwirner Gallery in fall of 2019) but also to Pipilotti Rist’s installations (see one at the New Museum about nine years ago here) and the “Tornado” is quite like Anish Kapoor’s “Ascension” I saw at the Venice Biennale in 2011 (see the other two photos below).

I don’t equate an experiential art installation like Arte Museum to serious contemporary art, but I want to point out that I don’t find my enjoyment of it to be a “guilty pleasure.” Some of these digital experiences have a reputation for being a backdrop for an interesting Instagram photo more than an art exhibit – but many contemporary art exhibits also lend themselves to selfies! I think you can get out of Arte Museum what you choose to find, and I found it to create a sense of wonder that was at times transporting. There aren’t many places you can go these days where you realize you have had a smile on your face for quite some time . . . and that is definitely what I experienced here.

Harvest Glow at the Bronx Zoo

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New York City really knows how to celebrate Halloween, and I have previously blogged about townhouse decorations, the Upper East Side at Halloween, the events at Carl Schurz Park, Halloween on Governors Island, and Halloween decor at Chelsea Market. It’s so much fun even just walking around the city this month because of all the elaborate Halloween decorations (check out my Instagram for some of the best this year, including this one). Recently I was able to check out another fun October activity in the city, Harvest Glow at the Bronx Zoo.

Harvest Glow at the Bronx Zoo is a separately ticketed, timed-entry event taking place after dark in the fall. There is no access to animals, but there is an elaborate trail with animal-themed illuminated jack-o-lanterns, live pumpkin carvings, food carts, games, face-painting, and an opportunity to do the dinosaur safari at night.

The trail is quite immersive – lighting is low and the different animal-themed areas are elaborate.

There is spooky music and lighting.

They make it clear at the beginning of the trail that the decoration on this trail are not living pumpkins that have been carved, but there are live pumpkin carving demonstrations at the hub between the trail and the dinosaur safari, and there are also food carts at the hub.

Along the trail, there are also people dressed up as skeletons, and a giant pumpkin head character. While not intentionally scary, I would say that depending on an individual child’s personality, having these suddenly appear in a fairly dark environment with spooky music might be alarming. For older children and adults, though, these characters just add to the immersion.

You can experience Halloween all over New York City in October at no cost just by walking around, but for a fun Halloween-themed evening, the Harvest Glow is an event to consider. There are discounts for zoo members, and I noted a discount code on the site for certain dates (FALLFEST). Book early if you want the earliest entries – there is no time limit once you enter. And if you are already looking ahead to the next holiday, Holiday Lights tickets at the Bronx Zoo are already available!

The Paley Museum

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The Museum of Radio and Television was founded by William S. Paley, who had built CBS up from a small radio station to a powerhouse TV network. In 2007, it was renamed The Paley Center for Media, to better reflect changes in their mission from only radio and TV history to multiple media and their effects on culture and society. The Paley Museum at 25 W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan features exhibitions still primarily related to television shows, and also allows access to view vast archives of virtually anything that has been televised, and an entire floor with classic and virtual reality games. Despite having walked past it for decades, I checked the museum out for the first time recently! Spoiler alert, I enjoyed my visit and there is a lot there to do.

There are Paley Archives in Beverly Hills, inside the Beverly Hills Public Library, but the Paley Center in Midtown Manhattan fills multiple floors of a large office building on West 52nd St. You can find out how to become a member on their website (and I will weigh in later on whether I think this might be a good option if you live in NYC), but for one visit you can purchase timed tickets for a 30 minute entry period on a specific day. Once you are in the museum, you can stay until the center closes, so an early time slot is obviously preferable.

The big exhibition on the ground floor when I went was about the show Everybody Loves Raymond (it is just being replaced by a new exhibit on The Office). I have actually never seen ELR, but I was very impressed with the detail. You could sit on their sofa (photo opportunity!), see an Emmy, look at scripts and costumes, and watch videos from behind the scenes. This was as elaborate as pop-up exhibits about individual shows (which often charge as much as more for one exhibit than the Paley Museum does for the entire experience), and more detailed than what you could see on a Studio Tour in Los Angeles (I’ve done many of those).

Heading up (there is an elevator), there is an exhibit about Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show (which ran from 1972-1992, taped in Burbank, California). They were playing the last episode he ever aired, and you could sit at his desk (another photo op!), or on the sofa where so many famous guests sat, or in seats from the studio audience.

Heading up again, I visited the Paley archives. If you are a Paley member, you can visit them as often as you would like, but if you are on a one-day ticket, you get 90 minutes. They have over 160,000 television and radio programs and advertisements, covering more than 100 years of television and radio history. The collection spans all genres: comedy, drama, news, public affairs, performing arts, children’s, sports, reality, animation, and documentary, and includes a significant international presence, with 70 countries represented. You sit at a large desk with no one on either side of you, with comfortable headphones. You could watch Jacqueline Kennedy give a tour of The White House, or watch David Bowie be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, there are almost limitless options. I had decided in advance to pull up the 1988 Tony Awards, which I had watched at home in Chicago about two months before I moved to New York City. What a treat! The quality of what you view in the archives is significantly better than videos you can find on YouTube. I had to scrub through a few things to make it in 90 minutes, but Into the Woods and Phantom of the Opera traded off awards, and M Butterfly won Best Play (and I liked the short live excerpts from plays they performed in addition to the musical numbers). There was a tribute to Michael Bennett (who had died in the previous year from AIDS), Patti LuPone sang and danced in Anything Goes, Angela Lansbury hosted, and Bernadette Peters and Joel Grey presented. A delight!

On the top floor, there is a gaming room with over 65 video games and over 25 virtual reality games. I saw on the website that this has been voted the best birthday party venue in NYC, and I can see why! If you enjoy video games or someone in your family does, I could also see a day pass or even a yearly membership being worth it just for this area of the Center.

The Paley Center has continuous screenings in their basement floor theater. The day I went, it was episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, with one episode of Downtown Abbey thrown in (because the new movie was being released). They also have regular in-person events with television creatives, usually around either an exhibition on display, or around an anniversary of a certain show (the 40th anniversary of The Golden Girls is an upcoming event, for example). There is PaleyFest yearly in October – last year there were moderated talks with creatives and performers from Outlander, Blue Bloods, What We Do in the Shadows, and The Diplomat, among others. PaleyFest 2025 participants should be announced soon.

I enjoyed my visit to the Paley Museum and found the price for a one day pass reasonable. I could see that if you were planning to see a few of the different exhibitions throughout the year, enjoyed visiting the archive, or loved playing video games, that a membership could make a lot of sense. With so many opportunities in NYC, it’s easy to overlook some like the Paley Center – but keep it in mind!